
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 26, 1990                   TAG: 9003262167
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

DOUBLE STANDARD IN CENTRAL AMERICA

NOW THAT the elections in Nicaragua are over, the U.S. government's own commitment to democracy should be examined. Will the United States now insist that Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador also hold internationally monitored campaigns and elections? Will the Bush administration and Congress insist on a truly free press for these countries?

Will the United States continue to ignore the right-wing death squads that make freedom of speech a fatal activity in Guatemala and El Salvador? Will our leaders in Washington continue to promote double-standard democracy where freedom of speech, freedom of the press, political pluralism, and internationally certified free and fair elections matter only when you don't like the incumbent? PAT PRATALI ROANOKE

by CNB