Word: ortega
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...diplomatic maneuvers looked a bit flat-footed, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra seemed to execute several deft pirouettes. He announced that three exiled priests could return to Nicaragua and hinted that the Roman Catholic Church's radio station might be reopened within 90 days. Some Central American officials speculated that Ortega was merely trying to embarrass the Reagan Administration; others argued that with Nicaragua's economy a shambles, Ortega was genuinely bent on procuring peace. Whatever the case, on the public relations front, conceded a U.S. official, "the Sandinistas have certainly done much better than we have...
...together with Castro may have revived doubts about Ortega's status as an independent decision maker, but it was far friendlier than a session in Washington on the same subject. When Ronald Reagan met with more than a dozen conservative supporters to discuss his tentative support of the Guatemala plan, as well as his sponsorship of a rival accord hammered out with Democratic House Speaker Jim Wright, his guests angrily denounced both pacts. They argued that either one of them would destroy the U.S.-backed contras who are fighting to overthrow Ortega's Sandinista government. Said Howard Phillips, chairman...
Arias is already pushing Ortega in that direction. He publicly called on the Nicaraguan leader to lift the five-year-old state of emergency and restore civil liberties by the Nov. 7 deadline. But Ortega made no promises, saying the reopening of the opposition newspaper La Prensa, which was closed by the government more than a year ago, and the Roman Catholic radio station Radio Catolico, is "an option of ours...
...Ortega seems eager, however, to give at least the appearance of cooperation. He quickly formed the Nicaraguan version of the "national reconciliation commission" that each country must set up to monitor compliance with the pact. He invited opposition political groups and Miguel Cardinal Obando y Bravo, the archbishop of Managua, to nominate candidates for the four-person panel. As a friendly gesture to Arias, Nicaragua dropped its lawsuit in the World Court charging Costa Rica with violating international law by harboring contras...
Perhaps. The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front showed little interest in the peace plan when it was first discussed in February, but the rebels were forced to pay closer attention when Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega joined Duarte in affixing his signature to the accord two weeks ago. Last week Duarte proposed that the rebels sit down with his government on Sept. 15 to discuss a cease-fire and amnesty. The rebels agreed to talk but not under the aegis of the Guatemala Plan...