Nicaragua Trying to Sell Peace Plan at Home, Finds Disagreement on Amnesty

The elderly woman in tight gray curls and pink plastic glasses made her way to the microphone to have a word with President Daniel Ortega about the Central American peace plan he signed.

Aida Miranda, a member of the militant Sandinista organization for mothers of war dead, argued against granting amnesty to several thousand jailed former National Guardsmen who had served dictator Anastasio Somoza or the leaders of the U.S.-backed contras now fighting to oust the government.

“They say our hearts are full of hate and rancor, as if those feelings were not logical,” Miranda said. “Well, they are logical. . . . When they talk of a total amnesty, it reopens our wounds.”

Seeking Support

Ortega and members of his Cabinet listened to many such protests during a recent daylong meeting with more than 1,500 women. And in scores of other meetings in recent weeks, Sandinista leaders have been trying to build support for the Central American accord that Ortega signed Aug. 7 and to explain some of the potentially unpopular measures they are taking.

At the meeting, Ortega rejected the notion of granting “total amnesty,” which contra leaders and conservative political parties are pressing for, but he left open the possibility that a partial amnesty could cover former National Guardsmen who have not been convicted of crimes.

“We cannot say that 100% of the Somocista guards committed crimes,” Ortega said. “The fact of having been a Somocista guard does not mean a person cannot be favored by a partial amnesty.”

Interior Minister Tomas Borge says there are 3,000 National Guardsmen in jail and 1,000 prisoners accused of being contras, but opposition human rights activists say the figures are much higher.

Steps Already Taken

The Central American peace accord, aimed primarily at ending the guerrilla wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador, calls on governments to reach cease-fires with rebels and offer amnesty programs by Nov. 7. It also calls for such democratic measures as press freedom, regularly scheduled free elections and the rights of all political parties to function.

So far, the Sandinistas have allowed the reopening of the opposition newspaper La Prensa and the opposition church radio station, Radio Catolica. They have suspended prior censorship, which had been imposed under a wartime state of emergency, and have permitted opposition demonstrations calling for the ouster of the eight-year-old government.

On successive Sundays, about 2,000 right-wing activists marched through the streets of Managua and Masaya in the largest outdoor opposition gatherings since the 1984 presidential elections. They chanted slogans demanding freedom of all political prisoners, an end to the military draft and the ouster of Cuban advisers from Nicaragua.

“The people of Nicaragua, tired of so many insults and so much terror in these last eight years, are putting direct pressure on the Sandinistas to comply with the peace agreement,” Social Christian Party President Erick Ramirez told one rally. His speech was broadcast nationwide on two privately owned radio stations.

Non-Negotiable Points

The peace accord requires the government to lift the state of emergency and all restrictions on the media and political organizing, also by Nov. 7. Sandinista leaders say they plan to do so.

To drum up support from their political base for these changes, the Sandinistas are emphasizing that there are some concessions they will not grant.

They have said they will not give back property that was confiscated from landowners and redistributed to peasants; they will not take away urban lots they gave to the poor to build houses; they will not return nationalized factories.

And they will not negotiate with the contra leadership. Instead, the army has declared a unilateral cease-fire in three designated war zones and sought negotiations with contra field commanders rather than their leaders.

However, in Washington on Thursday, rebel leaders said they will fly to Managua in an attempt to force direct cease-fire talks with Ortega. In making the announcement, the rebels’ seven-member directorate said they will ask Nicaragua’s Roman Catholic primate, Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo, to act as a mediator in setting up the talks.

The peace plan, based on an initiative of President Oscar Arias Sanchez of Costa Rica, does not require direct talks with armed groups, but Arias has criticized the Sandinistas’ unilateral plan as unworkable and has urged them to negotiate a cease-fire with the contras.

No Shared Power

The accord also does not require the government to share power with the rebels--another aspect that the Sandinistas are stressing to their supporters.

“When we say we won’t (hold a) dialogue with the contras, it means we don’t have any political question to settle with anybody,” Luis Carrion, one of the nine members of the ruling Sandinista directorate, said on a recent radio call-in show.

“Here power was won by revolutionary victory of the people and ratified by legitimate and legal elections. The revolution doesn’t have to discuss questions of power with anyone,” Carrion said.

Reagan Administration and contra officials say such remarks prove that the Sandinistas intend to make cosmetic changes but not to reform the political process in a democratic fashion, an argument also pressed by the Democratic Coordinate, a coalition of conservative political parties, business groups and anti-Sandinista unions calling for dialogue with the contras.

“We have not yet entered a democratic process here,” said Julio Ramon Garcia Vilches of the Democratic Coordinate. “They are just making propaganda for the rest of the world.”

Stepped-Up Battle Ahead

Like the contras, the conservative political parties want the government to abolish the neighborhood political councils called Sandinista Defense Committees and to end Sandinista party control over the army.

Meanwhile, through meetings, speeches and radio shows, the Sandinistas are preparing their supporters for a stepped-up ideological battle in the country and telling them to increase their political activism.

“By Nov. 7, we want to have reached every household,” said Carlos Carrion, the Sandinista Front leader for Managua. “No one will be ignorant of the accords or of the front’s position. They will define themselves in favor or against us.”

As in the past, the Sandinistas’ strategy will be to link their conservative opponents to the United States and, therefore, to blame the United States for the contra war.

U.S. Seen as Antagonist

“We have to redouble our efforts to avoid the manipulation and propaganda that they (their opponents) surely will redouble against us,” said Alejandro Bendana, secretary general of the Foreign Ministry.

“Clearly the real antagonist here is the United States. . . . There are going to be two poles here--us and the U.S. Embassy. They are going to put up a good fight and they will not lack for resources,” Bendana said.

Managua Mayor Moises Hassan said the Sandinista Front expects the opposition to continue to take to the streets to try to create an impression of anarchy or to provoke a confrontation. He said he believes the opposition will not be able to turn out enough people to do so.

The Sandinistas are aided by serious splits and a lack of leadership in the opposition movement. This was dramatized by activities commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Social Christian Party last month.

Although it is one of the most active anti-Sandinista groups in Nicaragua, the party is divided into two factions, and each faction held its own rally in a different downtown theater. About 500 members of the more conservative faction attended the smaller rally but did not join the march.

‘Sign of Strength’

Small groups of Sandinista militants watched the marchers from doorways and street corners but did not interfere as they have sometimes done in the past. They said they were not worried by the revival of opposition activity.

“Nobody is going to be alarmed by this,” said Beto Reyes, 32, as the marchers passed by. “The Sandinista Front is allowing this (march) to show there is real democracy in Nicaragua. It is a sign of the strength and self-confidence of the front that it has the support of the majority.”

The Sandinistas are planning their own demonstration Nov. 8, a day after the peace accord is to take effect. Bendana said it may be “the largest march in the history of the country.”

The Sandinistas plan to call out the 20,000 army veterans, the Sandinista Youth organization and other party mass organizations.

“Which party do the people support?” Bendana asked. “Let the people tell us. Let the Social Christians and the Social Democrats bring out all their masses. We’ll see which party the people support.”

Times staff writer Richard Boudreaux contributed to this story.