January 19, 1988
The President today made the determination and certification under section 111(b)(2)(A) of the fiscal year 1988 continuing resolution (P.L. 100 - 202) that permits resumption of transportation of military assistance to the Nicaraguan democratic resistance authorized by the Congress.
Section 111 of the continuing resolution provided for suspension of transportation of military assistance to the resistance on January 12, 1988, and for resumption of such assistance after January 18, 1988, if the President determined and certified to the Congress that:
-- no cease-fire is in place that was agreed to by the Government of Nicaragua and the Nicaraguan democratic resistance;
-- the failure to achieve such a cease-fire results from the lack of good faith efforts by the Government of Nicaragua to achieve such a cease-fire; and
-- the Nicaraguan democratic resistance has engaged in good faith efforts to achieve such a cease-fire.
The President's determination was based on the Secretary of State's findings, set forth in his January 18, 1988, report, that the conditions for resuming assistance to the resistance have been met.
The Sandinistas have a record, beginning with promises to the Organization of American States in 1979 and continuing through the Guatemala accord of August 7, 1987, of making promises of democracy and freedom that they do not keep. After the Central American Presidents summit meeting this past weekend in San Jose, Costa Rica, the Nicaraguan President issued yet more promises. That very weekend, the Sandinistas' internal security forces executed a wave of arrests and interrogations of leading members of the surviving democratic political elements in Nicaragua. Moreover, while the Nicaraguan President demands unilateral termination of support for the forces of freedom in Nicaragua, the massive flow to the Sandinistas of Soviet-bloc arms continues unabated.
The United States remains fully committed to the achievement of democracy in Nicaragua and security in all of Central America as the essential conditions for a just and lasting peace in the region. The events which have unfolded since the signing of the Guatemala accord on August 7, 1987, have demonstrated once again that a strong Nicaraguan democratic resistance remains essential to the achievement of those conditions.