Contras and Sandinistas Agree to Study Mediator’s Surprise Plan

During nearly three hours of peace talks Thursday, Nicaraguan government and rebel negotiators reached an impasse over their sharply divergent cease-fire proposals, then agreed to consider a surprise proposal offered by the mediator, Roman Catholic Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo.

The cardinal’s proposal calls for the government to grant amnesty to all political prisoners, allow complete press freedom, hold a dialogue with the civic opposition and “reconsider” the country’s military conscription law. The Contras, meanwhile, would have to move into specified zones and accept a 30-day cease-fire.

Both sides responded positively to Obando’s proposal but said the details were sketchy. They agreed to continue discussing the proposal during a second session today.

The cease-fire talks began Thursday afternoon at the offices of the Archbishop of Guatemala City, Prospero Penados del Barrio, and are scheduled to last three days.

Both Offered Plans

At the first round of face-to-face talks in San Jose, Costa Rica, last month, the Contras and Sandinistas both presented truce proposals, but there was no serious negotiating. Neither side apparently wanted to risk seeming intransigent before Congress voted on a Reagan Administration package of new military aid to the rebels. Congress narrowly rejected the $36.25-million package that included $3.6 million in military aid.

The peace accord signed by the five Central American presidents last August calls for cease-fires, amnesty, dialogues with an unarmed opposition and democratic reform.

Obando said that Thursday’s meeting began with an attempt to define a cease-fire but that each side held to its longstanding position. The government had proposed discussing the technical aspects of a cease-fire, while the Contras wanted sweeping constitutional reforms to limit the Sandinistas’ power before they would agree to quit fighting.

“We could not reach agreement. There was an impasse,” Obando said. He said he then made his proposal for a 30-day cease-fire “to see if we can continue discussing democratization.”

In addition to the Contras, Obando said, his proposed amnesty would cover about 2,000 people who served in the National Guard under deposed dictator Anastasio Somoza.

Obando proposed allowing the Contras to keep their weapons in the cease-fire zones, as the Sandinistas had already offered in their cease-fire plan. An international commission would oversee the cease-fire zones.

The proposal does not include the Contras’ demand for a three-way dialogue that would include the civic opposition. The government has said the rebels must put down their arms before it will discuss political reform.

Sequence Unclear

It was not clear whether both sides would be required to begin complying with Obando’s proposal simultaneously, or if the government would be expected to take the first steps.

Jaime Morales, head of the Contras’ negotiating team, said the rebels accept the cardinal’s proposal “in principle.” Deputy Foreign Minister Victor Hugo Tinoco, who heads the government team, called the proposal “constructive and positive” but said the cease-fire still must be defined.

“The four requirements for the government are very clear. The requirement for the Contras is not clear,” Tinoco said. “It is not clear when the cease-fire would take place, for how long, where, or who will verify it.”

He said a government endorsement of the proposal would depend on the terms of the cease-fire. “A cease-fire is fundamental. It is the only thing that creates trust.”

The Contra team includes two rebel field commanders. The Sandinista team includes army intelligence chief Maj. Ricardo Wheelock.