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Subject: NY Nica News Update #130, 7/26/92
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/** reg.nicaragua: 101.0 **/
** Topic: Weekly News Update #130, 7/26/92 **
** Written  7:13 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

     NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY NETWORK OF GREATER NEW YORK
   339 LAFAYETTE ST., NEW YORK, NY 10012 [phone]
           WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE #130, 7/26/92

In This Issue: (articles are posted as responses to this message)

 1. Nicaraguan Students, Bus Drivers & Laid-Off Soldiers Protest
 2. Army Chief Defends Repression in Nicaragua
 3. Nicaraguan Army Saves Turtles
 4. Nicaraguan Corruption Scandal: Look Who's Pointing Fingers
 5. US Ambassador Investigated for Nicaragua Aid Corruption
 6. Sandinistas Celebrate July 19 in Nicaragua
 7. Nicaragua: Cholera, Cuba, Harvard, Mining, Fr. & Sp. Aid
 8. Contra Candidates Dominate US Presidential Race
 9. Commissions Begin Studying Human Rights Abuses in El Salvador
10. UN Observer Mission Chief Accused of Favoring Government
11. Free Trade Agreement Advances: "The Americans Are Bastards"
12. Contragate: Will the Big Boys Get Indicted?
13. US Presence, Pressures Cause Tension in Bolivia
14. Three Presidents Absent From Madrid Summit
15. US Out of North America!
16. In Other News: Puerto Rico, Argentina, Guatemala, & Ecuador
17. 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>.

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.1 **/
** Written  7:13 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

1. NICARAGUAN STUDENTS, BUS DRIVERS & LAID-OFF SOLDIERS PROTEST
On July 16, the army announced that as part of an ongoing
military reduction plan, 2,000 army officers would be retired,
bringing the total number of officers and troops down to 18,500.
Depending on length of service, the officers would receive 35-48
months of severance pay (in one six-month lump sum with the rest
paid monthly), two years of free medical care and six months of
benefits at the army supermarket with the option to purchase
there indefinitely. On July 20, hundreds of newly retired
officers marched to the presidential offices to demand 60 months
severance pay in one lump sum and urban or rural land titles. The
officers joined bus drivers of the state-run ENABUS--on strike to
protest a new competing private bus route and demand new bus
parts, among other things--at a protest near the Transport and
Construction Ministry. Clashes with anti-riot police led to
violence, and several civilians and police were wounded, some
seriously. The streets were blocked with 250 buses; university
students also joined in the protests. (University students and
faculty have been protesting to demand that a larger share of the
national budget go for higher education. Their marches have been
militant: they burn tires, block streets, and at one point they
even took over the National Palace to read a statement.)

On July 21, the protesting army officers took Vice Finance
Minister Leonel Rodriguez hostage for several hours, believing
his ministry had lots of money. Later that night, another clash
between the ex-soldiers and anti-riot police left seven police,
two former army officers, an ENABUS worker and a bystander with
gunshot or other wounds. In response, the government declared the
area a "zone of police operations" and ordered the army in to
provide backup. As an army contingent headed for the area, the
protesting officers decided to retreat to the area where the bus
strikers were staying; many spent the night in the nearby
baseball stadium. Former President and FSLN leader Daniel Ortega
made appeals for calm on the radio, and said he had called on
Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo to act as a mediator in the
disputes.

The next day, buses were back in operation after all-night
negotiations forced the government to agree to some of the
drivers' demands. And that evening, talks resumed between the
army and the retired officers. There were no further clashes.
[Central American Historical Institute #238, 7/16-22/92; Latin
America Data Base 7/24/92 from CAHI, Notimex, AFP, ACAN-EFE, AP]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.2 **/
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2. NICARAGUAN ARMY CHIEF DEFENDS REPRESSION
Army Chief (and Former FSLN National Directorate member) Gen.
Humberto Ortega responded to critics who say the army is growing
more repressive by warning, "We will not allow people to break
the law with impunity or undermine the country's stability." He
rejected claims that the army and police were being used by
rightwing forces to bring back Somoza-era repression, and
indirectly criticized his brother, Daniel Ortega, by condemning
political leaders who legitimize the use of force. Gen. Ortega
said all political sectors should make it "perfectly clear that
they condemn the use of violence," and that such methods should
never be "endorsed as acts of heroism." (Daniel Ortega had said
that the Sandinistas would take up arms if the rightwing managed
to gain control of the armed forces and the police.) "The army
and the police would be the first to take up arms to defend the
government of Violeta Chamorro and prevent the return of Somoza-
style rule in Nicaragua," asserted Gen. Ortega. "The armed forces
respond only to the constitution and the government."

Gen. Ortega added that if the Sandinistas had won the 1990
elections, the civil war would still be continuing. "With the
fall of the Socialist bloc, on which the Sandinistas largely
depended, there would have been no cooperation from anywhere, and
conditions would have been even more difficult," he said. "Right
now we probably wouldn't even be talking about getting paid for
work, but getting rice, beans and sugar in place of a salary."
[Inter Press Service 7/22/92; El Diario-La Prensa (NY) 7/23/92
from AFP; LADB 7/24/92 from CAHI, Notimex, AFP, ACAN-EFE, AP]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.3 **/
** Written  7:13 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

3. NICARAGUAN ARMY SAVES TURTLES
Nicaraguan army troops were sent on a milder mission last week to
protect endangered sea turtles at the Chacocente wildlife
reserve. The previous week, more than 500 people had invaded the
area and carried off at least a half million turtle eggs to sell.
The reserve covers 4,200 hectares, including an 800 meter stretch
of Pacific coastline. According to National Resources Institute
(IRENA) officials, there are only five sites in the Americas
where sea turtles lay their eggs, and two of them--Chacocente and
La For--are in Nicaragua. Chacocente was declared a wildlife
reserve by the Sandinista government in 1982; some 4,000 sea
turtles lay about five million eggs there between July and
January of each year. Turtles tagged in Nicaragua by IRENA have
been found as far north as Canada and as far south as Ecuador.
[ED-LP 7/26/92]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.4 **/
** Written  7:13 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

4. NICARAGUAN CORRUPTION SCANDAL: LOOK WHO'S POINTING FINGERS
On July 17, Comptroller General Guillermo Potoy formally
presented the results of his office's investigation of corruption
in the Chamorro administration. The 250 page report accuses
former Presidency Vice Minister Antonio Ibarra of diverting $1.06
million from the Fund for Assistance to the Socially Oppressed
(FASO), a government anti-poverty program set up with donations
from Denmark, France, Canada, Sweden and Spain, which was run
entirely out of Ibarra's office. Part of the diverted money was
allegedly used to bribe several National Assembly deputies to
vote with the FSLN against a bill sponsored by Assembly President
Alfredo Cesar. The report also accused Presidency Minister
Antonio Lacayo of responsibility "by action or by omission" and
of obstructing the investigation. Potoy ended his report by
saying that it would be up to Attorney General Guillermo Vargas
Sandino to decide whether to bring charges against the accused
individuals, but that Chamorro should "immediately suspend"
Lacayo. [LADB 7/24/92 from Notimex, AFP, ACAN-EFE]

Who are the players in this game? According to Latin America Data
Base news analyst William I. Robinson, "A few days after the
Sandinsta triumph in July 1979, Cesar and some of his associates,
among them, his "right-hand man," Guillermo Potoy, and Pedro
Joaquin Chamorro Barrios, formed the Social Democratic Party
(PSD).... When Cesar went into self-imposed exile in 1981 to join
the contra movement, he left Potoy in charge of the PSD. During
his years in the US-funded contra movement, Cesar became well-
connected in Washington.... When Cesar returned from exile in
1989 to help lead the UNO electoral campaign, he placed his bets
on forging a center-right coalition in Nicaragua as his own power
base. During the electoral process, Cesar and Potoy were put in
charge of the CIA's "Nicaraguan Exile Reintegration Program"
(NERP). The two used NERP funds to build their own base of
loyalists. Following the elections, Cesar had Potoy appointed to
the post of Comptroller General." [LADB 7/24/92]

Robinson also talks about Antonio Ibarra: "Although Nicaraguan by
birth, Ibarra left the country in the early 1970s and became a US
citizen. He worked closely during the 1980s with the Reagan
administration, and with such groups as the World Anti-Communist
League (WACL) and the Moonies in promoting the contra program. He
returned to Nicaragua during the 1989-1990 electoral campaign to
advise UNO, and reportedly acted as a conduit for CIA and other
clandestine US programs in coordination with Cesar's faction and
the NERP program. He fled for Miami when rumors of embezzlement
first surfaced last December." [LADB 7/24/92]

Nicaraguan dailies Barricada and La Prensa reported on July 17
that Ibarra had sent a letter to Potoy, notarized by the
Nicaraguan consul in Miami, retracting his various declarations
against Lacayo and saying he had been a victim of "pressures and
blackmail" by Octaviano Cesar and Alfredo Cesar's assistant
Carlos Siles. (National Assembly sources cited by pro-Sandinista
daily Barricada on July 16 claimed that Ibarra is in business in
Florida with Alfredo Cesar's brother Octaviano.) Siles is
secretary general of the PSD and Potoy is its president. In his
sworn statement, Ibarra asserted that Potoy and other PSD leaders
had offered to clear the charges against him if he would
implicate Lacayo directly in the scandal. Chamorro appointed
Ibarra to her cabinet at the recommendation of Cesar, who at the
time was a trusted member of her inner circle. [CAHI #238, 7/16-
22/92]

Lacayo and President Chamorro both made references to "confusion
of interest" between the PSD and the Comptroller's office. "The
investigation was assigned to the Comptroller and not the PSD,"
said Lacayo. [CAHI Memo #238 from Barricada] Twelve of the 14
parties affiliated with the UNO coalition issued a statement
saying that they support Potoy's report and asking that "all of
those responsible be sanctioned." Also, a group of 18 mayors from
central Nicaragua called for the "immediate removal" of both
Lacayo and army chief Gen. Humberto Ortega. Chamorro stressed
that she absolutely will not consider dismissing Lacayo. [LADB
7/24/92 from Notimex, AFP, ACAN-EFE]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.5 **/
** Written  7:14 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

5. US AMBASSADOR INVESTIGATED FOR NICARAGUA AID CORRUPTION
The confirmation process of US Ambassador-designate to Nicaragua
Joseph Sullivan has been paralyzed while the US Senate
investigates the reported misuse of $600,000 in US funds. The
money was given to the IPCE (the now-defunct Instituto de
Promocion y Capacitacion Social) in 1989-90 for the repatriation
of contra forces; the FSLN charged a year ago that the money was
in fact used to finance the personal campaigns of several former
contra leaders, including Assembly President Alfredo Cesar.
Sullivan was in the State Department at the time, overseeing the
funds for contra repatriation. [CAHI Memo #235, 6/25-7/1/92 from
Barricada]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.6 **/
** Written  7:14 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

6. SANDINISTAS CELEBRATE JULY 19 IN NICARAGUA
On July 19, to celebrate 13 years since the overthrow of the
Somoza dictatorship, the FSLN held commemorative marches and
rallies in Managua, Leon, Matagalpa, Rivas, Somoto, Ocotal and
Waslala, each headed by a different member of the FSLN National
Directorate. In Managua, an enthusiastic crowd of 45,000-50,000
went to the Plaza of the Revolution to hear Daniel Ortega,
National Workers Front leader Lucio Jimenez and others. [CAHI
#238, 7/16-22/92]

Also participating in the celebrations were attendees at the
third meeting of Latin American leftist political parties and
movements, which took place in Managua July 16-19. The
conference, known as the Sao Paulo Forum, sought to analyze "the
future of the left" and "alternatives for Latin American and
Caribbean development and integration." Participating
organizations included the FSLN, the FMLN of El Salvador,
Brazil's Workers Party (PT), Peru's United Left (IU), the
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), the Frente Amplio
(Broad Front) of Uruguay, Mexico's Party of the Democratic
Revolution (PRD) and the Cuban Communist Party. [LADB 7/24/92
from ACAN-EFE, AFP]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.7 **/
** Written  7:14 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

7. OTHER NICARAGUA NEWS
Cholera is on the rise in Nicaragua, with 73 new cases reported
in just nine days; a total 455 cases have been reported since
November, when the disease first appeared in the country. [ED-LP
7/24/92 from Notimex]... Health Minister Ernesto Salmeron said he
will meet with army chief Humberto Ortega to request EPS
assistance in transporting Nicaraguan patients to hospitals in
Cuba, since Cubana airlines recently cancelled its route between
Managua and Havana for economic reasons. [CAHI Memo #235, 6/25-
7/1/92 from Barricada]... With the FSLN National Directorate's
approval, Directorate member Luis Carrion will spend the next
year studying at Harvard. He called political struggle a long-
term process and said he would return soon to Nicaragua. [CAHI
#236, 7/2-8/92 from Barricada]... On July 24, the Nicaraguan
government signed an agreement with the Neptune Mining Co.,
settling the US company's claims to a mine nationalized by the
Sandinista government. According to the Foriegn Ministry, the
conclusion of the reimbursement process now leaves the government
free to privatize the mine. [ED-LP 7/26/92 from AP]... The
Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Cooperation reported on July 15
that the French government had approved a $12 million aid package
for Nicaragua, earmarked for material, equipment and personnel
training at the Berta Calderon women's hospital in Managua and
for spare parts and equipment for the national telecommunications
system. This is the first aid France has given Nicaragua since
Chamorro took office in April 1990. Between 1980 and 1990, French
aid to Nicaragua totaled about $21 million. [LADB 7/17/92 from
ACAN-EFE 7/15/92]... Spain's ambassador to Nicaragua said that--
unlike the US--the Spanish government is not conditioning its aid
to Nicaragua on the return of properties to Spanish citizens,
some 15 of whom have land claims currently being processed. [CAHI
Memo #235, 6/25-7/1/92]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.8 **/
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8. CONTRA CANDIDATES DOMINATE US PRESIDENTIAL RACE
With the disappearance of Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot from
the race, the number of pro-contra candidates in the 1992 US
presidential elections has fallen from four to three. Former Vice
President George Bush and former Senator Dan Quayle (R-IN) were
prominent contra supporters during the Reagan era. A less
prominent contra backer was Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, who
sent the Arkansas National Guard to Honduras for "training
exercises" at the height of the contra war. Although the Clinton
campaign says the governor opposed the federally mandated use of
the National Guard, in 1988 his office issued the "Arkansas
Traveler" citation to contra leaders Adolfo and Mario Calero and
to contra fundraiser Gen. John Singlaub. There are also
suspicions that the contras used an airstrip in Mena, Arkansas,
for drug running and that in 1988 the governor's office sabotaged
criminal investigations into activities at the airstrip.
Investigative reporter Frank Snepp writes that "nothing could so
imperil Clinton's fragile political image as the enduring mystery
of Mena." [Village Voice 4/14/92] Of the four candidates, only
Senator Al Gore (D-TN) opposed the contra war. Although he seems
to have taken no leadership role in the opposition, he repeatedly
voted with his party's majority against contra aid in the Reagan
years, and in 1985 even supported a minority resolution opposing
the trade embargo against Nicaragua. [Congressional Quarterly
Almanac 1985-89]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.9 **/
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9. COMMISSIONS BEGIN STUDYING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN EL SALVADOR
Three members of the Ad-Hoc Commission, which is responsible for
investigating corruption and human rights abuses by the
Salvadoran armed forces, traveled to the US on July 4 to collect
information from the State Department, Congress and the CIA. The
Commission returned July 12, giving no details but calling the
trip fruitful. [El Salvador Information Office (ESIO) Radio News
7/13/92] Meanwhile, the Truth Commission--a separate body
responsible for investigating high-profile human rights cases--
was officially established by United Nations Secretary General
Boutros Boutros Ghali on July 13. [IPS 7/14/92]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.10 **/
** Written  7:14 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

10. UN OBSERVER MISSION CHIEF ACCUSED OF FAVORING GOVERNMENT
On July 9, a former member of the United Nations Observer Mission
in El Salvador (ONUSAL) accused the international organization's
chief, the Pakistani Iqbal Riza, of favoring impunity of the
Salvadoran military and submitting to pressures from military
leaders. In a note sent to UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros
Ghali, German lawyer Reinhard Hecker said Riza imposed his rules
of the game, which were not allowed to enter into contradiction
with government institutions, keeping ONUSAL's profile low in the
investigations of the most important human rights violations.
[ED-LP 7/10/92 from AFP]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.11 **/
** Written  7:14 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

11. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT ADVANCES: "THE AMERICANS ARE BASTARDS"
Canada, Mexico and the US started two days of talks in Mexico
City July 25 aimed at bringing the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) closer to completion. [New York Times 7/26/92]
The governments expect to have the deal signed and approved by
their legislatures some time in early 1993, after the US
elections. A major breakthrough came earlier this month when
Mexico and the US had reached an agreement on banking, insurance
and securities regulations.  US banks would be allowed to own up
to 8% of capital in the Mexican banking system while US
securities companies would be able to own 10% of Mexican
securities and investment banking capital.  US banks also won the
right to own insurance and securities companies in Mexico--an
expansion of the banking system which the banks have generally
been unable to win at home.  [NYT 7/14/92]

The Times reports that thousands of NAFTA documents have been
kept classified and that the talks have had "the secrecy and
security once reserved for wartime operations." The security
comes from "fear that public debate would limit the ability of
each country to compromise and strike the best deal possible."
But some points of agreement have been made public.  US
advertising agencies would be allowed to do business in Mexico
without opening local offices and hiring local workers; corporate
executives and some professionals--but not ordinary workers--
would have virtually unlimited freedom to work and live in any of
the three countries; any NAFTA country could challenge any other
NAFTA country's food safety standards. [NYT 7/20/92]  (On July 14
Vilore Foods Co. of Texas had to recall some types of Jumex brand
fruit juice, canned by Empacadora de Frutas y Jugos of Mexico,
because "they may contain high levels of lead, which could result
in permanent, severe injury if consumed.") [Vilore Foods Press
Release 7/14/92]

NAFTA seems to be particularly unpopular in Canada, which has had
a separate free trade pact with the US since 1989.  Polls show
64% against the new pact and 66% opposing the old one.  Simon
Reisman, who headed Canada's trade negotiating team in the late
1980s, says: "The Americans are bastards. They're behaving like
real thugs these days in protecting their interests." [NYT
7/22/92]

Meanwhile, Brazil and its creditor banks announced a debt relief
agreement July 9 to help reduce Brazil's $44 billion foreign
debt. The plan would allow various options, including lower rates
on longterm loans and the outright reduction of loan principle by
as much as 35%. US banks with the greatest exposure are Citicorp
($1.2 billion), Chemical ($737 million), Chase Manhattan ($557
million) and Bank of America ($500).  The plan is modeled on the
Brady Plan (named for Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady), which
was applied in Mexico in 1989. [NYT 7/10/92]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.12 **/
** Written  7:14 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

12. CONTRAGATE: WILL THE BIG BOYS GET INDICTED?
The Washington Post reports that Iran-contra special prosecutor
Lawrence Walsh will decide in the next 10 days whether to indict
several high Reagan administration officials, including ex-
Attorney General Edwin Meese, ex-Secretary of State George
Shultz, ex-White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan and even
Ronald Reagan himself. [7/26/92] Meanwhile, the prosecution in
the trial of former CIA official Clair George opened its case
July 24. The charges against George include lying to Congress in
late 1986 when he denied knowing that contra controller Max Gomez
was CIA agent Felix Rodriguez. (CIA employees considered this
such a joke that they made and wore buttons asking "Who is Max
Gomez?") [NYT 7/25/92]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.13 **/
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13. US PRESENCE, PRESSURES CAUSE TENSION IN BOLIVIA
Anti-US sentiment--already strong in Bolivia--increased on July
12 when US anti-drug agent Bryan Donaldson shot and injured
Bolivian Angel Rojas Suarez for no clear reason. Donaldson was
detained for only two hours before being freed and sent back to
the US by his embassy. [IPS 7/15/92] Causing further tension was
the July 10 extradition to the US of Bolivian Beatriz Asunta Roca
Suarez, the sister of drug trafficker Jorge Roca Suarez, who is
currently facing trial in the US. The Bolivian Supreme Court
refused to extradite their mother, Blanca Suarez Gomez, though
she faces the same charges as her daughter. The court's decisions
were made July 1, nearly a year after the US first requested
extradition of the two. [ED-LP 7/12/92 from AP] Correction: A
source was inadvertently omitted from Item #12 ("US Planning
Military Base in Bolivia?") in Update #129. The source was Inter
Press Service 7/15/92.

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.14 **/
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14. THREE PRESIDENTS ABSENT FROM MADRID SUMMIT
While most of the heads of Spanish and Portugese-speaking nations
met in Madrid for the Iberian-American summit, three were not in
attendance. Colombian President Cesar Gaviria decided to stay
home after top Medellin cartel leader Pablo Escobar made a
spectacular escape from prison. The Venezuelan Senate refused to
grant permission for President Carlos Andres Perez to leave the
country, insisting that he was needed for urgent legislative
matters. And Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori cancelled his
trip in the midst of a wave of bombings and an armed strike by
Sendero Luminoso guerrillas in Lima. [ED-LP 7/24/92 from AP]
Fujimori is busy discussing with military chiefs possible
measures to stem the rebel violence, including imposing the death
penalty. [ED-LP 7/26/92 from AFP]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.15 **/
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15. US OUT OF NORTH AMERICA!
Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) is promoting a plan to increase military
presence in US inner cities. His proposal, to be offered to the
Pentagon as early as late July, calls on the military to provide
training and social services "where the voids [are] and where
military training requirements might meet local needs," Nunn
said; he cited the April-May events in Los Angeles as showing the
importance of such a plan. [NYT 6/24/92] The Bush administration
is already promoting its own domestic project, Operation Weed and
Seed. The Washington state American Civil Liberties Union has
denounced Weed and Seed as "one more overblown weapon in the
federal government's discriminatory and ineffective 'War on
Drugs.'" The plan uses street sweeps of alleged criminals, which
the ACLU says would transform "our neighborhoods into virtual
martial law zones," and community policing, which ACLU calls "a
federal paramilitary operation in our inner city." [ACLU Letter
3/26/92]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.16 **/
** Written  7:14 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

16. IN OTHER NEWS...
About half of the 11,000 inmates in Puerto Rico's prisons have
been holding a sit-down strike in 12 prisons since July 20 to
protest harassment by penal authorities. The prisoners are
refusing to do their daily chores; the corrections authorities
say the situation is under control. [ED-LP 7/22/92]... The
Defense Minister of Argentina began final talks in Washington
last week to buy 44 used Skyhawk fighters. [World Perspectives
from Spanish Radio 7/10/92]... Indigenous leader Rigoberta Menchu
was greeted by a crowd of more than a thousand supporters when
she arrived in her native Guatemala on July 11 for a visit after
10 years in exile. Menchu, who has been nominated for the Nobel
peace prize, met with indigenous organizations and government
officials during her trip. [ED-LP 7/13/92 from AFP; Cerigua
Weekly Briefs 7/5-11/92]... Ecuadoran president-elect Sixto
Duran-Ballen is in Washington, where he is to meet with US
President George Bush on July 28 to discuss the anti-drug war and
US aid, among other topics. Duran Ballen will take office Aug.
10; for his cabinet he has chosen Roberto Dunn Barreiro as
Interior Minister, the same post Dunn held in the government of
populist Jaime Roldos, who defeated Duran-Ballen in a
presidential runoff in 1978. The new president's campaign chief,
Diego Paredes, will be his foreign minister. [ED-LP 7/7/92 and
7/12/92 from AP, 7/22/92 from AFP]

** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **

/** reg.nicaragua: 101.17 **/
** Written  7:14 am  Jul 27, 1992 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua **

17. 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.

7/30 THU, 7 PM - Grupo del Apoyo Peruano, which opposes Peru's
President Fujimori and the insurgent PCP or Sendero Luminoso, is
having an organizational meeting for new members. Int'l Affairs
Bldg, Columbia Univ., 420 W 188th St Room 802.

7/31 FRI, 7 PM - "For the Liberty of Political Prisoners of the
American Continent!" Music, performances, videos, speakers. $5
donation. Local 1199, 310 W 43rd St.

8/6 THU, 7 PM - State Power and Human Rights in Thailand with Dr.
Sulak Sivaraksa, speaker. Washington Sq Church, 135 W 4th St.
Call 2121-741-1672.
** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua **