REBEL LEADER SAYS NICARAGUAN ELECTION COULD BECOME A 'FARCE'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000504880031-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 15, 2010
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: July 3, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/15: CIA-RDP90-00552R000504880031-4
ASSOCIATED PRESS
3 July 1984
REBEL LEADER SAYS NICARAGUAN ELECTION COULD BECOME A 'FARCE'
BY GREGORY NOKES
WASHINGTON
Nicaraguan guerrilla leader Eden Pastora, still limping from wounds suffered
in an assassination attempt, says elections scheduled by Nicaragua's leftist
leaders for November are in danger of "being a farce."
Pastors appealed at a ,news conference here Monday for the United States and
Western Europe to bring pressure on the Sandinistas to adopt a series of
electoral reforms, including easing press restrictions.
"We seek establishment of effective democracy in Nicaragua as the only way to
put an end to the bloodshed in our country and ensure peace in Central
American," Pastora said.
Pastora, who was injured in an assassination attempt May 31, was still
limping and walked with the aid of a cane. He told reporters he didn't know
whether he was the victim of a plot by the "extreme left or the extreme right."
but denied he had ever accused the CIA of being behind the attack.
Pastora said the Revolutionary Democratic Alliance (ARDE), which he heads,
has 8,000 guerrillas fighting against government forces in southern Nicaragua.
However, it has been widely reported that the CIA has cut off aid to Pastora
because he has refused to join with guerrilla forces of' the Nicaraguan
Democratic Force (FDN) in northern Nicaragua, who do receive CIA support.
Pastora said his forces, which he said are not aligned with anyone, will
fight on alone, if necessary, "until the government is responsive to the
people."
Pastora said he and a group of other opponents of the Sandinista government
are seeking "an international consensus" to pressure the government to meet
their election demands and bring about true democracy in Nicaragua.
"Elections are moving very clearly toward being a farce in Nicaragua,"
Pastora said.
Among the election reforms demanded by Pastora are a free press, political
freedoms, safety guarantees for opposition candidates and the expulsion of
foreign troops, including Cubans.
Congress has refused to provide new funds for any of the Nicaraguan
guerrillas groups, including those supported by the. CIA, raising a question of
whether they can survive. President Reagan alleged last week that the lawmakers
who have disapproved the aid are "supporting a totalitarian dictatorship in
Nicaragua."
Pastora said he wasn't in Washington in search of arms, but did want
political support. He met at the State Department with Undersecretary of State
Michael Armacost and, with Assistant Secretary of 'State Langhorne A. Motley.
Coninued
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/15: CIA-RDP90-00552R000504880031-4