Battle for Hearts and Minds

By Jacob V. Lamar Jr.

In downtown Boston, black-robed protesters wearing skull masks act as pall- bearers in a mock funeral for Nicaragua's war casualties. A banner reads 7,000 NICARAGUANS MURDERED BY CIA CONTRAS. At a University of Florida rally in Gainesville, students on the other side of the issue call the contras "freedom fighters" and cheer as Marcos Zeledon, a leader of those rebels, decries Nicaragua's Marxist-led Sandinista government. In Los Angeles a large crowd gathers to hear liberal Actor Ed Asner debate with Lewis Lehrman, a conservative activist. The subject: "Should the U.S. resume aid to the contras?"

For both sides in the Nicaraguan conflict, the U.S. has become a battleground. This war for the favor of the American public has grown increasingly urgent as Congress prepares to vote on President Reagan's request for $14 million in aid for the anti-Sandinista contras.

On the anti-contra side, a national coalition comprising mostly religious groups has drafted a "Pledge of Resistance." Some 55,000 Americans have signed, vowing to engage in acts of civil disobedience and nonviolent protest if the U.S. "invades, bombs, sends combat troops, or otherwise significantly escalates its intervention in Nicaragua or El Salvador." The pledgers are currently on "active alert," poised to hold peace vigils and to begin phoning Congressmen as the vote on contra aid approaches.

Also ready to go to the barricades in support of the Nicaraguan government is U.S. Out of Central America, a socialist organization that publishes a newsletter, Central America Alert, and tries to unite its cause with those of antinuclear, civil rights and feminist operations. Another group, called Madre, the Spanish word for "mother," pairs U.S. day-care centers with schools in Nicaragua, setting up pen-pal relationships between the children. Meanwhile, American parents and teachers send money and medical supplies to their Nicaraguan counterparts.

In Hollywood the star-studded Committee of Concern for Central America sponsors lectures and debates featuring such celebrities as Mike Farrell (M*A*S*H) and Robert Foxworth (Falcon Crest). When Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra visited Los Angeles last fall, the group welcomed him with receptions and a Beverly Hills garden party. Oscar-winning Cinematographer Haskell Wexler, with the backing of fantasy-film Mogul George Lucas, this summer will release a dramatic movie that is critical of U.S. policy in Nicaragua. "Of course we know the political impact that a feature film on Central America will have," says Wexler. "That's why we made it."

The Sandinistas have retained a New York-based public relations firm, Agendas International, headed by Donald J. Casey and Darryl Hunt, to analyze U.S. media coverage of the Nicaraguan government. The Sandinista cause has also been aided by Los Angeles Media Consultant Bill Zimmerman, who helped direct the campaigns of Presidential Hopeful Gary Hart and Chicago Mayor Harold Washington.

On the other side of the issue, the pro-contra groups have been stepping up their efforts to seize some of the spotlight from their left-wing rivals. At a press conference in New York City last week, Arturo Cruz, Adolfo Calero and Alfonso Robelo, leading members of the opposition to the Sandinistas, made a plea for renewed U.S. support for their movement. Nicaragua has become "a sanctuary for terrorism, a center for subversion," Robelo said. He warned of an ominous domino chain of Communist expansion: "When Mexico finally explodes, it's going to affect California, Texas and beyond."

Florida, with its large population of Cuban and Nicaraguan exiles, has been the scene of the most vigorous anti-Sandinista demonstrations. Contra leaders were honored in Miami last month with parties and a parade during an official Nicaraguan Liberty Week. The star attraction was Fernando Chamorro, head of one of the smaller rebel armies. "We are trying to get a little visibility, to let the American public know us," said Chamorro. "We are here with great optimism and hope that the American government, and more important, the American people, will back us in our fight." Other groups arguing the contra cause include Lehrman's Citizens for America and the Council on Inter-American Security, a conservative organization that held a Nicaraguan Freedom Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. An organization called the Nicaraguan Refugee Fund is planning a $250-a-plate dinner in Washington this week; the diverse guest list includes Jeane Kirkpatrick, Oscar de la Renta and Wayne Newton. The special guest: Ronald Reagan.

The Administration is planning to step up its own public relations efforts on behalf of the contras. Patrick Buchanan, the White House communications director, is sponsoring daily conferences with officials from the Pentagon and the State Department to chart plans for winning the congressional vote. Reagan is expected to give at least two speeches this week publicizing his new Nicaragua package, which proposes peace talks between the Sandinistas and their opposition, plus $14 million in aid to the contras--money that can be used for military purposes only if there is no progress after 60 days of negotiations. The President will hold a series of private Oval Office meetings to lobby individual Congressmen. "We will try to show that espousing nation building really works," said National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane. "We have to persuade people that our policy can succeed and that the contras are not a losing cause."

With reporting by Dan Goodgame/Los Angeles, with other bureaus