Bush Assures President-Elect of Salvador of Anti-Leftist Backing

President Bush welcomed President-elect Alfredo Cristiani of El Salvador to the White House on Friday, assuring him of U.S. support for his rightist government in battling leftist rebels.

Cristiani and a White House statement issued after their Oval Office meeting said that the two discussed a shared commitment to democracy and protection of human rights in El Salvador.

Earlier in the day, Cristiani rejected a proposal by the Marxist-led rebels that he declare his forthcoming administration a transitional government and call for new elections. In return, the rebels would have agreed to a cease-fire in the nine-year-old Salvadoran guerrilla war.

The human rights question has been controversial for Cristiani as head of the ultra-rightist Nationalist Republican Alliance. The alliance, popularly called the Arena party, and its founder, former military intelligence officer Roberto D’Aubuisson, have been accused of sponsoring rightist death squads that have killed thousands of leftists in El Salvador.

An Administration source said one purpose of the White House meeting was to underscore U.S. expectations that the new Salvadoran government, which is scheduled to replace the moderate Christian Democratic government of Jose Napoleon Duarte on June 1, will be aggressive in keeping human rights violations in check.

The White House said that Bush dismissed those who have prejudged Cristiani, asserting that he is likely to be weak on human rights issues. Bush restated his view “that Mr. Cristiani should be given the chance to prove his dedication to democracy, peace and human rights.”

Bush also “noted with satisfaction” Cristiani’s efforts in getting court charges in a human rights case reinstated after a judge threw out the case and ordered the release of two military men and a landowner accused of involvement in a kidnap-for-profit ring, the White House said.

Cristiani remarked, “He said it showed we really meant it when we said that we are willing to work for the respect of human rights in Salvador.”

The cease-fire proposal by the rebels, announced Thursday, envisioned elections six months after a cease-fire was in place.