U.S.-backed rebels have accepted Managua as the site for a new round of peace talks with the government, a rebel spokesman said Wednesday.
Roberto Ferrey, secretary of the Nicaraguan Resistance directorate, said by telephone from Costa Rica that the rebel delegation, headed by Alfredo Cesar, would go to Managua later Wednesday.The government of President Daniel Ortega had insisted that the talks, scheduled to begin Wednesday, be held here.
The rebels, known as Contras, had refused to return to Managua, complaining of strict government limits on their activities during two previous sessions. They wanted instead to meet with leftist Sandinista officials in Sapoa, a post on the Costa Rican border where the two sides signed a preliminary peace plan on March 23.
The aim of the talks is to work out details of a permanent cease-fire in the war that Ortega says has killed 26,500 people and caused $3 billion in damage to the economy.
Ferrey said the Contras would go to Managua "with the understanding that there will be complete and unrestricted freedom of expression and the right to meet with organizations and leaders."