Interview with Sandinista lead "We have become a ray of hope"

Scan page 6

Where does the war on your northern frontier go from here?

Until now, the Contras have had to rely • mainly on former members of Somoza's National Guard. They cannot find any significant numbers of ordinary citizens. They have about 7,500-8,000 people that they have managed to train and arm. Having made little headway by mid-June, they returned to Honduras to regroup and rearmn.

They are still making raids into Nicaragua, and we are not able to go over the frontier in hot pursuit - that would be to fall into the trap that has been set by the United States.

There is already an increase in the level of activity again, and we now expect the Honduran armed forced to be involved in the next offensive - probably in September.

They will be rebuffed, but the Honduran airforce could do quite a lot of damage.

We have virtually no airforce. Honduras happens to have the best in Central America. But it takes more than that to win a war. When it comes to the morale of armies, there is really 110 comparison.

There is no bone of contention between our two countries. The whole war is stupid. The agressor who is fermenting the war will be at a disadvantage. If the Hondurans invade, the Nicaraguan people will have no difficulty in understanding why they have to repel them.

The head of the Honduran army has said that they cannot stand up for more than a round of fighting. Therefore why foment it? Maybe the United States continues to make an erroneous analysis. When the Hondurans are repelled, they may have to send in the American troops. Even with that, they cannot obtain their goal. Why do you think the Americans have become so obsessed with influencing events in Nicaragua?

From the logic of empire you can understand why they should be insisting on squashing Nicaragua': s revolution. It was generally accepted in the area that there could be no successful revolution, at least in this century. We disproved that.

Moreover, in spite of the enormous foreign debt that we have accepted responsibility for, whether we were morally obliged to or not, we have given answers to some of the profound aspirations of our people. We El Salvador Solidarity Campaign: affiliation £5 for individuals and £10 for. organisations, from 29 Islington Park St.. London N 101-359 2270)

occurred.

They invaded us in 1928 -Nicaragua was the first victim of dive-bombing, you know -and at that time we were supposed to be in the process of becoming a second Mexico. We are always on the verge of becoming a second something else.

The only way they have been able to get along with Nicaragua was when Somoza was in power _ one of the most despotic rulers in the history of the Americas, yet they got on famously.

Roosevelt was asked once by a distinguished journalist how they could have anything to do with that Son of a Bitch Somoza:

He replied - 'But he's our Son of a Bitch!" That has been their attitude.

Cuba

What are your relations Cuba and in particular how many military advisors do they have here?

Our relations with Cuba are excellent, just as they are with many other countries on the basis that they don't compromise our autonomy. We would like to have excellent relations with the US but that means our autonomy being recognised.

We don't have any military pact with any country. That is why we can't have any illusions that in the event of an American invasion anyone is going to come to our side. Just as in the past we had to rely on ourselves to get rid of Somoza, so in the future we will have to rely on ourselves to defend the revolution.

But it's understandable that we should have advisors. Ours is a new army. Somoza's army, which was an American created army, was totally dispersed. We have got to look for advisors who will not repeat the immoral and criminal outfit that was created for Somoza.

The National Guard burned its own cities, killed its own people - we will never have that again in Nicaragua.

What do you think of the Thatcher government's attitude to Central America?

The British government is very, very alone in its attitude towards the Reagan administration. I don't think there is another Western government that has supported the naval manoeuvres, for example. I suppose this is their way of repaying America for support over the Falklands, but it is something that should concern the British people.

More and more, Reagan's actions against Nicaragua are being repudiated throughout the whole world. It looks so awful for Britain to be the sole wester, rael ar ad Pinochet 3 Chile and Guatemala. It's awful company for Britain to be keepWhen Lord Carrington was Foreign Secretary he told me he Victorious Sandinistas in 1979 The contrasts of attitude in tious programme of develop-