Contra Aid Bid of $50 Million Likely : Managua Offers a Plan to Ensure Rights of Rebels

The Nicaraguan government Thursday offered to establish an international commission, including members of the U.S. Republican and Democratic parties, to monitor the political rights of Contras who put down their guns and join Nicaragua’s internal political opposition.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Victor Hugo Tinoco said the Sandinistas also would not object if the Contras continue to receive humanitarian aid from the United States once a cease-fire has been declared. He said the aid must be channeled through an organization such as the International Red Cross.

‘Doesn’t Offer Much’

Contra leader Alfredo Cesar complained that the latest Sandinista proposal does not broaden or guarantee political rights of the opposition. “They say the commission can supervise our political rights,” he said. “The question is, what are our political rights? They are inviting us to join a club that doesn’t offer much.”

But Cesar supported the idea of a commission that would bring new international political actors, such as Christian Democrats, into the Nicaraguan situation.

In Washington, the White House had no comment, but an Administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We have to see what the terms of the cease-fire are and the manner in which they are negotiated.”

The Contras, meanwhile, agreed to begin the first direct cease-fire negotiations on Jan. 28, as proposed by the mediator, Nicaraguan Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo. The Sandinistas have already accepted the date.

The six-member Contra directorate met for 2 1/2 hours Thursday with Obando for the first time since he became the mediator in the Nicaraguan conflict. But the rebels refused to sit down with the Sandinista cease-fire commission, which arrived in Costa Rica unexpectedly seeking to begin cease-fire talks immediately.

Tinoco said the Sandinistas wanted to begin the talks before Obando leaves today for the Vatican. Contra leaders called the move a publicity stunt.

“The Sandinistas know the directorate is not going to meet with a delegation of this level, not unless it is headed by (Nicaraguan President Daniel) Ortega or a member of the Sandinista directorate,” said Cesar, a member of the Contra directorate.

Obando said the talks between cease-fire commissions will be held in San Jose and could run for two days. He said Msgrs. Carlos Santi and Bosco Vivas will mediate on his behalf.

Tinoco said he had intended to present the Sandinistas’ proposal to the Contras, but he made the announcements publicly instead when the rebel leadership declined to meet Thursday with the Nicaraguan government delegation.

‘Irrevocable Guarantees’

Reading from a prepared text, Tinoco said the measures are aimed at “achieving a cease-fire with the Contras and incorporating them into the political life of the country with irrevocable guarantees that they will enjoy full political rights and civil liberties.”

The government proposed an eight-member commission to guarantee that the Contras are allowed to join political parties or organize a new party and to participate fairly in elections.

He said the Sandinistas would invite members of the following groups to form the commission: the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Contadora Group seeking peace in the region, Christian Democrat International, Liberal International, Socialist International, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

Each group would select its own representative.

Tinoco also said the government would agree to the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid to the Contras during a cease-fire for a period of time to be agreed upon by both sides.

He defined humanitarian aid as food, clothing, shelter and medicine. The Sandinistas’ cease-fire proposal has allowed for such aid from international organizations, but previously the government had not specified that it might come from the United States.

Thursday’s announcements were the latest in a series of measures the Sandinistas have taken in recent days to show that they are complying with a Central American peace accord and to persuade the U.S. Congress to vote next month against further aid to the Contras.

Earlier this week, the Sandinistas lifted a state of emergency law limiting civil liberties and abolished the People’s Anti-Somocista Tribunals for judging accused Contras.

The political impact of those measures on Congress, however, may have been offset by the arrest of 12 conservative opposition leaders as they returned to Nicaragua after meeting with the Contras in Guatemala. All 12 were released after being questioned about the meeting, attended by two unidentified Americans, who the Sandinistas say are CIA agents.

Tinoco defended the arrests, saying, “Nicaragua is not the Wild West. We have laws like the U.S. has laws. In the United States, if there were armed groups and a civic group went to meet them, I’m sure the FBI would call them in for questioning.”

The Contras cite the arrests to back up their contention that the Sandinistas are not serious about political reforms.

On Tuesday, the Contras publicly called for the Sandinistas to hold a tripartite meeting with the internal opposition to discuss political issues while separate cease-fire talks take place. Tinoco said he could not officially respond to the request since it had not been made through the mediator, Cardinal Obando, but he seemed to rule it out. He said the Contras continually increase their demands during negotiations at the behest of the Reagan Administration.

Holding a Dialogue

The Sandinistas argue that the peace accord signed by the five Central American presidents requires them to negotiate a cease-fire with the rebels and then to hold a dialogue with an unarmed opposition on political issues.

The Contras say that the roots of the war are political, and that they will not agree to a cease-fire unless they reach political agreements first.

The rebels want a series of constitutional and political reforms, including a lessening of presidential power and a separation of the Sandinista Party from Nicaragua’s army and government institutions.

Tinoco said the Sandinistas plan to go to next week’s cease-fire talks with the same proposal they offered during indirect talks in the Dominican Republic last month. That plan calls for rebel troops to gather in three cease-fire zones and to surrender their weapons after they have seen that reforms are serious and permanent.