'CONTRAS' ACCUSED OF RIGHTS ABUSES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040068-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 4, 2012
• Sequence Number: 68
• Publication Date: March 8, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04 :CIA-RDP90-009658000605040068-6
' ~,gTICL ~r~.R.~ PHILALELPHIA INQUIRER
OIt rk~~ ~ ~_ ~ _ ~3 -March 1485
'
c`!,(',i',t~S~
`sk6
B}~ Robert Parry
~~,~ ~,~
On Tuesday, the Americas 4}'atch State Department officials noted,
' `WASHINGTON -For the second Committee said that all sides in the however, that the authors of the re-
time this week, a private American ' Nicaraguan conflict had violated the port had stayed in houses owned b
human rights group has accused US - Y
backed Nicara uan contras of wide- :. Maws of war but ,that the Sandinista :.the Nicaraguan government during
g government had reduced its abuses their.investigation and that the doc-
spread human rights abuses, includ-,: while those~f .the contras remained ument itself was typed in the law
ing ."terroristic-violence against ,~ unchecked.
unarmed civilians." offices of P.eichler & Appelbaum,
In a report released yesterday, the A senior Slate Department cificial, .I which represents the Sandinistas. in
who spoke on the condition he not be i the World Court. -
~Washington-based International.Hu-. ; identified, .said the International Hu? ; The State Department official
man Rights'Law Group said it .had titan Ri hts Law Grou was a res ect-
interviewed more -ihan 30 Nicara- `I g p p called that report "a piece of Nicara-
guans v.~ho claimed to have firsthand i ed organization, but he questioned guan propaganda bought and paid
information -and had found suffi- ~ its latest findings.. for by the Nicaraguan government."
cienf, evidence to believe "the con-) Vlhile acknowledging that some ,I
contrashad committed human rights _ _-..- __._ .. .:-____- , __
Eras are committing serious abuses abuses, the official said the reports
against civilians." released this week "greatly exagger-
One sub}ect, a 2&year-old woman -ate" the frequency of such actions.
from El Jicaro in northern Nicara= He added that the contras' success in
gua, said the anti-Sandinista rebels ;recruiting soldiers could 'not have -
broke into' her house early _on the ::. happened .if :they were terrorizing -
morning of Oct: 24, 1984,.and slither =. ? the population: ~_. -
husband's throat while their three,'._ :';= In ur-ging renewal of US. aid to the
' children watched. ~ ~ `` ` _ rebels, President Reagan has praised
"As he lay bleeding to death; their '; them as "freedom fighters" and the
little girt;?ranain io her father and_;_ `-~~~oral .equal of our Founding Fa-
said, 'What's ha - , thers ...: ? ~~:. .
peening to daddy ~ t '~~ut two la
the report, said - _ , _;- wyers froth the Interns-
. The reJport.?also.recounted allega- ~'
tions that .contras had raped Temale
captives and had fired indiscrimi=
nately into vehicles carrying civil- j
fans. -
Rebel leaders have denied that
.their forces commit such crimes and
have called the recent human rights
allegations part of a propaganda cam-
paign by the leftist Sandinista gov-
ernment..The rebels also have ac-
cttsed the ruling Sandinistas of
atrocities.
After the release of the report, reb-
el spokesman Bosco. Matamoros .
called for.:.independent investiga-
tions of the charges by the F.oman
Catholic Church, an .independent
Nicaraguan human rights commis?
sion and the Organization of Ameri-
can States.
At a news conference, Aatamoros f
' accused some of those involved in
the report of "directly or indirectly
supporting the government of Nica?
ragua" and added, "R'e have not tol-
erated abuses."
==`Donald T. 'Fox and Michael J. Glen-
`:noti,- said .their investigation .last
-month found credible witnesses to
atrocities allegedly committed by the
Nicaraguan Democratic Force, the
largest rebel group.
-. The report urged Congress not to
approve additional funds for the con-
tras until it had fully investigated
the allegations.
A third report, initiated by the law
firm representing.-the Nicaraguan
:government in its case against ,the
;United .:States -:before the ..World
Court, also cites affidavits from Nica~
~. raguans,who said they had been vic?
tiros of contra attacks.
Citing 145 sworn statements, the
report lists alleged cases of killings,
rapes, kidnappings and indiscrimi-
Hate attacks blamed on the rebels.
That report also was released yester-
day.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04 :CIA-RDP90-009658000605040068-6