AN INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT REAGAN ON CAMPAIGN QUESTIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000505390143-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2010
• Sequence Number: 143
• Publication Date: March 29, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy A Approved for Release 2010/08/09: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505390143-3 STAT
ARTIt;w i ary pp
ON PAGE NEW YORK TIMES
29 March 1981+
An Interview With President Reagan
on Campaign Questions,
Spedal to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, March 28 - Following are excerpts from a White House
transcript of an interview with President Reagan today by Francis X. Clines
and Steven R. Weisman:
Assistance to Rebellion
Q. About Central America, Mr._
President. I wonder if I could ask you
to explain or justify how the United
States can go about assisting people-
who are, as you called them, freedom
fighters, who are seeking to over-
throw a Government that we have
diplomatic relations with and an-
swer, if you could, critics who are
worried that this is increasing our in-
volvement in Central America.
A. Well, the answer to that is, first
of all, this particular Government of
Nicaragua is a government that was
set up by force of arms and the people
have never chosen it. It's a revolu-
tionary government. And that Gov-
ernment, in violation of its pledge to
its at a time when it was a revolution-
ary force trying to become a govern-
ment, had promised that it would not
aid the guerrillas in El Salvador who
are attempting to overthrow a duly
elected government and a democratic
..government. And they have violated
that. The guerrillas are literally
being directed from -bases near
Managua. They're being supplied by
that Government. And the other fac-
tor, why I have referred to them on
occasion as freedom fighters, is be-
cause many of them are elements of
the same revolution that put the San-
dinista Government in force.
The revolution against the Somoza 'Followed Pattern' of Castro
under A het nrevio our Government, n nttAfter they got in, they followed the
behalf of Somoza and then when the
fighting was over did start to give
financial aid to the revolutionary gov-
ernment to help it install itself. And
had to cancel that when it discovered
what that government was doing.
During the revolution against Somo-
za, the revolutionaries appealed to
the Organization of American States,
of which we are a member also, to ask
Somoza to step down and end the
bloodshed. And the organization of
American States asked for a state-
ment of what were the goals of the
revolution. And they were provided:
Democracy, a pluralistic govern-
ment, free elections, free labor
unions, freedom of the press, human
rights observed - those were the
goals of the revolution, submitted in
writing to the Organization of Amer-
ican States. _.
Cuba. Those other elements, who
were not Sandinista, other groups
=who wanted and they thought all of
-:the same . thing, democracy. To rid
-themselves of a dictatorship. Those
elements were denied participation in
the government. Arrests were made.
There were some who were exiled
and there were some, I'm afraid, who
were executed. And many of the peo-
ple now fighting as so-called Contras
are elements of the revolution. And it
is less an overthrow - that they're
fighting for as it is a demand that they
be allowed to participate in the gov-
ernment .and that the government
keep its promises as to what it had in-
tended for the people.
And I see no dichotomy in our s
Po g e ernm ent, the demo-
cragovern m _ __ent of El Salvador and
the -Contras here - an w3 we -made it
Plain to Nicara -.ma a it ve
plain that this would
stop when ev
keep eir promise and restore the
democratic rule and have elections.
ow, ey've finally been pressured,
the pressure's led them to saying
they'll have an election. I think
they've scheduled it for next Novem-
ber. But there isn't anything yet to in-
dicate that that election will be any-
thing but the kind of rubber stamp
that we see in any totalitarian govern-
ment. There aren't any rival candi-
dates, there aren't any rival parties
and how would they campaign with-
out a free press?
EX CERpr D'
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/09: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505390143-3