Ortega in Chicago responds to critics

Scan page 2

By CARRIE CHICAGO, III.—An enthusiastic crowd of antiwar activists greeted Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Aug. 3 as he stepped off his commercial flight at O'Hare Airport. Chanting "Nicaragua Si, Contras No" and carrying colorful home-made banners and signs, the spirited crowd escorted Ortega through the airport to his waiting car caravan.

Ortega, who was in the United States to attend a U.N. Security Council meeting, made a special trip to Chicago to address the regular weekly meeting at the headquarters of Operation PUSH at the invitation of the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Over 1000 PUSH members and antiwar activists attended the event, withstanding sweltering temperatures in a standing-roomonly crowd to listen to Ortega's hour-long speech.

While Ortega and Jackson both received a warm reception, Jackson surprised many in the crowd by introducing the meeting with a number of sharply critical remarks suggesting that the Sandinistas must share part of the blame for the current hostilities between the United States and Nicaragua.

"We are concerned for the freedom and integrity of the church and press," said Jackson referring to recent steps taken by the Sandinistas to tighten restrictions on pro-contra publications and church officials. Criticizing what he called "Soviet influence in the region," Jackson also intimated that Nicaragua was exacerbating tensions in the area.

Ortega, who clearly sees Jackson as a potential ally, responded at length to Jackson's charges. He pointed out that the Sandinistas only took action against the main opposition newspaper, La Prensa, because it continued to receive money from the United States, which is waging a war inside Nicaragua.

Ortega also noted that the decision to expel Bishop Pablo Antonio Vega from the country only came after Vega met with contra chief Adolfo Calero and urged the contras to act "with decision and bravery."

With his wife, Rosario Murillo, interpreting, Ortega said that he would like to invite President Reagan to visit Nicaragua so he could meet with all the opposition parties and thus compel the American media to offer at least some coverage of the wide range of political tendencies that exist in Nicaragua.

"What do we gain by burying ideas," Ortega asked, "our revolution is about new ideas. Discussion enriches the revolution."

But the U.S.-backed war in Nicaragua has created an unusual military situation which requires unusual measures, Ortega said. With armed forces attacking Nicaraguan citizens, opponents of the revolutionary government are trying to further destabilize the country by opening an internal front. This cannot continue, he stated, if the revolution is to survive.

Even so, Ortega emphasized that the current policy on censorship in Nicaragua must be seen as a temporary measure. The Sandinistas are concerned about problems caused as a result of being forced to rely on censorship as a defensive device, Ortega explained.

In keeping this view, Tina Beacock/Socialist Actios