Senate rejects mines money for Nicaraguan ports

Press, 12 April 1984, Page 10

Senate rejects mines money for Nicaraguan ports

NZPA-Reuter Washington

An angry American Senate yesterday ignored toplevel White House efforts to allay its fears by voting overwhelmingly to cut off all funds for the mining of Nicaraguan ports. The Senate voted 84 to 12 to approve a bill introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (Dem., Massachusetts) to put Congress on record as opposing any use of funds to, “plan, direct, execute or support the mining of the territorial waters of Nicaragua.”

Mr Kennedy’s bill, an amendment to a tax bill, is not binding on the President, Mr Ronald Reagan, but it presents “the sense of the Congress.” Mr Kennedy won the support of the Senate’s Republican leadership by agreeing to put off a second proposal which would have demanded that the Administration reverse its decision to deny the jurisdiction of the World Court to hear Nicaragua’s complaint about the mining of its ports. United States, television networks yesterday reported that unidentified officials had said that the mining had ended for the time being and had always been planned to be "of limited duration.” A Central Intelligence Agency ship, earlier reported to have

supervised the mine-laying, was said to have withdrawn from the Nicaraguan coast. A State Department spokeswoman declined to discuss the mining or its reported cessation. Mr Kennedy said that an attempt would be made later to end all Senate funding for the Nicaraguan operation. Key senators who had opposed Mr Kennedy’s efforts last week to cut off funding voted with him, including the Republican Leader, Senator Howard Baker, and the Democratic Leader, Senator Robert Byrd. Faced with a congresional mutiny over its policies, the White House had earlier agreed to let the vote on the Nicaraguan mining issue go forward, a key Senate Republican aide said. It had been clear that there were enough votes to pass it and the White House did not want the matter postponed until after the 10day Easter recess, he said. The issue had been “mishandled,” and “the White House wanted to get rid of it,” the aide said.

The White House was adamant about preventing a vote on another Kennedy measure calling for the withdrawal of a United States decision to refuse World Court jurisdiction on Central American issues. It had tried to forestall

the issue by a personal statement from Mr Reagan which pledged that United States combat troops would not be used in Central America, and by a secret briefing of senators by the C.I.A. director, Mr William Casey, but congressional anger remained. Senator Barry Goldwater, a conservative, the chairman of the Senate’s Intelligence Committee and normally a Reagan Administration supporter, condemned the mining of Nicaraguan waters as, “an act of war.” In an extraordinary letter obtained by Reuters, Mr Goldwater faulted Mr Casey for not informing him in advance about the mining and said, “I am p.... off.” Mr Casey had briefed senators in secret for more than two hours on Central America but he apparently reaped more blame than praise for the Administration’s policies. A White House statement said that Mr Reagan had no plans to send combat troops to Central America or to invade Nicaragua or any other country in the region before or after the Presidential election in November.

The statement was issued because, the White House said, “In recent days a shrill and often confusing debate has developed over our goals, plans and activities in Central America.”