From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: NY Nica News Update #146, 11/15/92
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 09:06:33 GMT

/** reg.nicaragua: 90.0 **/
** Topic: Weekly News Update #146, 11/15/92 **
** Written 11:17 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

     NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY NETWORK OF GREATER NEW YORK
   339 LAFAYETTE ST., NEW YORK, NY 10012 (212) 674-9499
       WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE #146, NOVEMBER 15, 1992
 
In This Issue: (articles are posted as responses to this message)
 
     1. "Traditional Friends" Funding Nicaragua Violence
     2. Nicaraguan Lottery Workers on Hunger Strike
     3. Nicaragua: Infant Mortality Rate Up
     4. Nicaragua Sells Arms to Ecuador
     5. Ballots Burn in More Mexican Electoral Strife
     6. Cuba: SELA Helps Nations in Trouble Over Torricelli 
     7. Foreign Businesses take Advantage of Investments in Cuba
     8. Silence is Golden: Will Bush Pardon Weinberger?
     9. Guatemala: Rigoberta Menchu Blocked from Peace Talks
    10. Haitians Expect No Miracles from Clinton
    11. British Prime Min. Linked to Shady Latin America Deals 
    12. US Pays Millions to Witnesses in Camarena Murder Case
    13. Anti-Castro Cuban Group Accuses Bush of Repression
    14. Some Peruvian Rebels Disarm
    15. Failed "Coup Attempt" in Peru
    16. Colombian Military Leadership Resigns
    17. Chilean Doctors Reach Agreement With Government
    18. In Other News: El Salvador, Panama, Paraguay, Argentina
    19. Upcoming Events in the New York City Area
 
These updates are published weekly. A one-year subscription is
$25. Back issues and source materials are available on request.
(Many of our source materials are available on Peacenet.) Feel
free to reproduce these updates or reprint any information from
them, but please credit us. We welcome your comments and ideas:
send them via Peacenet to <nicanetny>.
 
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** Written 11:17 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

1. "TRADITIONAL FRIENDS" FUNDING NICARAGUA VIOLENCE
A front-page article in the Washington Post on Nov. 15 focused on
the increase in armed attacks by former contras who have again
taken up their weapons. The article describes "scattered bands of
former guerrillas" in northern Nicaragua which it says are now
"coalescing into a unified force" against the government.
According to "combatants and observers," these new contras are
"drawing increasing popular support." 
 
The new group is the Northern Front-Commander 380, named for
contra leader Enrique Bermudez, whose code name was "Commander
380." Bermudez was assassinated in Managua in February 1991; his
murder has not yet been solved. The 380 Northern Front [see
Update #140 for first mention of this group, then called 380
Command] claims to have some 1,600 armed combatants, though some
observers put the number closer to 600. According to the Times
article, "most are highly trained former members of the contra
special forces." A "Commander Ali" is quoted as saying the group
has set up supply lines through Honduras and is receiving funds
from "traditional friends" in the US, Honduras and elsewhere. Ali
said the Front sent a delegation to Miami to seek support.
 
"These groups are obviously receiving some support," said
Presidency Minister Antonio Lacayo, "because often they have new
clothes, new communications equipment and certain facilities. But
we believe these groups are the ashes left from a fire that has
already burned out. They still retain some heat, but as time goes
on they will become extinguished." At their command center, the
group carried M-16, AK-47 and sniper rifles and displayed machine
guns and grenade launchers. Leaders said the group also has SA-7
and Redeye anti-aircraft missiles that can be used against
helicopters, the army's primary attack aircraft, though these
weapons were not shown to reporters. [Washington Post 11/15/92]
 
In late September army spokesperson Ricardo Wheelock minimized
the role of the 380 Command, but admitted that the rebels had
Redeye missiles, which made the army's objective of pursuing them
more complex. [Central American Historical Institute Memo #246,
9/24-30/92 from La Prensa and Barricada]
 
Santiago Murray, director of CIAV--the International Commission
of Support and Verification of the Organization of American
States (OAS)--is seeking to mediate the conflict and has taken a
list of contra demands to the government. Murray says both sides
have agreed to halt offensive actions until Nov. 25, while the
government decides if it will negotiate. Members of the group say
they are angry that the Sandinistas still retain power over the
military and that President Violeta Chamorro has compromised with
the Sandinistas. They are also angry about what they say are
targeted assassinations of former contras by Sandinistas. They
are seeking leadership positions in the army and police and
fulfillment of previous government promises to provide land and
credit. 
 
The Post article has no dateline, but is at least several days
old since it says the issue of supplies crossing the Honduran
border "will be raised this week in meetings between Honduran
military leaders and Gen. Humberto Ortega." An AP article from no
later than Nov. 13, published in the El Diario-La Prensa Nov. 15
edition, describes Ortega's arrival in Honduras in the past
tense. [Washington Post 11/15/92]
 
Gen. Ortega arrived on an official two-day visit to Honduras,
where he met with Honduran Armed Forces chief Luis Alonso Discua
Elvir, President Rafael Leonardo Callejas and other important
officials. Gen. Ortega warned that "political polarization is
increasing in some Nicaraguan sectors... and that is serious for
the country. For this reason it is indispensable to seek
practical solutions to the country's economic and political
problems."
 
"In Nicaragua there is a cult of war and arms," said Gen. Ortega,
"and if there is no way out of the serious political-social
situation, it could lead to a new violent and anarchic outbreak,
increasingly dangerous for the nation's stability." Ortega
mentioned that during the 1980s, there were around 70,000 armed
citizens in Nicaragua, but that so far in 1992, some 40,000 had
given up their weapons to the army, which destroyed them. [El
Diario-La Prensa (NY) 11/15/92 from AP]
 
Meanwhile, a tri-partite commission made up of the Nicaraguan
government, the Catholic church and the Organization of American
States (OAS) visited different regions of Nicaragua to
investigate sites where former contras and Sandinistas have been
assassinated. Deputy Foreign Minister Jose Pallais said the
government was committed to clarifying all of these violent
deaths. [La Jornada (Mexico) 11/8/92 from AP]
 
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** Written 11:17 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

2. NICARAGUAN LOTTERY WORKERS ON HUNGER STRIKE
The Commission for the Defense of Human Rights in Central America
(CODEHUCA) is calling for urgent action on the case of seven
women who work for the Nicaraguan Social Security and Welfare
Institute (INSSBI) selling national lottery tickets. The women--
five of whom are over 50 years old (one is 81)--are on a hunger
strike because INSSBI manager Simeon Rizo has not agreed to
ratify the collective agreement which recognizes their labor
rights and which has been extended yearly for the past 12 years.
All seven of the women have been working selling lottery tickets
for at least 15 years.
 
According to information from Dr. Vilma Nunez, president of the
Nicaraguan Human Rights Center (CENIDH), as of Nov. 10, after 10
days on hunger strike, the strikers' health condition was
serious. Red Cross doctor Fernando Gutierrez said the women were
vomiting blood and suffered from dizziness, gastritis, severe
headaches, blood-pressure problems and arthritic pains. On the
night of Nov. 9, one of the hunger strikers, Yadira Garcia
Aleman, was hospitalized for ulcer complications. She returned to
the strike the next day, turning down the petitions of her
colleagues to put an end to her actions. The latest news from
CENIDH is that she is in a coma. CODEHUCA and CENIDH consider
this case to be extremely urgent. 
 
Please send messages demanding immediate ratification of these
workers' collective agreement to: President Chamorro (fax
#627911); INSSBI Manager Rizo (fax: #40418); and Daniel Fonseca,
Secretary General of the Carlos Tenorio Union (fax #668405). (Fax
numbers are preceded by 011-505 when calling from the US.)
[CODEHUCA Alert 11/10/92 posted on NY Transfer]
 
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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

3. NICARAGUA: INFANT MORTALITY RATE UP
Infant mortality in Nicaragua is currently 71 per 1,000 live
births, as opposed to 51 during the Sandinista administration,
says Health Workers Union (FETSALUD) leader Gustavo Porras.
Porras says his union is worried about the lack of equipment and
medicines in Nicaraguan hospitals, as well as the low morale of
doctors and other health personnel. Diseases like cholera,
dengue, malaria and diarrhea are on the rise and the health
system is not prepared to deal with them effectively, added
Porras. [World Perspectives from Radio Havana Cuba 11/5/92]
 
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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

4. NICARAGUA SELLS ARMS TO ECUADOR
Ecuadoran Defense Minister Jose Gallardo confirmed that Ecuador
has purchased $2.5 million worth of weapons from Nicaragua to use
in its fight against drug trafficking.  Gallardo said that
Ecuador's economic crisis had prevented increasing its military
budget; he said the deal presented "an opportunity," since the
weapons were purchased at a quarter or a third of market prices.
He did not specify what type of weapons were purchased or whether
they were of US or Soviet origin. 
 
The arms sale was revealed after Nicaraguan legislator Adolfo
Jarquin, president of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs
committee, demanded on Nov. 11 a special investigation of eight
flights by an Ecuadoran military plane into Managua's Sandino
airport. In his announcement, Gallardo stressed that the military
flights were not only to pick up the weapons, but also to bring
visitors and supplies to a group of Ecuadoran officials who are
part of the UN mission in Nicaragua. 
 
For his part, Nicaraguan army chief Humberto Ortega explained
that with the reduction of the Popular Sandinista Army (EPS), a
large inventory of arms was left that could not be allowed to
depreciate in value. He said profits from the arms deal would
finance a pension fund for former soldiers, due to the lack of
foreign aid available for this purpose. Ortega stressed that this
sale--as well as the recent sale of a dozen helicopters to Peru
for $25 million--were legal sales authorized by the Nicaraguan
Presidency. [ED-LP 11/15/92 from AFP]
 
** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

5. BALLOTS BURN IN MORE MEXICAN ELECTORAL STRIFE
According to official figures, the Institutional Revolutionary
Party (PRI), which has ruled Mexico since 1929, was generally
victorious in state and local elections held Nov. 8 in Puebla,
Sinaloa and Tamaulipas. Preliminary figures showed only 30% of
registered voters casting ballots in Puebla, 40% in Tamaulipas,
and a similarly low figure in Sinaloa. The opposition parties
charged irregularities in all three states, but didn't dispute
the PRI victory in Puebla. [Inter Press Service 11/9/92]
 
In Tamaulipas, however, Jorge Cardenas Gonzales, gubernatorial
candidate for a coalition of the conservative National Action
Party (PAN) and the center-left Democratic Revolution Party
(PRD), said that the PRI had committed "the worst fraud" in
Mexico's history in declaring victory for its candidate, Manuel
Cavazos Lerma. Angry demonstrators attacked electoral council
offices in several towns and cities on Nov. 11, burning ballots
in some cases and occupying the offices in others. PRD
spokespeople denied that their militants had been involved, and
some observers suggest that the violence came from PRI supporters
angered by internal party disputes. [ED-LP 11/10/92, 11/13/92
from AP, 11/15/92 from AFP] A Gallup poll had given the PRI
candidate a wide lead in Tamaulipas before the vote, but PAN and
PRD activists had charged that the official rolls excluded 20% of
elegible voters. [La Jornada (Mexico) 11/8/92]
 
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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

6. CUBA: SELA HELPS NATIONS IN TROUBLE OVER TORRICELLI 
On Nov. 3, the Latin American Economic System (SELA), announced
that it is ready to help any member-state which may run into
trouble with the US over the Torricelli law, which extends the US
embargo against Havana to impose sanctions on countries that
trade with Cuba. SELA, which is based in Venezuela, has
established mechanisms of collective response to coercive
economic measures imposed by industrialized countries.
 
SELA Secretary-General Salvador Arriola said the Torricelli
restrictions are proof of Washington's "growing tendency to
ignore the basic principles of international law."  As another
example, Mexican-born Arriola noted that Washington's subsidized
sale of almost 30 million tons of wheat in the world market
"seriously distorts international trade and the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as the sale seriously affected wheat-
producing countries in the south, including Mexico and
Argentina." [IPS 11/3/92]
 
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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

7. FOREIGN BUSINESSES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF INVESTMENTS IN CUBA
"Cuba has begun opening to foreign investment which, in fact,
orients this country towards capitalism," according to Mexican
businessman Mauricio Fernandez. Fernandez and his partner, Danny
Tafich, recently concluded an agreement with the Cuban government
to create a joint textile company from 15 factories already
existing in Cuba. The factories employ 35,000 workers and are
worth $500 million; they will produce for both the Cuban and
export market, mainly in North and South America.
 
The Cuban state will have a 45% share in the new company; the
remaining 55% of the firm's capital will come from the Mexican
business partners. Once the business is established, the Mexican
partners, who expect to invest $6ll million, will have total
independence to select staff, fix prices, sign contracts with
national and foreign entities and define its accounting system
and financial policy.   
 
According to Fernandez, "the economic reform is headed by Carlos
Lage, the number three man in the Cuban hierarchy and is complete
and irreversible." Lage, who directs the economy of Cuba and was
recently appointed the Secretary of the Council of Ministers, is
one of the main promoters of mixed business enterprises. [IPS,
Nov. (date missing) posted on NY Transfer 11/9/92, EDLP 11/4/92
from EFE, posted on NY Transfer]  
 
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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

8. SILENCE IS GOLDEN: WILL BUSH PARDON WEINBERGER?
The White House is reportedly considering a presidential pardon
for Reagan Administration Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger,
who is to go on trial Jan. 5 on charges of lying to Congress
about his role in the Iran-contra scandal. Iran-contra special
prosecutor Lawrence Walsh indicted Weinberger earlier this year
when the former official refused to testify against other Reagan
administration officials--possibly George Bush and Ronald Reagan.
A presidential pardon would be widely viewed as a payoff for
Weinberger's silence. Two former CIA officials, Clair George and
Duane Clarridge, are also under indictment for Iran-contra
activities. Upon entering office, Bush resisted proposals to
pardon Lt. Col. Oliver North, Admiral John Poindexter and former
CIA station head Joe Fernandez. [WP 11/7/92; NYT 11/7/92,
11/8/92]
 
Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole (R-KS) got into the act on
Nov. 8 when he charged that the special prosecutor's office had
purposely aided the Democratic campaign by releasing damaging
information about George Bush five days before the elections.
(See Update #144) Four Republican senators are now asking for a
special prosecutor to investigate special prosecutor Walsh, who
is a Republican himself. [NYT 11/9/92, 11/10/92, 11/12/92; WP
11/11/92] Meanwhile, former Assistant Secretary of State Elliott
Abrams has written a book justifying his repeated lies to
Congress about the contra affair. Abrams, who was convicted of
lying to Congress through the efforts of Walsh's office, attacks
the whole special prosecutor system, which is due to expire Dec.
15. He complains that Walsh "didn't give a goddamn about people,
about families" when he prosecuted officials involved in arming
the contras and Iranian militants. [NYT 11/15/92]
 
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/** reg.nicaragua: 90.9 **/
** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

9. GUATEMALA: RIGOBERTA MENCHU BLOCKED FROM PEACE TALKS
Discussions continue in Guatemala over the issue of including
civilian participants in the peace talks under way between the
government and the country's rebel coalition. While negotiator
Bishop Rodolfo Quezada has suggested that recent Nobel Peace
Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu's participation in the peace talks
would be helpful, chief government negotiator Manuel Conde said
Oct. 21 that Menchu is not under consideration as one of the
civilians who may participate. Conde said that Menchu may work
for peace in Guatemala only if she puts aside her ideology;
Menchu responded that "my ideology is to defend people's rights
and lives. It would be impossible to renounce this." [Cerigua
Weekly Briefs 10/18-24/92]
 
Meanwhile, Menchu's relatives told Guatemalan daily Prensa Libre
on Nov. 7 that they are being threatened and accused in relation
to her supposed links to the guerrillas and have had to take
refuge in the mountains of El Quiche. [La Jornada 11/8/92 from
Cerigua, Enfoprensa, IPS] 
 
** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

10. HAITIANS EXPECT NO MIRACLES FROM CLINTON
US president-elect Bill Clinton used his first post-election news
conference to repeat his campaign pledge to reverse Bush
administration policies that force virtually all Haitian refugees
to return to their island without adequate opportunity to apply
for political asylum. "I'm not in a position now to tell you
exactly how we're going to do it," Clinton said, "or what the
specifics will be, but I can tell you I'm going to change the
policy." At the same time, he expressed agreement with the
current administration's insistence that "there is a legitimate
distinction between political and economic refugees." [WP
11/13/92]
 
Many observers both in the US and in Haiti remain unsure what the
new administration's policy will be in practice. Although most
Haitians on the island reportedly followed the US elections on
the radio and strongly favored Clinton, the consensus among
political forces in Port-au-Prince is that--in the words of
Arnold Antonin from the centrist Nationalist Progressive
Revolutionary Party (PANPRA)--"the election of Clinton will not
have a miraculous effect on the Haitian situation" brought on by
last year's military coup. Rightist Hubert de Ronceray of the
Mobilization for National Development (MDN) agrees: "Clinton is
not alone. He will have to obey certain restraints to which a
statesman has to submit. There are institutions." [Inter Press
Service 11/6/92] 
 
But unnamed "specialists" in Washington feel Haiti may give
Clinton his first major foreign policy test. They profess concern
that a new refugee policy might bring a flood of 200,000 to
500,000 Haitian boat people to Florida, many more than the
125,000 Cubans in the 1980 Mariel boatlift, which many feel
caused then President Jimmy Carter serious political harm. The
specialists suggest that Clinton must produce a quick solution
inside Haiti itself, possibly with a naval blockade or even with
a military intervention. [WP 11/12/92]
 
A food distribution scandal on the small Haitian island of La
Gonave gives some indication of what motivates Haitian refugees--
whether they are "political" or "economic." The local director of
Operation Lifeline, a US-sponsored project to feed 25,000
children, was caught selling the food to local merchants. The
local advisory board sent a member to the national office to
report the problem, but in the office he was met by a group of
ten men who threatened to cut off his head. The project's second-
in-command turns out to be a well-known Duvalierist, Joseph
Senat, who apparently had been directing the illegal sales. The
advisory board has in effect given up, saying: "It's the thieves
who have the food now, not the people." [Haiti Information
Bulletin #6 11/9/92]
 
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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

11. BRITISH PRIME MINISTER LINKED TO SHADY LATIN AMERICA DEALS 
The Oct. 25 London Observer charged that Conservative British
Prime Minister John Major made a secret deal with Colombia last
June to keep the European Community from barring the importation
of subsidized Colombian coal. The United Kingdom itself may
import 2.5 million tons of Colombian coal next year, at a time
when the country is dramatically cutting back its own coal
industry. A spokesperson for the prime minister denied the
allegations. [ED-LP 10/26/92 from EFE]
 
Another problem for John Major has been the revelation that in
the late 1980s the Conservative government approved the sale of
British machine tools to Iraqi weapons programs--specifically to
a project for the manufacture of proximity fuses by Chilean arms
manufacturer Carlos Cardoen, who built and maintained the
Najrawan site just south of Baghdad. [The Independent (UK)
11/13/92]
 
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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

12. US PAYS MILLIONS TO WITNESSES IN CAMARENA MURDER CASE
The US government has paid more than $2.7 million to witnesses in
its case against two Mexicans charged in the 1985 torture and
killing of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique
Camarena Salazar, the Los Angeles Times reported Nov. 8. Citing
government documents, the Times says some witnesses with criminal
records were also promised US residency or work permits in
exchange for testifying. One of the defendents, Dr. Humberto
Alvarez Machain, was abducted by the US government to face trial
here; when an appeals court ruled that his abduction was illegal
and his trial could not proceed, the case went to the Supreme
Court, which ruled on June 15 that the US could kidnap foreign
citizens from foreign soil to be tried in the US (see Update
#125). No trial date has been set for Alvarez and his co-
defendant, Ruben Zuno Arce. One of the witnesses, Rene Lopez
Romero, is being paid $3,000 a month, even though the US
government admits he was involved in the 1984 kidnapping and
murder of four US missionaries in Guadalajara. [New York Times
11/9/92 from Reuters]
 
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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

13. ANTI-CASTRO CUBAN GROUP ACCUSES BUSH OF REPRESSION
Commando L, a militant group of anti-Castro Cuban exiles based in
Miami, has accused George Bush's administration of repressing the
group's incursions into Cuba since Bush's defeat in the November
3 US elections. Tony Cuesta, the group's leader, accused Bush of
waiting until after the elections to bring charges against the
Cuban exile leaders. "As soon as the elections were over our best
men were arrested," said Cuesta. 
 
On Nov. 11, Commando L made a public appeal for $100,000 in
financial assistance to pay bail and a defense attorney for Tony
Bryant, described by AP as a former Black Panther Party member
who joined the Cuban exile group after having spent 11 years in a
Cuban prison. Bryant was arrested in the US on Nov. 9 for
allegedly illegally carrying arms during an incursion into Cuba
this past July. A federal investigator is also considering 
filing charges of violation of the Neutrality Law against others
involved in the same incursion. Bryant's lawyer, Ellis Rubin,
said he could not explain why the Bush administration was
cooperating with Fidel Castro, but said Cuba has handed over to
the US testimony from witnesses, photos and ballistic evidence
concerning an Oct. 7 attack against the Varadero beach hotel in
Cuba perpetrated by Commando L. (See Update #142) [ED-LP 11/12/92
from AP, posted on NY Transfer]
 
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/** reg.nicaragua: 90.14 **/
** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

14. SOME PERUVIAN REBELS DISARM
Although Peru's guerrilla groups are for the most part reacting
violently to government pressure, about 1400 rebels of the Tupac
Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) and the Communist Party of
Peru (known as Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path) have given up
their weapons, taking advantage of a law which benefits those who
disarm and inform on their former comrades. President Alberto
Fujimori also announced that benefits to those who surrender now
include reduced penalties, and that the referendum to approve the
death penalty for terrorists will be postponed to February. The
referendum had originally been scheduled to coincide with the
November elections for representatives to the constituent
assembly. The majority of political parties had rejected the idea
of having the referendum done with the elections because they
thought it was a government move to favor its candidates. [LJ
11/8/92 from Notimex, AFP, EFE, IPS, DPA, AP, Reuter]
 
On Nov. 9, the Peruvian army used helicopters to bomb what they
said was a major guerrilla camp of the MRTA in the Amazon jungle,
killing 30 people. With a speaker from a helicopter the army
asked the guerrillas to surrender or the bombing would be
resumed. The guerrilla camp had a school, a firing range, an
armory, and even a small jail. They also had planted food and
coca plants. The camp was found thanks to information from 17
MRTA guerrillas who had surrendered under the new government
program. [ED-LP 11/11/92 from AFP]
 
** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

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** Written 11:18 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

15. FAILED "COUP ATTEMPT" IN PERU
On Nov. 13, Peruvian President Fujimori put down a coup attempt
with about 2000 troops and a dozen tanks and affirmed that
"everything is calm." The government said the insurgents were led
by retired generals Jaime Salinas, Jose Pastor Rivera, Luis
Palomino Rodrigues, and Marcos Zarate Rota, all of whom were
arrested and will be put on trial inmediately. Zarate Rota was
under investigation for links to drug trafficking. There was no
information on the number of soldiers involved. Official reports
said the rebels' goal was to take control of the army and kill
the president. Fujimori spent the night at army headquarters. The
coup attempt coincided with the publication of a decree which
allows the president to retire officers early for "renovations."
According to the government the coup was an effort to stop the
election of the constituent assembly and install a regime similar
to that that existed before Fujimori assumed total power and
dissolved the congress last spring. [ED-LP 11/15/92 from AP]
 
The military's second-in-command, Gen. Jose Valdivia, has been
put under house arrest and 20 to 25 officers--retired or active--
have been captured. A New York Times article expressed skepticism
over how a handful of officers with no troops could have tried to
kill Fujimori and take over the army. [NYT 11/15/91 from Reuters]
 
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/** reg.nicaragua: 90.16 **/
** Written 11:19 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

16. COLOMBIAN MILITARY LEADERSHIP RESIGNS
A state of emergency was declared in Colombia on Nov. 8 after
long meetings between the national security council and council
of ministers, headed by President Cesar Gaviria. The state of
emergency will exist for 90 days during which time the government
will assume legislative powers and will dictate laws to stop the
country's ongoing violence. The special emergency state has
limits dictated by the constitution. Civil rights and human
rights cannot be suspended, military courts cannot try civilians
and the fight against the guerrillas and common criminals must
respect the international rules of human rights. [ED-LP 11/9/92
from AP]
 
On Nov. 12, President Gaviria accepted the resignation of the
commanders of all three branches of the military forces: army,
navy and air force. The officers did not explain their motives
for resigning. Gaviria assigned new officers to their posts. The
Defense Ministry said that the personnel changes are in line with
the dynamics of the armed forces and usually occur at the end of
the year. Some officers that resigned had been questioned
regarding the escape of drug lord Pablo Escobar, but the official
press release made no reference to the subject. [ED-LP 11/13/92
from AP]
 
** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 90.17 **/
** Written 11:19 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

17. CHILEAN DOCTORS REACH AGREEMENT WITH GOVERNMENT
On Nov. 1, after 35 days of confrontation that forced the Health
Minister to resign, a negotiation committee of some 900 Chilean
doctors who had threatened mass resignation reached a
"satisfactory and definitive" agreement with government
authorities. New Health Minister Julio Montt announced that
government funds will be designated for improving hospital
infrastructure, equipment, and working conditions. A final
agreement on a formula for salary increases is still pending.
Doctors had threatened to resign on Nov. 8 if an agreement was
not reached. [Chile Information Project (CHIP) News 11/2/92; ED-
LP 11/6/92 from Notimex]
 
** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 90.18 **/
** Written 11:19 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

18. In Other News
El Salvador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) decided that the
Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN) would not be
legalized as a political party until it disarms all its forces.
In a brief note, the TSE said the FMLN will gain political party
status 24 hours after it concludes total demobilization of the
40% of its forces which is still armed; the final disarmament is
scheduled for Dec. 15. [ED-LP 11/15/92 from AFP]... The trial in
a Federal damages suit against the US government and Colombia's
Avianca airline began in Brooklyn on Nov. 9. The suit has been
brought by survivors and relatives of victims of the crash of
Flight 052 near New York City on Jan. 25, 1990, when the plane
ran out of fuel. Avianca admits liability for negligence by the
crew, who were among the 73 to die in the crash, but the US
rejects any blame for federal air controllers, who kept Flight
052 jet in a holding pattern even after they knew about the fuel
emergency. [ED-LP 11/10/92]... US District Judge William Hoeveler
said on Nov. 13 that he will have to issue a ruling on whether
former Panamanian strongperson Manuel Antonio Noriega can be
forced to serve his 40-year drug trafficking sentence in a
federal penitentiary. Noriega argues that as a prisoner of war he
is subject to the Geneva Convention and must be confined to a US
military facility. Hoeveler indicated that he agreed, adding:
"This is a strange case. He may be the only POW the US has." [WP
11/14/92]... US residents in southern Arizona are reportedly
turning to Mexico's health care system because they can't afford
doctors and medicine in the US. A doctor in Nogales, Sonora,
reports that two out of ten of his patients are US residents,
while a study of one US border town shows 66% of the inhabitants
going to Mexico for health care. [National Public Radio, "All
Things Considered," 11/7/92]... In Paraguay, Gen. Emilio Bernal
has been named as the new Defense Minister, replacing Gen. Emilio
Souto, who will soon be designated ambassador to Spain, according
to government sources. [ED-LP 11/6/92]... In Argentina, the first
general strike since 1988 ended in what French News Agency AFP
called "a virtual draw, without winners or losers." The 24-hour
action on Nov. 9 was called by the country's main labor
federation, the CGT, to protest the Argentine government's harsh
economic plan but was "not against the government," says the CGT.
The union called the strike "very important," while President
Carlos Menem referred to it as "a total failure." [ED-LP 11/10/92
from AFP]
 
** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 90.19 **/
** Written 11:19 pm  Nov 15, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

19. UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE NEW YORK CITY AREA
For more information, call NSN at 212-674-9499. Events listed and
flyers enclosed are not necessarily endorsed by the Nicaragua
Solidarity Network.
 
WORK BRIGADE TO NICARAGUA, January 1993. Hard work, simple food,
rich rewards. Work side by side with Nicaraguan farmers on their
cooperative. Live with a family for three weeks, assist with
conservation, planting, and reforestation and experience the
beauty of Nicaragua. for information, call or write NICCA
(Nicaragua Center for Community Action), 2140 Shattuck Ave. Box
2063, Berkeley, CA 94704. (510) 428-2146.
 
11/17 TUE, 7 PM - Committee for Welcoming Rigoberta to New York,
presentation with Rigoberta Menchu Tum.  Riverside Church,
Manhattan. For info call 212-682-3633.
 
11/19 THU, 10 AM - All out to the city council vote, amnesty for
the Puerto Rican political prisoners and prisoners of war. City
Hall. Rally sponsored by Commitee for Puerto Rican Affirmation.
For info call 212-538-0988.
 
11/21 SAT, 7 PM - Tribute to Andres Figueroa Cordero. Speaker:
Prof. Fernando Ponce Laspina, Hostos College (Dept. of Latin
American History).  Political and cultural presentations,
including videos. Casa de las Americas, 104 West 14 Street.  For
info call 718-328-9281.
** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

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