Reagan, and Congress Press Latin Talks : Some Contras and Lawmakers Oppose Plan

WASHINGTON —  President Reagan announced a compromise agreement with Congress on Wednesday to pursue peace talks in Central America and suspend any immediate attempt to seek new military aid for the Nicaraguan rebels.

The proposal drew grudging support--but also some sharp criticism--from congressional leaders, the contras and officials of Nicaragua’s Sandinista government.

Reagan’s plan calls for an immediate cease-fire in the six-year war between the U.S.-backed contras and the Sandinista government, to be followed by the suspension of U.S. military aid to the contras and the restoration of civil liberties and the promise of free elections in Nicaragua.

A senior State Department official conceded that the chances of the entire proposal’s succeeding are “something less than 10%.”

‘Dozen Ways to Fall Apart’

“There are a dozen ways this thing can fall apart,” he said.

As a result, even before the peace plan agreement was reached in a White House meeting Wednesday morning, both the Administration and its opponents were maneuvering into positions they may take if it does not work.

Administration officials said they will blame the Sandinistas for any failure and use that as an argument to seek new military funding for the contras. Democrats in Congress said they are skeptical of the Administration’s commitment to make the peace talks work and insisted that they had made no promises to support rebel aid.

The next move, State Department officials said, is up to the presidents of Central America’s five countries, who are to open a regional summit meeting in Guatemala today. “If they endorse this plan, or something close to it, the prospects (for negotiations) will get a boost,” said one.

Some officials and members of Congress noted that the plan calls for the Sandinistas, the contras and the governments of four other Central American nations to negotiate at least three complex agreements by Sept. 30, eight weeks from now. Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) called that target “unrealistic.”

A senior Administration official who briefed reporters at the White House said, however, that the deadline is firm.

“We think that should be a hard and fast date,” he said. “If on Sept. 30 negotiation of the plan has not been completed, the President has the option of doing what he sees necessary.”

He said Reagan then would feel free to seek renewed military aid for the contras but added that some aid might be available to the Administration even without a new vote in Congress if some of the $100 million already appropriated this year has not been spent.

The complex plan calls for an immediate cease-fire in the guerrilla war “on terms acceptable to the parties involved,” but it does not spell out how the truce is to be arranged. Contra leaders said Wednesday that they would insist on direct negotiations with the Sandinistas; a Nicaraguan diplomat said his government would reject such talks, as it has in the past.

Once a cease-fire is declared, the United States would immediately suspend military aid to the contras and the Soviet Bloc would halt its military aid to the Sandinistas. Both sides could continue shipping non-military aid.

At the same time, the Sandinistas would be required to lift the state of emergency in force in the nation, restore civil liberties and set up an electoral commission.

The proposal then calls for at least three negotiating efforts to be completed by Sept. 30: one within Nicaragua to plan elections and a process of “national reconciliation,” one among the Central American countries to agree on the withdrawal of both U.S. and Soviet Bloc military personnel and one between the Central American governments and the United States to produce a regional security agreement.

Reagan, in a visit to the White House press room that lasted two minutes, praised the plan as “a bipartisan effort.”

“I . . . hope that it will produce a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Nicaragua,” he said, refusing to answer questions.

House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.), the driving force behind the proposal during almost two weeks of bargaining with the White House, told reporters he is aware that many are skeptical of the plan.

“I said if I was to be associated with it, I would have to be assured this was an all-out earnest effort to bring about peace,” Wright said. “The President said it was.”

Secretary of State George P. Shultz insisted: “It’s not just a ploy. It is a genuine effort. And the President believes that, the Speaker believes that, and others who participated--they came here this morning, they looked each other in the eye, they had a good strong discussion.”

But, he conceded, “there is skepticism among people with varying shades of opinion about all of this.”

‘Really a Sham’

Several members of Congress, on both the right and left, were critical of the plan.

Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), a leading conservative, said the plan “has the gauzy contours of a grand dream rather than a practical course of action.” He said he plans to offer legislation to send $300 million to the contras on Oct. 1, the day after the peace offer expires.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), a leading liberal, said: “I believe this whole effort is really a sham from beginning to end. I for one don’t buy it.”

And Senate Majority Leader Byrd said he supports “a good-faith effort, but not the document per se.”

“There’s no commitment to contra aid if this fails,” he said. “If along the way it becomes obvious that this is not a good-faith effort, but simply designed to buttress a request for contra aid, we made it clear that we’re not being snookered.”

Nevertheless, several officials said they believe the effort later will help the Administration win support for contra aid from moderate Democrats by demonstrating that Reagan earnestly sought a bipartisan consensus on Nicaragua.

“The real advance in this is that we’ve got Jim Wright on board,” the State Department official said.

Democrats in the House blocked Administration requests for contra aid in 1984 and 1985. A $100-million aid package was approved in the House last year by a 221-209 vote.

Before Wednesday’s compromise, Administration officials were preparing to ask for at least $150 million in contra aid for next year.

The proposal for negotiations took both the contras and the Sandinistas--as well as other Central American governments--by surprise. The six contra leaders arrived in Washington on Monday to begin lobbying for more military aid and learned of the peace plan from reporters and congressional aides.

They were not fully consulted until Wednesday morning, after Reagan and Wright already had agreed on its provisions. After meeting with the President, they stood grimly at the White House podium and offered only a lukewarm endorsement.

“This is not perfect, but it’s good,” said Alfonso Robelo, a relative moderate among the rebel leaders. “We can accept it.”

“We are willing to explore it,” contra chief Adolfo Calero said. “If it fails, well, we will see what happens.

‘A Direct Deal’

“I asked the President very clearly if we had his commitment to peace and democracy in Nicaragua,” Calero added pointedly. “We have his commitment for continued support . . . to keep on supporting us.”

Another rebel leader, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, insisted that any cease-fire “has to be a direct deal with us. . . . (The plan) provides for direct negotiations between the Sandinistas and us.”

A Sandinista diplomat rejected direct talks. “Our longstanding position has been that we will not negotiate directly with the contras, who are puppets of the Reagan Administration,” he said.

Wright showed reporters a letter from Nicaraguan Ambassador Carlos Tunnermann which said there were “several very positive and interesting elements” in an earlier draft backed by the Speaker.