He Welcomes Duarte : Reagan Cautious on Latin Peace Outlook

President Reagan said Wednesday that the prospects for peace in Central America are “better than at any time in this decade,” but he warned that peace could not prevail without democracy.

Reagan said that peace in the strife-torn region depends on respect for human rights, free elections and an “honest dialogue between those who are now engaged in deadly combat”--apparently a reference to the refusal of Nicaragua’s Sandinista government to engage in direct talks with the contras seeking its overthrow.

The President’s statement, delivered at a colorful ceremony welcoming President Jose Napoleon Duarte of El Salvador on a state visit, underscored the Administration’s current stance on the cease-fire plan for the region signed by five Central American governments. It expressed encouragement for the effort but stressed concerns about the adequacy of provisions for democratic reforms.

Break From Protocol

However, the ceremony did feature a break from the carefully measured tones and precisely orchestrated protocol common to such events.

Apparently surprising Reagan, Duarte declared: “I have seen in my life many times in which people, with hate in their hearts, have put fire to the American flag. This time, permit me to go to your flag and, in the name of my people, to give it a kiss.”

The diminutive Duarte, whose government has received $2.5 billion in U.S. military and economic assistance over the last six years, then walked across the White House’s South Lawn and kissed a U.S. flag held by a military color guard member. A beaming Reagan embraced his guest after the gesture.

In private, as well as in public, Reagan and Duarte apparently saw eye-to-eye on such issues as the Central American peace accord and efforts being made in El Salvador to stem a leftist rebellion.

Echoing Reagan’s assertion that “if peace is to prevail, so must democracy,” Duarte said he is convinced that peace cannot come to Central America “without freedom and democracy which, in turn, will only be attained through comprehensive dialogue and negotiated cease-fires.”

“I also insist that each Central American president has the responsibility to comply fully within his own country with all the obligations contracted and that no government be permitted to take only cosmetic or half measures. . . , “ Duarte said.

Reagan and Duarte later conferred for about an hour, but a senior Administration official who was present for much of the meeting said there was no mention of Reagan’s plan to seek $270 million in new military assistance for the contras. Administration opponents have charged that the request threatens the peace accord signed by the presidents of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica.

Duarte told Reagan that, as part of El Salvador’s adherence to the agreement, his country would free about 1,000 prisoners, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to the State Department, El Salvador earlier this year was holding 1,047 political prisoners, most of them captured leftist guerrillas.

The Salvadoran president, who arrived in Washington on Tuesday evening, is also meeting during a four-day visit in Washington with Secretary of State George P. Shultz, Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger, members of the House and Senate and labor leaders.

Called ‘Small Step’

While Reagan and Duarte were meeting, a U.S. religious delegation said at a news conference in Washington that the weekend repatriation of more than 4,000 Salvadorans who fled the guerrilla war in El Salvador 6 1/2 years ago and had been living as refugees in Honduras was only a “small step” toward restoration of a normal life for Salvadoran peasantry.

The delegation, just returned from Honduras where they had assisted the refugees, estimated that 15,000 Salvadorans still remain in Honduras.

A delegation member said that a young Salvadoran told him as his compatriots packed up their belongings for a bus ride home: “Don’t forget us. . . . We will follow.”