Contras Say They’ll Stop U.S. Aid to Prove Peace Commitment

The contras will propose to President Reagan that their U.S. aid be cut off to show their commitment to peace in Central America, an anti-Sandinista rebel director said today.

“We are going to take the initiative,” said Alfredo Cesar Aguirre, one of six contra directors. “It will be one of the key issues we will discuss both with President Reagan and (U.S. House Speaker) Jim Wright in the next two days.”

The contra leaders are to confer with the President in Los Angeles on Thursday and later will fly to see Wright, a Texas Democrat.

Another contra director, Azucena Ferrey Echaverry, said, “We have always proposed that aid could be stopped” when a peace agreement was reached.

Cesar promised “other political actions” to demonstrate the good faith of the contras, known formally as the Nicaraguan Resistance. But he refused to disclose the steps.

“This is not going to be a case in which the Resistance will be responsible for non-compliance,” Cesar said. But he cautioned that he expects the President and Congress to closely monitor Sandinista compliance with the new Central American peace agreement.

Cesar said the contras support the Aug. 7 pact signed by the Central American presidents, including Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega. The agreement calls in part for a cease-fire and cutoff of outside aid to all rebel groups in the region in exchange for democratization.

That fits in with the contras’ support for a two-track--military and diplomatic--approach to achieving peace in Nicaragua, Cesar said.