President Violeta Chamorro's decision to name her vanquished opponent's brother as chief of the armed forces drew support from the United States but threats from Contra rebels and members of her own alliance.
Chamorro took the oath of office Wednesday from newly elected National Assembly President Miriam Arguello, formally ending 10 years of rule by the Sandinista Front with the promise of an end to compulsory military service, reductions in the armed forces and economic reforms."I am ordering today the suspension of obligatory military service," Chamorro said in her inaugural address at the baseball and soccer stadium in Managua that was packed with supporters of her National Opposition Union, known as UNO, and the Sandinista Front.
"Young men will now be able to start new occupations rather than the terrible occupation of war," Chamorro said, vowing also to oversee the complete disarmament of the U.S.-backed Contra rebels.
Chamorro, 60, issued her first legislative proposal Wednesday, calling for a sweeping amnesty for all political prisoners that would broaden earlier amnesties passed by the Sandinista government.
Outgoing President Daniel Ortega, who kept his promise of a peaceful transfer of power, removed the blue and white presidential sash and handed it to the new president.
Chamorro said Humberto Ortega, the ex-president's brother, would remain as chief of staff of the armed forces, a decision that prompted dissent within her 14-party coalition and brought threats not to disarm from Contra leaders.
Contra spokesman Alejandro Acevedo told United Press International in a telephone interview from Honduras that "the naming of General Ortega as chief of the Sandinista army in the new government makes us think about reviewing the agreement we signed" to disarm and disband by June 10.
Chamorro said she would be defense minister and Ortega would be subordinate to her and "oversee a program of reduction of the armed forces."
But newly named Agriculture Minister Jaime Cuadra and Construction Minister Gilberto Cuadra said they would not accept their posts if Ortega remained as armed forces chief of staff.
The decision, which Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., called "a bold one," was defended by the Bush administration.
"That's a decision that she has every right to make. We are confident that in President Chamorro's leadership, Nicaragua will enjoy prosperity and national reconciliation," White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said in Washington.
The inauguration was attended by 11 heads of state and Vice President Dan Quayle, who led the U.S. delegation to Nicaragua carrying a token quantity of flour and cooking oil to signify a new era in U.S. policy toward the Central American country.
Quayle, accompanied by his wife, Marilyn, and bearing word of nearly completed congressional action on the $300 million U.S. aid package, said Chamorro faces "herculean economic problems."
Daniel Ortega stirred the crowd with a dramatic speech calling on the United States to stay out of Nicaraguan affairs and saying Chamorro's 55 percent to 41 percent Feb. 25 election victory was "the conquest of the revolution."
Ortega pointed to Quayle and said, "We want to tell the Americans that this is a democracy. We want the Americans to keep their politics out of Nicaragua. We will decide our policies ourselves."