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"Press
Guidance" from the State Department.
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This is the "official story" from Washington, disseminated
to press spokespeople in the U.S. embassies. |
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| Q: | What can you tell us of the report of the killing of an American engineer in Nicaragua? | |
| A: |
We are trying to ascertain the facts, but it appears from everything we have seen that a civilian has been killed. The major sources of information in this case is the government of Nicaragua, and there are conflicting accounts of what actually happened. So we can provide no confirmation of these events.
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| Q: | Can you tell us who the engineer is? | |
| A: | We have seen the press reports, but our embassy in Managua
has received no official confirmation of an American citizen. |
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| Q: | Have we received some kind of protest from the Nicaraguans? | |
| A: | We have received nothing from the Nicaraguans. |
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| Q: | How many Americans are there in Nicaragua? | |
| A: | We estimate that there are approximately 1500 Americans resident
in Nicaragua and 500 to 1000 visitors at any given time. While we encourage
Americans to register with the embassy, they are under no obligation to
do so. |
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| Q: | How many of the Americans in Nicaragua are working as volunteers? | |
| A: | We don't know. |
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| Q: | Is there Travel Advisory for Nicaragua? | |
| A: | There has been a travel advisory in effect for Nicaragua for
some time advising U.S. citizens to exercise extreme caution when traveling
there because of the ongoing hostilities between the Sandinista Government
and the armed resistance. The most recent update was issued on April 25
of this year. A copy of that travel advisory is available in the press office. |
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| Q: | What has the U.S. Government previously said about the Nicaraguan Government's responsibility for the welfare of American citizens in Nicaragua? | |
| A: | We believe that the government of Nicaragua is responsible for ensuring the safety of foreign citizens within its territory. That government shows only indifference. If not callous negligence of the safety of civilians when it permits travel to contested areas. | |
Thursday, April 30, 1987 Press Guidance to all American Republic Diplomatic Posts Nicaragua: Death of Benjamin Linder |
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| Q: | Has the Department of State confirmed the death of Benjamin Linder? | |
| A: | We have received a note from the government of Nicaragua confirming
the death of Benjamin Ernest Linder. The note was dated April 29 and was
received by our embassy last night. (FYI: The note states "Yesterday between 7:00 and 8:00 A.M. in the San Jose de Bocay sector, the North American citizen Benjamin Ernest Linder, was violently murdered by the mercenaries financed directly by the government of the United States of America." End FYI) |
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| Q: | Is the Embassy assisting the family of Mr. Linder? | |
| A: | We are ready to help the family in whatever way we can. Our
embassy has informed us, however that the family is enroute to Nicaragua
and that it may be considering burial there. |
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| Q: | Do you have any further information on the details of the killing? | |
| A: | It is difficult to determine with any certainly the facts
in this case. As you know there has been a number of conflicting reports.
We hope neither the Sandinista Government or the Resistance is targeting
or killing American citizens or civilians of any nationality. We have not
been able to travel to the area. Neither have we seen press reports to indicate
that US journalists were able to travel there when Mr. Linder died, although
the government of Nicaragua apparently provided transportation for members
of its own controlled press. |
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| Q: | What are we doing to investigate the death? | |
| A: | We continue to press the Nicaraguan Government on the case,
but it has not cooperated by providing details of what actually occurred. |
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| Q: | Have we sent a team to the area? | |
| A: | We would like to send a team to the area. But the embassy
has determined that in the absence of assistance from the Nicaraguan government,
the area is currently too dangerous to permit travel by embassy personnel. |
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| Q: | How do you warn Americans about travel to areas such as this? | |
| A: | As I told you before we have a very strong travel advisory
on Nicaragua. This occurred in the most hotly contested area of Nicaragua.
We urge Americans to register at the embassy and learn what areas of the
country to avoid just as we warn Americans about travel in other countries
in armed conflict. We have repeatedly warned US citizens about the dangers
of traveling to conflictive areas of Nicaragua. |
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| Q: | Have you talked to the Contras about this? If not, do you plan to? | |
| A: | We are in contact with the resistance about the case. If may
take some time before resistance leaders can get a detailed report from
forces operating in the area. However, the resistance in a preliminary statement
has said that Mr. Linder was killed when resistance forces engaged a group
of armed military or paramilitary personnel. The Nicaraguan association
for human rights, an independent organization composed of exiled Nicaraguans,
it requesting permission of the government of Nicaraguan to travel to the
area to investigate. |
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| Q: | Is this the Contra human rights organization? | |
| A: |
This group is not affiliated with the resistance. It receives US funding appropriated by the congress for the purpose of human rights education and investigating charges of abuses lodged against resistance forces.
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| Q: | What is your response to the Congressional demand for an investigation of Mr. Linder's death? | |
| A: | We began to investigate this case immediately. Unfortunately,
the Nicaraguan Government has not cooperated with the Embassy in its attempts
to determine the facts of the case. Of course, we will cooperate fully with
the Congress. |
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| Q: | Is this Administration now going to restrict the travel of US citizens of Nicaragua? | |
| A: | We believe that current travel advisory stands as a warning
to potential travelers to Nicaragua. We have no desire to forbid American
travel to Nicaragua. |
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| Q: | What have we heard from the Nicaraguans? | |
| A: | As we said before, we have asked the Nicaraguan government
for confirmation of the details of these reports. They have not reported
any. |
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| Q: | Has the Embassy received the formal protest from the Nicaraguan Government that was reported in yesterday's press? | |
| A: | No. We have received only the note to which I referred we
have received no protest note. |
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| Q: | But surely you have seen the Government statement. What is your response? | |
| A: | Subsequent accounts, including that of the FSLN newspaper
Barricada, contradict the claims made originally by the government
of Nicaragua. We reject categorically the charge that the US government
is responsible for this event. |
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| Q: | Does the US plan to make formal protest to the Government of Nicaragua? | |
| A: | We have previously made our position known to the government of Nicaragua with respect to his responsibility for the safety and welfare of American citizens visiting in that country and we have protested the Nicaraguan government's policy of facilitating the travel of American citizens and other foreign civilians to areas of known conflict. | |
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| Q: | What information do you have from the Nicaraguan Human Rights Association on the death of Benjamin Linder? | |
| A: | We have a written report from the Nicaraguan Human Rights
Association detailing its efforts to get information on the circumstances
of Benjamin Linder's death. However, the association has indicated that
its findings are preliminary and inconclusive.-- In additions we have the
association's brief, preliminary report which states that it interviewed
members of the FDN unit involved in the incident, and that they reported
that Mr. Linder died during a fire fight. We continue our efforts to learn
the actual details of what occurred from eyewitnesses to the incident, and
we are asking US officials in Central America to seek further information
from the resistance. --The association has also advised us that today's Washington times article on the subject contains inaccuracies, and that it intends to correct the record and continue its investigation.- Schultz |
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