Contras Present Tough Demands to Nicaragua

Contra leaders proposed Thursday that the Sandinista government forgo outside military aid during the Nicaraguan cease-fire and withdraw its civilian authorities as well as its troops from zones to be occupied by rebel forces.

In a proposal handed to Sandinista negotiators, the rebels also insisted that food, clothing and other “humanitarian” aid approved by Congress last month be delivered to them during the cease-fire by a private company.

The rebels outlined their demands on the fifth day of talks on how to separate Contra and Sandinista military forces under the preliminary peace accord. The agreement signed at this southern border post March 23 is supposed to end six years of war.

Many of the rebels’ 34 negotiating points are sharply at odds with previously stated Sandinista positions, raising the prospect of difficult and prolonged discussions. The two sides already have missed their April 1 deadline for replacing the current informal truce with a supervised two-month cease-fire.

Maj. Gen. Joaquin Cuadra, the deputy defense minister and chief Sandinista negotiator, did not comment in detail on the rebel proposal. He said the government is studying it and will make a point-by-point reply when the talks resume today.

The Sandinistas are known to object strongly to the rebels’ proposal to remove civilian authorities from the seven cease-fire zones into which Contra troops are to concentrate.

Negotiators finished mapping those zones Wednesday. Three zones lie along the Honduran border in the north, three in the central part of the country and one in the south. They contain 8,500 square miles, about 17% of the national territory.

At the government’s insistence, no cities lie inside the zones, which consist largely of uninhabited jungle. But rebel negotiators said they include dozens of Sandinista army outposts and at least one major town, Bocana de Paiwas, population 5,000, in Zelaya province.

Bosco Matamoros, a rebel spokesman, told reporters that the withdrawal of Sandinista authorities from the zones is necessary to “guarantee the security of our civilian supporters” who want to mingle with rebel troops during the cease-fire.

A Sandinista official called this demand unacceptable, however. “These are not autonomous rebel zones,” he said.

The government also objects to delivery of U.S. aid by a private company. Under the peace accord, delivery is to be made by neutral organizations.

Rebel leaders did not tell the Sandinistas or reporters which private company they propose. But they said its planes must be allowed to fly over Nicaragua from other countries and drop supplies.

Sandinista officials say good roads reach all the zones, making air drops unnecessary. They want to be able to inspect the aid on the ground. And they want it delivered by a nonprofit organization such as the International Red Cross to minimize any attempt to deliver military supplies.

“Nicaragua has the sovereign right to reject the entry into its territory, by land, sea or air, of any entity it considers unacceptable,” Cuadra told reporters.

Another rebel proposal that appears to be controversial would require Sandinista forces leaving the cease-fire zones to concentrate in certain areas that had been mutually agreed upon. They also demand that Sandinista artillery be taken out of range of the zones.

Contra leaders said they want to prevent their forces from being surrounded in the zones and attacked if the peace agreement breaks down.

The rebels are asking that international observers watch Nicaraguan seaports and airports to ensure that no military supplies reach the Soviet-backed Sandinista army during the cease-fire. This too could be controversial because the peace accord bans arms shipments to rebel forces, but not to the government.