Contra war hits civilians

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Ray Hooker speaking March 14 in San ncisco. See story below.

A former Salvadoran chief of intelligence, Roberto Santivanez, revealed new details of the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero. In several bombshell interviews given to the Associated Press and to British television, ex-Colonel Santivanez accused a Nicaraguan contra, Ricardo Lau, of setting up the death squads that killed Monsignor Romero and thousands of other Salvadorans.

Monsignor Romero was assassinated while celebrating mass on March 24, 1980. The day before he had called on Salvadoran soldiers "not to obey orders that are opposed to the law of God."

Santivanez accused the Committee for National Security, composed of high-ranking army officials such as current Defense Minister Vides Casanova, of establishing systematic cooperation between the army and the death squads. The death squads, he claimed, were organized by ARENA party leader Roberto D'Aubuisson.

Santivanez stated that Salvadoran security officers guarded the site of the assassination of Romero while two Nicaraguan contras and two Salvadoran national guardsmen carried out the killing. When the assassins returned to national guard headquarters, they were reportedly cheered, indicating that the planned assassination was widely known.

Lau, a former member of Somoza's national guard in Nicaragua, was reportedly paid $125,000 for his role in the assassination. He was the chief intelligence officer for the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (EDN) after the Sandinistas triumphed in 1979. The FDN has been the primary recipient of $80 million in aid provided to the Nicaraguan contras by the CIA.

Contra funding in jeopardy In the event that Congress does not approve $14 million in additional aid to the contras, the Reagan administration is exploring various ways to continue to support the Nicaraguan rebels. Given the most recent revelations of human rights violations by the contras, the Reagan administration is becoming increasingly worried about getting the aid measure approved.

Nonetheless, the U.S. government will find other, means if the legal, Congressional route is blocked. In recent Fra human rights watchdog organizations, were lauded by President Reagan as the "moral equal of our Founding Fathers and the brave men and women of the French resistance. 99 According to an Americas Watch report issued publicly March 5, the U.S.-armed and trained rebel guerrillas have been responsible for murder, torture, rape, and mutilation-including of women and children "who were fleeing."

The report accuses the Nicaraguan Democratic Force of the "deliberate use of terror."

One senior administration official, in the March 6 New York Times, displayed his cynicism: "It seems to be what you would expect to have in a war."

Another administration official somewhat more honest: "The contras have a tendency to kidnap young girls."

The Americas Watch report also criticized the Sandinistas for human rights abuses, most notably with respect to their treatment of the Miskito Indians. However, the report notes that, since 1982, "there has been a sharp decline."

The FSLN government has admitted making a number of mistakes in their early relations with the Miskito Indians.

The Americas Watch report concludes by noting that "the United States has aided and abetted the contras in committing abuses by organizing, training, and financing them."

Further evidence of atrocities Another private report, prepared by Reed Brody, a former New York state cry uncle' attorney general, was also issued recently. It details 28 human rights violations by the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, which is largely composed of supporters of former dictator Anastasio Somoza.

One witness, independently re-interviewed by The New York Times, described a contra ambush of a truck carrying volunteers to pick coffee in Northern Nicaragua. When the machine-gun fire broke out, many of the volunteers jumped off the truck. The witness, Santos Roger Briones, was presumed dead, and merely had his wallet and boots stolen. The others were not so fortunate:

"Then the contras came and cut the throats of the people who stayed on the truck. When they finished, they set the truck on fire.

From where I was lying, I could hear the groans and screams of those who were being burned alive."

And those responsible for such atrocities call their henchmen the "moral equals of the Founding Fathers."

For Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, who knows the moral caliber of his own colleagues well, the new reports are not expected to change many congressional minds.

The Reagan administration has been advising the Nicaraguan rebels for months now to sieze and hold a town. The U.S. government wants to be able to give aid openly to a "provisional government" set up by the counter-revolutionaries.

Recent Sandinista attacks on the contras have dealt a serious blow to those hopes. The Sandinistas have begun to use heavy artillery against the rebels, and, according to one senior administration official, "it scares the hell out of them."

Nonetheless, the economic cost of the war to Nicaragua, already 40 percent of its entire national budget, is doing far more serious damage than the military attacks per se have done. It is the responsibility of everyone opposed to the atrocities committed by the contras to participate in the April 20 protests against U.S. intervention in Central America.

oric and concrete acts of war from the Reagan administration, Hooker declared, "Now that we have tasted the fruits of freedom we are never going to cry uncle."

Hooker described the gains of the revolution in the Atlantic Coast region. These include a drastic decline in the illiteracy rate, the redistribution of the land, and a three-fold increase in health care and education.

The main targets of the U.S.-supported contras, Hooker said, are health workers, teachers, and truck drivers. «This administration has unleashed a savage war against us,' he said. "The only weapon at our disposal is our willingness to sacrifice our lives for principles.... You don't negotiate for principles, you die for principles."

Hooker appealed to members of the audience to continue their active opposition to U.S. intervention. In addition, Alameda County Supervisor John George solicited contributions for the construction of a wing in an Atlantic Coast hospital.

Following Hooker's presentation, the audience burst out in unison, «No Pasaran", the cry of solidarity and opposition to the contra attacks against the Nicaraguan people.

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Ray Hooker: Socialist Action/Joe Ryan