CONSCRIPTS COME HOME, WELL-DRILLED SANDINISTAS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000403490012-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 8, 2012
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: September 12, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT .
` Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403490012-2
APPEHER NEW YORK TIMES
ON PAGE 12 Se
p?:ember 1986
Conscripts Come Home,
Well-Drilled Sandinistas
By STEPHEN KINZER
Special Lo The New York Times
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Sept. 11 -
During his two years in the Sandinista
army, Marlon Antonio Flores fought
off rebel ambushes, survived bombard-
ment and lived in inhospitable moun-
tains for months at a time.
But as he was officially discharged
from the army on a recent Saturday at-
ternoon, Mr. Flores said his "revolu-
"tionary work" was far from over.
"The army changed me a lot," he
said. "There was political instruction
all the time. You come back very
aware of your responsibility to the
revolution."
Mr. Flores is one of thousands of
Nicaraguan soldiers, called up when
conscription began in 1984, who are
now being released from military serv-
ice. He said he was coming home much
more positive about Sandinista rule
than he was when he reluctantly pre-
sented himself for his pre-draft physi-
cal examination more than two years
ago.
Drilled in Political Attitudes
Sandinista leaders have structured
the army to be not only a fighting force,
but also a tool for inculcating Sandin-
ista values. During their two years of
service, soldiers learn political atti-
tudes that their commanders hope will
make them ideal defenders of the revo-
lutionary cause when they return to
civilian life.
"These young men will have very im-
portant roles," said Carlos Carrion
Cruz, a senior Sandinista leader, after.
he presided over the formal discharge,
of 300 soldiers at an open field in a poor;
quarter of Managua.
"They are tested troops who will
greatly improve the reserve defense
units in our cities," Commander
Carrion said. "Also, they come back
with a high political consciousness, and
they recognize the need to transmit
that to others."
The military draft was very contro-
versial when it was introduced at the
beginning of 1984. Thousands of youths
fled the country to avoid service and
many more went into hiding.
Recruiters were involved in violent
clashes in some areas.
Desertion Rates Reported High
Some non-Sandinista politicians have
opposed the draft, charging that young
people are being conscripted into an
army dominated by a single political
group, the Sandinistas. But Govern-
ment leaders, locked in war against
United States-backed insurgents, say
defense is a task for everyone.
Desertion rates of those conscripted
have been high, according to diplo-
mats..Although no official figures have
been released, as many as 20 percent
or more of the first wave of recruits
deserted. The number of desertions is
believed to have declined since then,
but it remains significant.
But thousands of young men ac-
cepted the draft call, some enthusiasti.
cally and others because they had no
realistic alternative, and they have
now served their two years. As the first
of them have been demobilized in re-
cent weeks, there is evidence that they
may provide a new injection of much-
needed revolutionary fervor in a soci-
ety drained emotionally as well as eco-
nomicaly by the continuing war.
At the demobilization ceremony in
Managua, several soldiers interviewed
at random said they planned to be ac-
tive in Sandinista labor or youth
groups, student unions or other "mass
organizations." They said their expert
ence over the last two years had shown
them\ the importance of defending
revolutionary rule in Nicaragua.
Since the demobilizations began in
July, several young veterans have as-
sumed positions of responsibility in
Sandinista organizations.
Gustavo Titter, 22 years old, has be-
come one of the Managua coordinators
for the Sandinista defense committees,
neighborhood groups that deliver some
local services and monitor activities of
residents.
David Ruiz Velasco, who like Mr.
Tiffer was discharged from the army
in July, pointed to his status as a vet-
eran in his successful campaign to win
the vice presidency of the secondaryj
students' federation in an election in'
August.
"We are not leaving the trenches,"
said one of the men demobilized in
Managua, Luis Manuel HernAndez, in
an address to his comrades. "We have
work to do in civil defense and in ideo-
logical struggle. Young Sandinistas do
not stop fighting."
Diplomats in Managua said the ap-
pearance in civilian society of thou-
s4nds of committed Sandinistas fresh
from two years of constant "political
education" could have an important
impact in Nicaragua.
Army 'a Political School'
"The Sandinista army is a political
school," one ambassador said. "Mili-
tary service is a building process for
the Sandinistas in a social as well as a
military sense."
The ambassador estimated that
more than 7,000 young people had been
discharged from the army in recent
months. Commander Carrion said the
number exceeded 4,000 for Managua
alone.
The Government is making special
efforts to insure that all former sol-
diers are able to find work or to return
to their studies. Most will also become
squad or platoon leaders in military re-
serve units.
Not all veterans have made a smooth
transition to civilian life, however.
There have been reports that in some
communities recently discharged men
have been arrested for acts of violence.
The Draft Goes On
The impact of the soldiers' return to
civilian life may be heightened by the
fact that the first large groups of Nica-
raguans who have been in extended
study courses abroad are also coming
home now. Most attended schools in
Cuba, Eastern Europe or the Soviet
Union and have been away for five
years or longer..
Several recently demobilized sol-'
diers interviewed in Managua said
they would be ready to return to active
duty if called. But Nicaragua is a coun-
try of young people and there is na
shortage of 16-year-olds to fill the
places these men are leaving.
The draft is continuing, with Sandin-
ista youth groups and trade unions
providing most of the young people to
replace those now being discharged.
Laws permitting medical exemptions
and deferments for sole surviving sons
appear to be more widely respected
now than before. There is no provision
for conscientious objection, however.
Service remains obligatory, although
those who genuinely wish to avoid it
and have some resources still have
ways to do so.
The September 14 neighhborhood,
where Mr. Carrion and other officials
congratulated discharged soldiers, has
had its share of funerals for local
youths killed in battle, residents said. A
woman selling fruit drinks said her son
had fled to Costa Rica to avoid the
army.
But those who joined the military
and survived two years of service are
beginning to form a cadre of Sandinista
activists with special attachment to
their cause.
As they marched toward the field
.where they were to bid farewell to
army life, at least temporarily, the
youths were preceded by a corps of
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403490012-2
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403490012-2
A.
majorettes and 16 drummers playing
martial beats.
"Here are the people who are guar-
anTeeii j out Tiapptness ~ydefending
Ricaa uan sovereignt and fi
American T rialismnroclai
man in a truck w1 o sr reload-
aserratteheaothe
"These are a ernes w o are defeat-
ing the C.I.A. mercenar es.
est ents stood on sidewalks and
many clapped as the young men in fa-
tigues passed. The men smiled, waved
and shouted slogans to the crowd and
each other. "Let Reagan send whoever
he wants," cried one. "They'll have to
get past us if they want to take this
country."
Under a light drizzle, each soldier
was given a pin attesting to his military
service and a certificate affirming that
he had "carried out his sacred duty to
the nation with dignity and patriot-
ism." The national anthem was played
and there were speeches and emotional
embraces.
Like other mothers who attended the
ceremony, Maria de los Santos Gutidr-
re7 said she had spent much of the last
two years praying for her son. She last
saw him when he was given a brief
home leave six months ago.
"I have Roger back and that makes
me happier than anything,' Mrs.
Gutidrrez said. "I'm sure he will go
back to work and do whatever is ex-
pected of him."
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403490012-2