Nicaragua OKs Amnesty for All Sandinista Aides

The Sandinista-dominated National Assembly approved a sweeping amnesty law Saturday that guarantees officials and public servants immunity from prosecution for crimes committed during a decade of revolutionary rule.

Sandinista legislators said that the Law of General Amnesty and National Reconciliation, which also pardons crimes committed by government soldiers and the U.S.-backed Contras, is designed to prevent “a witch hunt” and “acts of revenge” after President-elect Violeta Barrios de Chamorro takes office April 25.

But opposition legislators accused the ruling party of trying to cover up corruption in the Sandinista government.

“They are using national reconciliation as a cover to protect themselves against prosecution for civil crimes,” said Edwin Illescas of the Nicaraguan Conservative Democratic Party. “They are not very confident about how honestly their officials exercised public office.”

The law will prevent the new administration from trying Sandinistas for crimes such as bribery, neglect, misuse of funds and embezzlement in the government and in state-owned enterprises.

During the election campaign, Chamorro’s National Opposition Union (UNO) accused the government of using state funds to finance Sandinista political rallies and other party activities. Now, even if those charges prove to be true, the new government will not be able to proceed in court against Sandinista officials.

The UNO coalition soundly defeated the Sandinista National Liberation Front in the Feb. 25 election. Since then, opposition leaders claim that the Sandinistas have been sacking government offices. They say that officials have transferred government automobiles, jeeps, machinery and houses to private ownership.

Presidential spokeswoman Patricia Gomez denied the charges and said that all government installations will be turned over to the new administration with their inventories and accounts intact.

Rafael Solis, a Sandinista leader in the National Assembly, said the outgoing administration will prosecute anyone caught stealing government property during the transition months. But he indicated that officials will try to recoup the stolen goods first.

“It is true things have been stolen from some ministries,” Solis said.

“It is preferable that any functionary who has committed a crime in these days should be tried by us, the Sandinistas, rather than by the UNO. . . . This is not a cover-up. The ministries will have to be put in order. . . . But it is prudent to give them a few days, “ he said.

The amnesty will cover crimes committed up to the time the new law is published in the official gazette. Sandinista officials said the law will not be signed and published until shortly before inauguration day. The opposition charges that the delay will allow the Sandinistas more time to steal.

Solis said the amnesty protects the government from “a witch hunt and those in the UNO who seek revenge.”

Rogelio Ramirez, another Sandinista Assembly leader, said the law “protects us from threats by the leaders of the future government that they are going to make us pay. It prevents them from attacking the prestige of our government.”

Ramirez insisted that the Sandinistas have tried and convicted many public officials on corruption charges. He could not say how many might be in jail, but he said that the amnesty does not absolve anyone already convicted and would not lead to any public employee’s release from jail.

Other Latin American governments in the recent past have approved amnesty laws before turning power over to their adversaries, particularly in countries where the military is ceding office to civilian authority. In Nicaragua’s case, many members of the UNO leadership previously were members of the Contras, whom the Sandinistas have been fighting for eight years.

The amnesty is part of a package of laws that President Daniel Ortega submitted to the Assembly last week, all of which are designed to strengthen the Sandinistas’ position as an opposition party.

On Thursday, the Assembly overturned a controversial media law that had given the state a monopoly on television broadcasting and limited censorship powers. The move cleared the way for the Sandinistas to buy a television station.

This week, the Assembly will consider a law granting legal titles to thousands of individuals and Sandinista organizations now occupying property confiscated by the Sandinista government.

UNO officials have said they want to return houses and businesses to their original owners.

The Sandinistas and the opposition disagree as to whether the constitution would permit the incoming UNO-dominated Assembly to legally overturn the last-minute Sandinista legislation.

Such legal challenges will be difficult because the Sandinistas will control the Supreme Court at least until 1993.