Walk-out mars progress on Central America
NZPA-Reuter San Jose The Honduran President, Jose Azcona, abruptly left the Central American summit on Monday evening, apparently after an argument with the Nicaraguan President, Daniel Ortega. Sources close to the meeting said the two leaders had argued over the disbandment of the United States-backed Contras and Nicaragua’s case against Honduras in the World Court for harbouring the rebels. The departure of Mr Azcona cast a shadow over the summit, which all parties had said had been progressing well towards a ceasefire in El Salvador and a truce between the Contras and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. The sources said the summit, due to end on Monday evening after two days, might be forced into a third day. Earlier, a senior Honduran Government spokesman blamed United States economic support of the Contras for their failure to disband from their Honduran bases by a December 5 deadline, and said Mr Azcona would ask Washington to stop giving money to the rebels.
“The results of having the
Contras in our country have been very unfavourable,” said the spokesman. Before Mr Azcona’s abrupt departure, Costa Rica’s Information Minister, Jorge Urbina, told reporters the Costa Rican President, Oscar Arias, and his Guatemalan counterpart, Venicio Cerezo, were optimistic and “very satisfied" with the summit, "in the sense that more than two thirds of the problems are solved.”
Mr Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end the wars in Central America, “feels that (the summit) has gone much further than what he hoped in some respects,” Mr Urbina said. The presidents from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras were discussing a proposal to end conflicts in El Salvador and Nicaragua, but bilateral tensions also had to be resolved before reaching a final agreement, officials said.
A document prepared by Costa Rica and Guatemala — two apparent mediators in the arduous negotiations — addressed many issues in the troubled region.
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Press, 13 December 1989, Page 10
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325Walk-out mars progress on Central America Press, 13 December 1989, Page 10
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