Contra Leaders Go to Managua for Talks

Leaders of Nicaragua’s rebels arrived in Managua on Wednesday to offer a new peace proposal before their truce with the Sandinista government expires.

The proposal calls for sweeping political changes that the government has rejected in the past. Rebel spokesmen said they include election of an assembly to rewrite the constitution and steps to limit the ruling Sandinista party’s control of the army.

The longstanding government position, repeated this week by President Daniel Ortega, is that Contra leaders can make such demands as civilian politicians after they sign an armistice and their 12,000 troops begin disarming.

Insisting on Linkage

Contra leaders are now offering to disarm their U.S.-backed forces starting Sept. 1. But they insist that the timetable be linked to government compliance with their demands, which aim to break the Sandinistas’ firm grip on the state.

This is the third round of high-level talks between the two sides since March 23, when they signed a preliminary accord to end six years of war. This round, scheduled to end Friday, promises to be the most suspenseful because the truce agreement barring offensive operations by either side expires next Tuesday.

The government this week announced a unilateral extention of its truce commitment until June 30 to allow more time for negotiations, but the rebels have not reciprocated.

Part of Overall Accord

“What we’re seeing is another act of political propaganda by Ortega to delay a meaningful democratic process,” Contra spokesman Bosco Matamoros said. “The truce must be part of an overall agreement.”

An indication that the Contras intend to resume fighting next month is the inclusion of their senior military commander, Enrique Bermudez, in the negotiations for the first time.

The five-member Contra directorate traveled to Washington on Tuesday to seek backing for their proposal with Secretary of State George P. Shultz and House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.).

Sandinista officials believe the rebel strategy is to make demands that the government cannot possibly accept, then resume the war in the hope of achieving a renewal of the U.S. military aid that was cut off in February.

Since the preliminary peace accord, the Contras have been severely hampered by an internal power struggle and their inability to negotiate a follow-up agreement allowing non-lethal U.S. aid to reach their troops inside Nicaragua.

As a result, at least 4,000 rebel troops have retreated to base camps in Honduras to be fed and re-equipped--a dislocation that will make it harder to resume the fighting.