Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 26, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 8 Winnipeg free november 1981 sandinista now intolerant by Christopher Dickey Washington Post Nicaragua shadows of totalitarianism lie across falling on the mock legislative Council of on the factory and the country they appear in the mechanical intolerance of the party True and in their at tempts to regiment and even militarize but the while Felt and resented by the people Are not yet the dissent is discouraged and increasingly persecuted but it is still Juite alive and it runs through the whole fabric of nicaraguan while opposition politicians and businessmen hit the government on Broad questions of political private Enterprise and soviet bloc people in Managua Barrios and in Rural towns like this one focus on but to them More Basic jealousy and hatred there is a lot of a lot of that whats hurting said the owner of a Little grocery Here As she fed her pet and were being Hurt by the the followers who do no work any More but interfere with everyone else frustration that life has changed so Little after so Many Hopes were raised by the insurrection More than two years irritation with the trials of daily existence in a country that is poorer than Ever because of the the depredations of the so Moza dynasty before it and the mismanagement Are the most common sentiments real the kind that existed under Somoza and still exists under Many brutal latin dictator or the kind of deep suspicion and Reserve that permeates communist countries where the state controls every aspect of life with a ration card and an Iron hand that kind of fear is not yet firmly established in Many people were surprised last month when an open letter from the Superior Council of private Enterprise criticizing militant remarks by Junta coordinator Daniel soviet bloc influence and economic chaos resulted in the jailing of those who signed we Are not used to living in this kind of said business Leader William the arrests further depleted much needed support for the sandinista in Western Europe and the democratic countries of latin there is a sense among critics of the regime Here that the future of the nation May depend on discussions about the release of the businessmen As Well As a parallel Effort to begin a dialogue among political the sandinista front is in a difficult situation with the a very difficult situation with the private sector and then they Are in conflict with the political said then you add to that the relations with the United states at their lowest Point Ever and if you look at it this Way this is the worst crisis since the revolt opposed to talking several of the minority political parties do still exist Here Are trying to Foster a National consensus through but the sandinista Are reluctant to participate because they think they cant come out of the encounter opposition Leader Edgar Macias major opposition parties such As the conservative democrats have also refused to the business leaders Are threatening a but As one put it the private sector is its but we Are not taking crazy or emotional not the least of the motives for restraint is fear of or other outside intervention Here if the internal turmoil gets out of these Are problems we have to solve As otherwise somebody is going to solve them for Baez but it is this same fear of out Side added to in creasing worries that powerful forces within the country Are beyond their that contrib utes to the sandinistas1 increasingly Stern measures against in an attempt to explain Why the House of former Junta member Alfonso now one of the regimes sharpest was at tacked by a nicaraguan for eign minister Miguel Descoto said when you play with revolution and when for All practical purposes you Supply the propaganda weapons that the declared ene Mies of the revolution abroad Are looking for in order to attack the revolution you cannot be surprised that you raise the same Type of ire that we recently witnessed against Somoza and his our people can be were trying to keep the people in line but there is a Point at which things get out of uncontrolled forces some sandinista officials say privately it is just such erratic and Only partially controlled forces on the fringes of their own rank that most disturb the sandinista Lead even the pro government news paper Nuevo Diario has begun denouncing the excesses of the sandinista defence modelled on similar institutions in have begun turn ing vigilance into vigilante a gossip into political denunciation and organization into Petty such talk is usually couched in terms of Central intelligence Agency destabilization both Nievo Diario and the official newspaper barricade denounced recently what they called a conspiracy to assassinate archbishop Miguel Obando y a fre quent and tremendously influential critic of the Al though the archbishop is the focus of vehement denunciations by the sandinista Radical fringe and even of attacks against his property by the plot was described As the work of counterrevolution after several alleged Cia opera Tives at the embassy Here were named in the press earlier this the families of several of them left the country to avoid the risk of mob Accord ing to officials the denunciations came within a week after a visit to Nicaragua by former Cia operative Phillip known for his efforts to expose Intelli gence and included Bio graphical information about the alleged agents that officials believe must have been supplied by the nicaraguan the sandinista Are openly cracking Down on the Ultra Radical even As the business leaders were being jailed last month the sandinista were rounding up members of the communist including its Eli we Are in permanent Confron tation with Altamirano said asked at a face the people meeting about communist strikes that shut Down even government owned factories Ortega went so far As to say that because of the sandinista Good strikes have no reason to be in our at the foundation of much of the discontent Here the open motive for Many of the Sandinia tas sternest actions to stifle it is the disastrous condition of the according to various Nicaragua will need to find million Over and above its currently predicted Export earnings and foreign Aid receipts just to maintain the nation at its current near subsistence level of economic activity next Nicaragua faced a similar crisis last Only to be bailed out by Mexico and but with All Aid now Cut increasing pressure by Washington to curtail assistance from multilateral lend ing and both mexi co and Libya unlikely for internal reasons to repeat this years res the situation is most nicaraguans appear to agree that National Unity is needed to confront the but there is a Strong tendency among the sandinista to try for Unity through regimentation rather than demo cratic in addition to the phenomenal buildup in the regular army and there Are the defence the sandinista the party unions and syndicates and guilds reach ing into every walk of nicaraguans Are not easily regimented and voluntary membership in these organizations Falls far Short of sandinista but they keep Caribbean Basin plan stuck on the Slipway by John Best special to the free press Ottawa four nation at tack on the economic problems of the Caribbean urea and Central proposed with some fan fare by the United states last is having trouble getting external affairs minister Mark Macguigan was to meet about now with Secretary of Stute Alex Ander Haig and the foreign minis ters of Venezuela and Mexico to get the venture the meeting has not materialized and Macguigan says he does not see it taking place before the end of the year at the the whole project appears to be somewhat less promising than at the Macguigan said in an it is not Central to our Canadas poli the four foreign ministers Mut in in july to Lay the groundwork for the pro posed Caribbean Basin develop ment they issued a statement at that time saying they believed there were significant advantages to an economic and social develop ment approach to problems of that without military considerations or political the phraseology owed some thing to fears entertained by the other three participants that the americans viewed the first broached by the state department Only two months ear As essentially a weapon to fight the spread of communism in the Western at any rate the ministerial four planned to meet again this fall to move the project after their officials had Given it More study and elaborated its objectives and Macguigan said in the interview that Canada had been willing to participate in a multilateral Caribbean Basin program in the Hope that the United states would assume greater responsibility in that Canada already has a Largo Aid program under Way for the Commonwealth very slow Pace Macguigan said we had hoped to see a Large increase in american development Assis american investments in he and the opening of some of these things have been occurring but the Pace is very other Ottawa sources said that Canada has been cautioning the United states against calling a second ministerial meeting until the americans themselves have something Concrete to put on the if you get them together youve got to produce said one Canadian officials see the Origi Nal american in As a device to help the Reagan administration wring commercial concessions out of the con Gress for the Caribbean Basin an informed source gave this account they told us frankly that they needed the cachet of other generous countries so they could Tell Canada is in there so Are Mexico and we the cant sit Back and do the purpose of the multilateral according to this offi was to help the americans get their own act Canada announced earlier this year that it will double its Commonwealth Caribbean Aid pro Gram to million in the next five Oil producing Mexico and Venezuela Are helping the Region through Oil Price the Reagan administration is said to be considering reduced tariffs on rum and Citrus fruits to help the this would encounter opposition in puerto a Caribbean Island Possession of the which also has a rum and from the Florida and California Citrus in the United states is also study ing other including a higher duty free allowance for tourists returning from the carib bean Basin Canadian from Macguigan remain sceptical but not without Hope that some thing will eventually come of the there have been reports that the americans will come up with some Concrete proposals in a few the multilateral if it Ever gets will be an extremely Loose knit arrangement with each contributing state doing its own thing while coordinating its Aid activities with the other it is not a its an said an external affairs the Model is mostly drawn from Cubas example As the direction is As one Middle level sandinista official presented the the Hope of Many revolutionaries Here was to Model their nation on the dreams of Augusto Cesar san who fought the occupation Force Here in the but Sandino dream basically Only went As far As the removal of the and provided Little guid Ance on How to maintain such a anti imperialist regime Given modern latin american the Only example that exists is Fidel castros and Castro was always ready to pro vide the nicaraguans with guid every said the it becomes More Clear that the nicaraguan revolution is not the child of Sandino but the child of the cuban pm sandinista succeeded in overthrowing Antonio Somoza but Are failing at running a Nan c Ollied to buy special gift for someone during our shopping spree dont miss this Chance for the Best Stock and x color at to v to y v 20 color Irak mtr ared Remote control r Cable ready tuning system 9 color Trak Ideal for Kitchen or bed take one Home for Fri 20 visa Ollied me 1 54o Pembina Hwy 4537o47 new location 15oo Regent 2243291 31 4o Portage 8895575 ;