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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1982)
Page 2 Portland Observer, February 4 , 1982 Selective enforcement charged in prosecution of neutrality act by Ronnie Loveier Pacific News Service Niearaguans train to protect their country against US aggression. (Photo: Jose Agaz. Granma ) M I A M I — O n the tame day H a i tian exile leader Bernard Sansaricq and 24 others were taken into F B I custody for their attempted invasion o f H a iti, N icaragua’ s exile leaders met here to plot the overthrow o f the Nicaraguan government. None has been arrested, or even investi gated. That day, Jan. 13, more than 100 Nicaraguan exile leaders met in L it tle Havana at the behest o f Fernan do A guerro, a form er Nicaraguan senator who heads the recently form ed association N icaraguan Union o f Democratic Action. A guerro , who lives in c o m fo rt able exile in an exclusive M ia m i Beach condominium, told the gath ering o f exiles, who came from as far away as Costa Rica and Venezu ela, that “ armed struggle is the only way we can retake Nicargaua." The call to arms was repeated by each o f the dozen exiles who took the podium, including M axim iliano Perez, a fo rm er member o f N ic a ra g u a ’ s N a tio n a l G u a rd . “ I come here to you with the convic tion o f a professional soldier,” Per ez said. “ Many o f you know o f my doings in M iam i and other parts o f A m erica. I have been involved in military activities and 1 have gone to collect arms for our soldiers.” The applause was deafening. By the m eeting’ s end, the dele gates had reached a tacit agreement to bring their diverse groups into one umbrella organization to hasten the counter-revolution. Earlier, rep resentatives o f three a nti-g o vern ment m ilita ry units had agreed in F lo rid a to u n ify th e ir com m and structure. M e a n w h ile , in ano th er p art o f M ia m i, fed eral a u th o rities were filing charges against Sansaricq and his followers for violating the 1794 United States N eu trality A ct. The act calls for prosecution o f anyone who, from within the United States, “ provides or prepares a means for or furnishes the money for or takes part in any military or naval expedi tion” against a foreign government w ith which the U n ite d States has diplomatic relations. In a bond hearing, Sansaricq, a longtime legal resident o f the United States, said he and his follow ers “ took great caution not to violate U.S. law .” And in fact, his effort to overthrow H a itia n d ictato r Jean- Claude Duvalier was launched from South Caicos island , about 100 miles north o f H aiti. It is no secret th a t N icaraguan and C u ban exiles are engaging in p aram ilitary activities in training camps in California and South Flor ida, and that some trainees have al ready le ft fo r C e n tra l A m erica where they are m aking m ilita ry thrusts into Nicaragua. Exile leaders have pu b licly adm itted as m uch, and federal law enforcement o ff i cials have acknowledged the exist ence o f the training camp. The exile unity meeting here was com m on knowledge in M ia m i’ s Latin community. W h y , then, is Sansaricq facing prosecution under the N e u tra lity “ a dipi**— tic r /f e r in g to calm down Baby Doc* [D u v a lie r). M y feeling is the State Department felt: ‘ W e had to do som ething o r we m ight lose our standing w ith D u valier.’ ’ * Sonnett says that because San saricq and his men were picked up by the Coast Guard in international waters, the best the prosecution can show is that some o f the men are residents o f south Florida. But while D uvalier and Marcos appear to have p o litical weight in Washington, the Nicaraguan gov ernment has had no success in its ef forts to get U .S . au th o rities to clamp down on the Nicaraguan ex iles* param ilitary training activity. The position o f the State and the Justice Departments is that since the maneuvers are conducted on private property with legal weapons, exiles are acting within the law. “ No alle gations have ever been made about the Nicaraguan exiles, or have been brought forth to this office,” stated Juan Briones, and FB I spokesman in Miami. Washington attorney Paul Reich- ler, who represents the Nicaraguan governm ent, argues that the de cision not to prosecute the N icara guan exiles is politically motivated. “ I f you look at the bottom line, we see that this government is prepared to prosecute those who attem pt to act against right wing governments such as H a iti’s,” he said, “ but for p o litical reasons w o n ’t prosecute those who are engaged in acts against government this administra tion feels are leftist.” Act for his ill-fatc-d attempt to oust D u v a lie r, when the N icaraguans appear free to act as they will? Phil ippine exile activists in C alifo rn ia have asked the same question in connection with a federal probe into possible violation o f the Neutrality Act by Steve Psinakis, an anti-M ar cos activist in San Francisco. “ I t ’ s clear what they have done here in M ia m i is single out the H a itia n s ,*' said Ira K u rzb an , a prom inent local attorney who spe cializes in immigration and interna tio n a l law . “ T h e disparate tre a t ment is clearly motivated by foreign policy concerns.” The government o f Nicaragua, of course, is at the opposite end o f the p o litic a l R ichter scale from both H aiti and the Philippines. Although the repressive character o f the H ai tian and Philippine regimes is gener ally acknowledged, their anti-com munist stance pleases Washington. The socialist policies o f N icara g u a’ s governm ent, on the other hand, have made the Reagan A d ministration anxious for a change in that cou n try. “ The U .S . govern ment is behind the Nicaraguans and the Cubans in their training to in vade other countries," says the Rev. G erard Jean-Juste, director o f the H a itia n Refugee C enter, Inc. and spiritual leader o f M iam i's H aitian c o m m u nity. Jean-Juste says the prosecution o f Sansaricq and the others is one more example o f U .S. governm ent bias tow ard H a itia n refugees. A tto rn e y N eal Sonnett, who is representing Sansaricq, believes the charges filed against his client are © Pacift« Newi Service, 1082 Eugene conference explores military issues E U G E N E — Some o f the coun try’s foremost authorities on nation al security will gather Feb. 25-27 at the University o f Oregon to debate issues o f m ilita ry spending, the d ra ft, nuclear warfare and the So viet threat. The Northwest National Security C onference, organized and spon sored by the Associated Students o f the University o f Oregon, will center on w hether current U .S . foreign policy enhances or endangers the country’s national security interests. A ll sessions, open to the public, are set fo r the B allro o m o f the Erb M e m o ria l U n io n , East 13th and University. A m ong the con feren ce’ s 13 in vited speakers are Ray Cline, former deputy director o f the Central Intel ligence Agency and now a senior as sociate at the Georgetown Center for Strategic and In te rn a tio n a l Studies; Leslie Brown, a U .S . fo r eign service officer currently serving as deputy director o f the Bureau o f Politico-M ilitary Affairs; and John Draim, a retired Navy captain whp, as an aerospace engineer and de fense analyst, designed numerous U.S. defense systems. GET READY Lt. Col. “ Deb" Ward explains intricacies of the F- 4C Phantom to Julia Robertson, Bill Newbourne and Kay Toran during Portland Air Base tour Jan. 9. The tour provided a chance for them to learn about Air National Guard opportunities offered in the Portland area. Robertson is women's coordin ator for the Urban League; Newbourne is a career counselor at Portland Community College's Cas cade Center; and Toran is affirm ative action di rector in the governor's office in Salem. < Fred Meyer _ S h o p p in g C e n te r s 1 M Super Shopping Centers Help Lower Your Cost of Living . . . Your nearby Fred Meyer Super Shopping Center i; filled with ' P > p le Pleasing" services to make your shopping more pleasant. Wide, spacious aisles, friendly helpful clerxs anu u.i de'cover parcel loading are just some of the "People-Pleasi.ig services to you Plus everyday low prices on thousands of items you use ano need everyday help lower your cost of living. 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