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

DATE: THURSDAY, April 19, 1990                   TAG: 9004190748
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MANAGUA, NICARAGUA                                LENGTH: Medium

CONTRAS SIGN AGREEMENT TO CEASE FIRE, DISBAND

The Sandinista government and the U.S.-backed rebels signed a cease-fire agreement early today that calls on the Contras to begin laying down their arms next week and to disband by June 10.

The cease-fire, which began at midnight Wednesday, will be verified by U.N. forces and Nicaraguan Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo.

The document was signed by Nicaragua's minister of defense, Gen. Humberto Ortega, rebel commanders Oscar Sovalbarro and Aquilino Ruiz Robleto, and representatives of President-elect Violeta Barrios de Chamorro.

"With this accord we conclude the peace process started with the elections," said Antonio Lacayo, chief of the Chamorro transition team.

The accord ended a tense standoff among the Sandinista government, Chamorro's incoming administration and the Contras that had threatened to derail the transfer of power in Nicaragua.

The signing came after lengthy negotiations, including an all-night session that ended early this morning. The talks began on Tuesday.

The agreement says the rebel forces should begin disarming on Wednesday, the day the Chamorro government is inaugurated. Demobilization of the Contra forces is to be completed by June 10 at the latest.

The leftist Sandinistas had demanded that the Contras disarm before they handed power to the new civilian government. But Gen. Ortega said today that it was more important that peace be reached "as soon as possible."

"We all made an effort so that it [the dismantling] would have been on the 25th," but "technical hurdles" made that impossible, Gen. Ortega said.

He said the delay was "nothing if we compare it to the tragedy and suffering that we have had during these years of war."

The accord says the Contras' weapons will be surrendered "in a voluntary form" in the presence of U.N. forces and Obando y Bravo.

It also establishes security zones for the rebels inside Nicaragua so they can regroup in preparation for demobilization and disarmament. During the decade-long war between the Contras and the Sandinista government, many of the Contras were based in Honduras.

Under the accord signed today, the Sandinista government is required to keep its military forces at least 12 miles from the security zones. The government also is prohibited from conducting flights over the zones.

The government has guaranteed the safety of the rebels and their families and said it will respect their civil liberties.

by CNB