Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 99 Part 1.djvu/275

 PUBLIC LAW 99-83—AUG. 8, 1985 professional sectors) and who still seek democracy, reject the rule of the Frente Sandinista, and seek the free elections promised in 1979; (B) the Nicaraguan political opposition has joined with the armed opposition groups in issuing the San Jose Manifesto of March 1, 1985, calling for a national dialogue under mediation by the Nicaraguan Bishops Conference to peacefully attain the fulfillment of the Government of Nicaragua's commitments to the Organization of American States, including "the democratization of Nicaragua, conscious that democracy is the only means to carry out an authentic revolution and secure our national identity and sovereignty"; (C) on June 12, 1985, in San Salvador, El Salvador, the political and armed opposition groups representing the entire democratic political spectrum of Nicaragua formed the Unified Nicaraguan Opposition and affirmed their "historical commitment to achieve for Nicaragua the reconciliation of her children, to establish the foundation for democracy and the moral and material reconstruction of the nation"; and (D) the Unified Nicaraguan Opposition further declared its intention to "give priority at all times to a political solution which will ease the suffering of our people". (4) CONCERNS IN THE REGION AND UNITED STATES RESPONSIBIL-

ITIES.—The Congress further finds that— (A) Nicaragua's neighbors, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Honduras, have expressed, individually and through the Contadora process, their belief that their peace and freedom is not safe so long as the Government of Nicaragua excludes from power most of Nicaragua's political leadership and is controlled by a small sectarian party, without regard to the will of the majority of Nicaraguans; and (B) the United States, given its role in the installation of the current Government of Nicaragua, has a special responsibility regarding the implementation of the commitments made by that Government in 1979, especially to those who fought against Somoza to bring democracy to Nicaragua with United States support. (5) RESOLUTION OF THE CONFLICT.—The Congress—

(A) condemns the Government of Nicaragua for violating its solemn commitments to the Nicaraguan people, the United States, and the Organization of American States; (B) affirms that the Government of Nicaragua will be regarded as having achieved political legitimacy when it fulfills its 1979 commitment to the Organization of American States to implement genuinely democratic elections, under the supervision of the Organization of American States, in which all elements of the Nicaraguan resistance can peacefully participate under conditions recognized as necessary for free elections by international bodies; (C) urges the Government of Nicaragua to enter a national dialogue, as proposed by the Nicaraguan democratic resistance in San Jose, Costa Rica, on March 1, 1985, under mediation by the Nicaraguan Bishops Conference in order to peacefully resolve the current crisis through internation-

99 STAT. 253

�