
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 14, 1990                   TAG: 9003143035
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BUSH AID PLAN LOOKS SOUND, APPROPRIATE

PERHAPS the process of rebuilding the ravaged economies of Panama and Nicaragua can begin at last. President Bush has lifted the U.S. economic embargo against Nicaragua. He wants to send that country $300 million in aid and Panama $500 million, the total to come from cuts in the defense budget.

On all counts, this looks to be a sound and appropriate move. The works of Manuel Noriega and Daniel Ortega did much damage to their respective countries. To some extent, so did the actions of the United States, by both economic sanctions and military force.

U.S. troops' invasion of Panama brought down Noriega in December, and U.S.-backed rebels kept the pressure on Nicaragua until a majority of voters repudiated the Sandinistas in last month's elections. If those results are cause for satisfaction, they also should be cause for reflection on how the use of force, economic as well as military, hurts many of the people it is intended to help. The United States now has a strong interest in assisting the recovery of both these Central American countries.

The interest is direct and compelling in Panama. It was the creation of the United States early in this century; construction of the canal then led to a special U.S. interest in, and relationship with, Panama. Continuing concern about the waterway and its operation by a Panamanian government helped trigger the American invasion.

Some would say that Panama has always been at least a quasi-colony of the United States, and neither country seems eager to change that. Guillermo Endara, whom U.S. military power installed as president three months ago, took a page from U.S. political activists' book by going on a hunger strike to dramatize his need for U.S. aid. That is not the act of a proud leader of a sovereign country.

In any case, Panama's needs are large. It has made hardly any payments on its foreign debt since 1987; it owes about $700 million in accrued interest. Its economy dwindled by some 25 percent in 1988, 10 percent last year. Estimates of businesses' loss from the disruption and looting after the invastion go as high as $2 billion. The $500 million President Bush wants for Panama looks like only a down payment.

Panama is in great shape compared with Nicaragua. One can only speculate about how to divide up the damage done by Uncle Sam and the Sandinistas to Nicaragua's economy and government services for the past several years. Washington has some particularly strong interests there, too. The U.S.-backed presidential candidate won; the United States can hardly afford to let her venture at democracy fail. The Sandinistas will not ease her task: With less than two months left before they are to turn over power, they are busy consolidating their positions elsewhere in the government and society.

Congress should welcome President Bush's proposal for aid to these two countries and cooperate in finding cuts in defense to pay for it. Both branches of government should also give thought to how new democracies can be helped toward early self-sufficiency. No nation is truly free as long as it is heavily dependent on others.

by CNB