Nicaragua: FSLN in Secret Negotiations? id VAA00859; Tue, 29 Jul 1997 21:19:47 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit GOVERNMENT AND FSLN SECRETLY NEGOTIATING? by Toby Mailman MANAGUA, July 29 -- According to a report in today's edition of the conservative local newspaper "La Tribuna," the Sandinista National Liberation Front and the government are in secret negotiations to resolve the property question. Citing official political sources, the report says that despite public verbal confrontations between the government and the Frente, the two political powers are working behind closed doors on one of the most sensitive issues here. A team of lawyers who were the advisors to the legal commission formed as part of failed talks between the FSLN and the government earlier this year are negotiating a bill which would definitively resolve the question of property ownership, says the report. The bill is ninety per cent ready, and deals with such issues as the legality or non-legality of the privatization of 351 formerly state-run enterprises, and the validity of various laws granting property titles during the Sandinista and Chamorro governments. These secret negotiations are going on parallel to a national dialogue called by President Arnoldo Aleman at the end of June to deal with the most important issued affecting the country, and in which the FSLN has refused to participate. Representing the government in these secret talks are the president of the national assembly, the deputy minister for property, Attorney General Julio Centeno Gomez and a government lawyer. The FSLN is represented by Joaquin Cuadra Chamorro, former Central Bank president and father of the current head of the army, and Mireya Molina, the Frente's lawyer. The article says the meetings have been confirmed by Centeno Gomez and Cuadra Chamorro. It quotes FSLN parliamentary deputy Bayardo Arce as commenting, "We suppose that this week the bill, which the Liberals are reviewing, will be ready, but I haven't seen any Liberal faces yet. The idea is to come up with a law that fills all the legal holes in regard to property. We're looking for a legal way to solve this problem, it isn't about political negotiations." Arce and Vice President Enrique Bolanos head the legal commission which, according to the article, is behind the negotiations. So far, the article says, the government has agreed to accept a draft of the bill recognizing actions taken under the property laws put into effect during the two previous governments, and the FSLN has agreed to find a way to resolve abuses committed under these laws. * NICARAGUA HEADED FOR MORE AUSTERITY by Toby Mailman MANAGUA, July 29 -- A new phase of the Structural Adjustment Plan for Nicaragua, known in Spanish as ESAF (Ajuste Estructural Ampliado), is to be signed here later this year, possibly as soon as September. According to local analysts, its conditions are even stricter than the previous phase. This new package includes the definite closing of the National Development Bank (BANADES), the privatization of the telephone company (Enitel), reform and strict fulfillment of tax laws, and continuation the government's austerity plan. This means freezing funds for highway construction, health centers, schools and other improvements to the country's infrastructure. It also means more massive lay-offs of state workers. Central Bank president Noel Ramirez announced at a press conference yesterday that the International Development Bank (BID) and the World Bank are each giving Nicaragua USD$50 million to support the implementation of the austerity plan and reform of the state banking system. This is in addition to USD$200 million already promised for the 1998-1999 period. Part of these funds will be used to pay foreign debt, said Ramirez. Ramirez explained that once the two-year ESAF plan is signed, Nicaragua will begin negotiations with the Paris Club to reduce its foreign debt. Once the plan is ended Nicaragua may qualify for the initiative for highly indebted countries, which would allow for a global cancellation of foreign debt, Ramirez said. The first phase of the ESAF was begun during the period of 1995-1997, under the government of former president Violeta Chamorro, but was not fully carried out during that time. As a side note, Ramirez said international cooperation with Nicaragua was reduced this year by some USD$80 million. According to Ramirez the reason is that the government is applying a "sovereignty plan" in which it decides how the funds will be used, and has used some of those funds to pay foreign debt. "If the government is sovereign, then it decides how to use resources, where to apply them," he stated. This probably refers to a bill proposed by the government under which all foreign cooperation, including that provided by and to non-governmental organizations, would be controlled by the government. FIN ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcamer-07.29.97-21:19:50-127