From: donq@acs.bu.edu (Jose Otero)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Subject: UNITED STATES: MISSION TO INVESTIGATE NICARAGUAN GOVERNMENT
Date: 8 Sep 92 02:53:30 GMT
Organization: Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Originator: donq@acs.bu.edu



 UNITED STATES: MISSION TO INVESTIGATE NICARAGUAN GOVERNMENT


washington, sep 1 (ips) -- the us government will send a mission
to nicaragua to investigate charges that the government of
president violetta chamorro ''is controlled by terrorists
boucher announced tuesday.

''we're taking the issues in this report very seriously,''
said boucher, who disclosed some of the charges contained in a
report by the republican miniority in the senate's committee on
foreign affairs.

the report, compiled at the request of the leader of the
republican minority in the committee, jesse helms, criticized the
presence of sandinistas in chamorro's government.

it also slated the government for not taking action to return
property expropriated during the 1980s to their former owners,
which helms used to have washington suspend a 104 million us
dollar aid package to nicaragua in may.

the suspension of the aid, which had been approved for 1992,
was criticized by other congressmen, including republicans in the
foreign affairs committee.

boucher defended chamorro's record in office, insisting that
the president had made ''considerable progress in two years of
democratic government.''

in addition to ending the war, her tenure has meant that ''the
press is no longer censored, hyperinfation has been eliminated,
private banks have opened, rationing is no longer necessary,
arrears with international financial institutions have been
cleared, and new businesses are opening,'' he said.

recalling that helms' objections to the u.s. aid programme had
thus far held up 100 million dollars in balance-of-payments
support and four million dollars in project funds, he disclosed
that washington had committed 614.3 million dollars in aid to
nicaragua since 1990.

boucher said the u.s. administration ''will continue to
consult with the congress'' and the nicaraguan government about
u.s. aid plans.

members of the nicaraguan embassy in washington also
criticized the report, which they said was fallacious and they
pointed out that the general accounting office, the investigative
arm of the u.s. congress, had recognized  in another report that
efforts were being made to resolved problems listed in the
document.

nicaragua's ambassador in washington, ernesto palazio, said
the report was plagued by errors and systematically made
charges without identifying those supposedly responsible.
(more)
----


sources in the office of democratic senator christopher dodd
pointed out that the tone of the report could be attributed to
the fact that relations between helms' staff and the chamorro
government have been tense.

the study cliamed that, while chamorro is nicaragua's head of
state, the country is being run by defence minister humberto
ortega and the sandinista national liberation front (fsln),
which, it said, control the minister of the presidency, antonio
lacayo, chamorro's chief adviser.

it charged that lacayo became rich during the 1979-1990
sandinista administration and that he appointed relatives to top
public offices after he became minister in chamorro's government.

the report added that, since her election, chamorro had failed
to fulfill promises to remove the sandinistas from the police
force, army and the entire public sector, amend the constitution
so as to restore the rule of law, and return thousands of seized
properties.

the nicaraguan government has implemented a plan to study the
property claims and seek solutions for each case, but helms'
staff has feels this is not enough.

the report claimed that there was a secret campaign to
assassinate former members of the nicaraguan resistance
(contras), an armed group financed by the u.s. that had opposed
the fsln government and which has since been disbanded.

it also said that human rights abuses and corruption have
become uncontrollable.

with respect to the alleged persecution of former contras,
boucher said ''respected nicaraguan human rights organisations
have reported over 100 former members of the nicaraguan
resistance have been victims of politically motivated killings''
since chamorro came to power.

''we are aware of no individual arrests or prosecutions of
these cases,'' which gives ''the appearance that the murderers
enjoy impunity for political crimes,'' he said, adding that
''this situation is completely unacceptable.''

the republican report also alleged that ''according to secret
sandinista documents in our custody, nicaragua is the most
militarized country in latin america, outside of cuba. the
sandinista popular army is the largest military force in central
america, and has the most sophisticated weapons system.''
(end/ips/trd/so/mas-cs/kb/92)
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america