DRAMATIC CHANGE IN NICARAGUA URGED BY ITS ENVOY TO U.S.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84B00049R000902260001-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 10, 2007
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: December 13, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN

Approved For Release 2007/09/10: CIA-RDP84B00049R000902260001-7
New York Times, Monday, December 13, 1982
`D p atic Change
In icarag eta Urge &
ByALAN RIDING
Special t,The NewYorkTixces
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Dec. 1.1 -
Nicaragua's Ambassador to Washinb
ton has called for a "dramatic change"
in the direction of the Sandinist Goverta-
meat, saying that it could ease its isola-
tion by improving relations with ne:ig i-
boring governments and by increasing
1 political freedom at home.
i The Ambassador, Francisco Fiallos
Navarro, made his comments in an in-
terview that local authorities here
banned from an opposition newspaper.
Circulation of photostatic copies of
th%interview among officials and oppo-
! sition leaders here immediately stirred
speculation that Mr. Fiallos had de-
cided to leave his post after less than a
year.
[Repeated efforts, *both by tele
I phone and through Nicaraguan offi-
cials, to reach Mr. Fiallos, who was
believed to be in the United States,
were unsuccessful this weekend. A
spokesman for the Nicaraguan Em-
bassy in Washington declined to com-
ment on the interview.]
In the interview, which was censored
out of Friday's issue of the daily La
Prensa, the largest circulation newspa-
per in Nicaragua, Mr. Fiallos also
sharply criticized "fanatical elements"
in the Sandinist movement as well as
the foreign policy of the Nicaraguan
Government and its "dreadful ban-
dling" of relations with the Roman
Catholic Church.
'Swing of Rudder' Urged
Referring to limitations on political
freedom inside Nicaragua, he said, "J.
believe that a substantial improvement
is necessary, even a dramatic change, a
sharp swing of the rudder in the conduct
of the revolutionary process."
Sources at La Prensa said that Mr.
Fiallos had provided written answers
for the interview, which was prepared
six weeks ago with the understanding
that it would be published after Dec. 8, a
religious holiday in Nicaragua. Before
the interview was banned, La Prensa
editors provided the local censor with
the original text, carrying Mr. Fiallos's
signature on every page, to prove its au-
thenticity.
La Prensa, which was a leading voice
against the Somoza regime that was
toppled by the Sandinist revolution, has 1
been a source of irritation for the cur- f tion is one of division and confronta-
tional Directorate, the country's top
ruling body. A 36-year-old lawyer, Mr.
Fiallos joined the Government soon
after the revolution, serving as Deputy
Foreign Minister and Ambassador to
Canada before being assigned to Wash-
ington.
In the interview, the Ambassador de-
scribed Nicaragua's relations with the
plaints of business and political opposi-
ton groups; The paper, which has a cir-
culation of around 70,000, has also
adopted some pro-United States, anti-
Soviet positions on international issues
and campaigned openly on its editorial
page against Marxism-Leninism and
totalitarianism.
Mr. Fiallos's predecessor as Ambxg
sador, Arturo Cruz, resigned late in
1981, expressing disillusionment with
the Sandinists, who took power in Nica-
ragua in July 1979.
`Difficult' Relations With U.S.
Well-placed officials here said that
while Mr. Fiallos was close to the For-
eign Minister, the Rev. Miguel d'Escoto
Brockman, he did not enjoy the confi.
dence of the nine-member Sandinist Na-
Reagan Administration as "difficult,) decision.
extremely difficult, with little probabil-( "9To follow a "genuinely nonaligned"
ity of improving in the foreseeable fu-
ture." Referring to American support
for anti-Sandinist rebels based in Hon-
duras, he warned that the Reagan Ad-
ministration was pushing other Central
American countries toward a "confron-
.tation" with Nicaragua.
But he said that "if the internal situa-
tion" in Nicaragua, "it will be very dif-
ficult to overcome the difficulties in the
international field."
"I think a vicious circle exists," he
went on. "On the one hand, it is said
that a tough stance is necessary to neu-
tralize the effects of the harassment. On
the other hand, strong measures
strengthen those who are harassing. It
'Ts necessary to break out of this circle.
The Popular Sandinist Revolution is
strong enough to do so. Contrary to
what some radicals believe, some
measures of relaxation and detente
would strengthen the Government."
Most of the interview was dedicated
to analyzing the domestic situation here
and to urging the Sandinists to take "un-
avoidable and unpostponable" meas-
ures, among them:
9To revoke the Emergency Law,
"especially some measures that have
caused great harm to the revolution,
such as press-censorship.,'.
9To call "free, just and honest elec-
tions" since "every attempt to suffo-
cate or frustrate the will" of the people
"disguises tyrannical intentions that
should be combated directly and wish
foreign policy instead of taking sides in
the struggle of the superpowers.
41To recognize the prominent role of
.the church in the "conscience" of the
Nicaraguan people, even though "en-
trenched Marxist-Leninist ideologues
and even less Stalinists" would find that
impossible to understand.
Approved For Release 2007/09/10: CIA-RDP84B00049R000902260001-7
By Its Envoy to . S.