Word: hondurans
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Given the bad feelings between Reagan and Ortega, easy concessions are not expected. "These people are in a war of propaganda," says a Honduran , official. "Neither side wants to be the one to give in." Still, the debate over bilateral or multilateral talks is more than mere posturing. The Sandinistas, who know that renewed bilateral talks will lend their regime prestige, argue that until the U.S. forthrightly announces its support for the Guatemala plan, it is not entitled to participate in regional negotiations. "Why should we let Reagan take part?" asks Nicaragua's Foreign Minister Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann...
Washington's position reflects the anxiety of its allies in the region. The leaders of El Salvador and Honduras, for example, fear that their concerns will be neglected if they are excluded from the negotiations. "We've been burned before," said a Honduran official, alluding to the Reagan-Wright plan, which was unveiled without consulting the allies. Last week State Department officials continued to insist publicly that any U.S. talks with Nicaragua must include the other Central American countries. But privately they said Shultz was pushing Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica to back bilateral talks...
That much was clear as the initial cease-fire deadline came and went last week without anyone proclaiming the plan a failure. During separate trips to / the U.S. last month, Ortega and Honduran President Jose Azcona Hoyo had warned that they would no longer feel bound by the accord if cease-fires, amnesties, cut-offs of foreign aid to rebels, and other goals were not achieved on schedule. Yet both men remained committed to the proposal, even as rebel violence continued in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The White House had planned to use the failed deadline to push...
...Honduran President Jose Azcona Hoyo's visit to Washington last week received especially close scrutiny. Of the accord's five signatories, Azcona is most mindful of the Reagan Administration's reservations about the plan. Two weeks ago, Azcona hinted strongly that if the Sandinistas fail to comply with all the requirements of the peace plan by the Nov. 5 cease-fire, he would no longer feel bound to abide by the accord. Last week, however, he encouraged President Reagan to withhold further military aid to the contras at least until January, when the five Presidents will evaluate the plan...
...Honduras has never given any support to the contras, but we do not have the financial resources to ensure that the use of Honduran soil by foreign insurgents is always prevented," Contreras said...