[TALKING POINTS -- WITH FDN FIGHTERS GOING INTO NICARAGUA, ITS POLITICAL SECTION WAS CHARGED WITH DEVELOPING A CODE OF CONDUCT AND TRAINING TO PREPARE THEIR MEN TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE]

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00269R001500230001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 14, 2006
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: October 25, 1984
• Content Type: PAPER

25 October 1984
Approved For Release 2006/12/15: CIA-RDP86B00269R001500230001-9
TALKING POINTS
-- With FDN fighters going into Nicaragua, its political section was
charged with developing a code of conduct and training to prepare their men
to deal with people in villages they might enter in a manner consistent with
FDN objectives.
greater social mobility.
-- A code of conduct for FDN fighters was prepared and printed in pocket
size so that each FDN fighter could carry it on his person.
-- It explained that the objective of the FDN is to develop a democratic
and pluralistic government in Nicaragua. It calls for a reconciliation of
the Nicaraguan family, the establishment of social justice and human rights,
the restoration of freedoms violated by the Sandinistas, economic reform and
-- The FDN wanted the lesson plans and lectures converted into a handbook
to be sent into Nicaragua for political guidance to men already there. The
manual, entitled Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare, was prepared
and 2,000 copies were printed in Honduras for dis- tr ribution by the FDN.
-- The manual was prepared by and addressed to people who had made the
fateful decision to engage in armed combat in order to resist oppression by
a totalitarian regime.
-- The manual states that its purpose is to assure that every combatant
will be "highly motivated to engage in propaganda face to face, to the same
degree that he is motivated to fight." The "individual political awareness,
the reason for his struggle, must be as acute as his capacity to fight."
-- It aims to make every FDN guerrilla "persuasive in face to face
communication--a propagandist-combatant--in his contact with the people; he
must be capable of giving 5 or 10 logical reasons why, for example, a peasant
must give him fabric, needle and thread to mend his clothes. When the guerrilla
behaves this way, enemy propaganda will never turn him into an enemy in the
eyes of the population."
-- It goes on to deal with developing political awareness,:. using group
dynamics, interaction with the people, "live, eat and work with the people,"
respect for human rights, teaching and civic action.
-- There is advice on the problems of any fighting force in handling
local opposition when it visits or occupies a community. It says "enemies
of the people, the Sandinista officials or agents, must not be mistreated in
spite of their criminal actions even though the guerrilla forces may have
suffered casualties." It tells how to protect both guerrillas and citizens
when a town is occupied.
 Approved For Release 2006/12/15: CIA-RDP86B00269R001500230001-9
-- There is advice for armed propaganda teams charged with raising 25X1
political consciousness within Nicaragua and personal persuasion within the
population. Emphasis is on education, avoiding combat if possible, "not
turning the town into a battlefield."