Nicaragua Foes Report Gains in Peace Talks

Sandinista and Contra leaders held face-to-face discussions Tuesday on two rival plans to end Nicaragua’s 6-year-old guerrilla war, and both sides reported progress toward an agreement.

Gen. Humberto Ortega, Nicaragua’s defense minister and chief negotiator, said the two delegations held a “productive” analysis of both plans on their second of three scheduled days of talks at this southern border post.

“As a result of the dynamic of our work today, we expect a better opportunity to reach an agreement,” Ortega said.

Adolfo Calero, one of the rebels’ three chief negotiators, was equally cautious. “We analyzed points of agreement, and are working on the differences,” he said. “We reached no conclusions, but we did the work to reach conclusions tomorrow.”

A Major Stumbling Block

Both sides made their latest cease-fire positions public Tuesday. While the gap between them is slightly narrower than in previous peace talks, negotiators said they faced at least one major stumbling block.

Rebel leaders proposed that the two sides agree here to a 45-day truce, then hold new negotiations within that time on terms for the disarmament of their insurgency.

Sandinista officials, concerned that the insurgents might use the truce to replenish their forces for a new offensive, insisted on remaining in Sapoa as long as it takes to hammer out all terms of a permanent end to the fighting.

Bosco Matamoros, a Contra spokesman, said a cease-fire is too complicated to be negotiated in one step. “Our objective is a definitive solution to the conflict,” he said. “Obviously, there are differences (with the Sandinistas) of criteria about the methods, but it seems our objectives are similar.”

But a member of the Sandinista delegation said that “the difference between our positions is vital.”

“What the Contras need most, militarily, is a breathing space, to replenish their forces and reorganize their supply lines,” the delegate said. “We don’t want to leave them any open doors, any escape hatches. We want to end the war now.”

Trying to pave the way for prolonged negotiations, the Sandinistas on Monday announced a unilateral truce for the duration of the talks. The Contras, recovering from a major Sandinista offensive that cut their main overland supply line last week, followed suit.

On Tuesday, the Nicaraguan government accused the Reagan Administration of trying to sabotage the talks by asking Congress again to resume aid to the rebels.

The Sandinistas have long branded the Contras a mercenary army totally dependent on U.S. aid, which was cut off last month. Government officials said they hope the businesslike tone of the talks so far means that rebel leaders are distancing themselves from Washington.

“The Administration pressured them very hard not to attend this meeting,” a Sandinista negotiator said. “We hope there is enough counterpressure from Contra troops in the field to get them to agree to a cease-fire.”

Takes Prominent Role

Alfredo Cesar, the youngest and most moderate of the rebels’ six civilian directors, has taken an unusually prominent role on the rebel delegation, sitting opposite Ortega.

Cesar told reporters new U.S. aid is justified because the Sandinista army continues to depend on Soviet military assistance.

“But that is not a factor that will influence the decisions we make during these talks,” he added. “This is a historic moment in which Nicaraguans can solve Nicaraguan problems without outside interference.”

Sandinista and rebel negotiators held four previous rounds of peace talks starting in December but failed to break deadlocks over an agenda. The Contras insisted on linking a cease-fire to major political changes in Nicaragua, while the government was willing to discuss only military issues.

Amnesty an Issue

The current talks mark a breakthrough because the Sandinistas sent a top-ranking delegation to negotiate some political issues, such as amnesty for prisoners. This is the first time competing peace proposals have been put on the table at once.

Ortega handed rebel leaders the written Sandinista proposal Monday. It calls for a halt in the fighting and a fixed deadline for disarmament of the estimated 10,000 rebels.

The 3,360 political prisoners listed in Sandinista jails would be freed in stages, in proportion to the number of Contra combatants who surrender, accept a government amnesty and return to civilian life “with all rights and guarantees that the law establishes.”

As soon as the first Contras disarm, their leaders could return to Nicaragua to join a “national dialogue” in which the government is negotiating demands by legal opposition parties for major political changes.

‘Total Press Freedom’

Contra negotiators outlined their plan orally Monday and submitted it in writing Tuesday as the real negotiating began. It calls for releasing all political prisoners, granting “total press freedom” and suspending the Sandinista army draft at the start of the proposed 45-day truce, on April 1.

Contra fighters would have 15 days to reach designated truce zones, where they would remain armed and separated from Sandinista forces, pending the outcome of negotiations on a permanent cease-fire.

The talks appeared to make some progress Tuesday when the government agreed to extended its proposed disarmament period to 90 days, from the 30 days it offered Monday.

The warring factions seem closer to an agreement than before, largely as a result of Sandinista concessions.

The government had previously refused to free all political prisoners or allow Contra leaders to take part in politics until a permanent cease-fire was in place.

Demands Narrowed

The Contras appeared Monday to have narrowed their demands for an initial truce by omitting any mention of the draft, an issue too sensitive to the Sandinistas to be negotiable.

But their written proposal said the draft should be suspended during the truce to bring “peace and tranquility to millions of Nicaraguan families.”

The Contras also proposed that the government, in subsequent talks on a permanent cease-fire, put in effect “all aspects of democratization” required by the Central American peace accord.

That would appear to leave open the possibility of new Contra demands unacceptable to the Sandinistas, based on differing interpretations of the regional accord signed by Nicaragua and the four other Central American countries last August.

Obligations Not Met

The Sandinistas acknowledge they have not met their obligations under that agreement to grant general amnesty and total press freedom. Citing a law that keeps all television broadcasting in state hands, they have rejected an opposition business federation’s request for a television station.

In the talks here, the government has refused to discuss the broadcasting law or the military draft with the Contras. It has insisted those issues be confined to the “national dialogue.”

To strengthen its position, the government agreed Monday night to resume the dialogue, which had been suspended since December, when all 14 opposition parties walked out to protest what they called Sandinista intransigence.

Eight of those parties signed the agreement to resume the talks. In turn, the Sandinistas pledged to free some jailed political and labor activists and to abstain from harassing opposition rallies.