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Secretary General Insulza: Central American Peace Plan was an “Act of Great Audacity”

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, said that the Central American Peace Plan presented by former President of Costa Rica Oscar Arias in 1987 “was an act of great audacity for the time”, in his comments at the inauguration of celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Central American Peace Plan in the National Theatre in San José (Costa Rica) on Wednesday, September 12. “It was an arduous and difficult process, and at the time, one whose future and fulfillment were uncertain,” said Secretary General Insulza.

The OAS Secretary General said that the document that former President Arias defined as a “viable, timely and constructive tool” formally proposed “holding rounds of negotiation between each government and its internal opposition with an eye towards national reconciliation and later the dialogue a permanent ceasefire.”

"This initiative launched a regional peace process with the Central Americans as the only protagonists and the only ones directly responsible for its success or failure,” he said. "The process gained an important level of support from many Latin American governments who had recently returned to democracy," added Secretary General Insulza.

The President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, also took part in the event, as did former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, Enrique Castillo.

The head of the OAS said: “the beginning was a difficult process, that advanced with more agility when the international détente began to change and started to dispel the dialectic of blocs and the impediments of the Cold War."

During his address, Insulza concluded that "the peace process in Central America is important for several reasons:” first, because "it was a joint initiative;” second, because after Esquipulas (Guatemala) the meetings continued and moved ahead with a process of integration, and in October 1989, in San Jose (Costa Rica), 15 heads of State and Government of the Americas met, including the United States and Canada; and third, because an "International Verification and Monitoring Commission was set up in Venezuela" in August 1987, with the participation of the OAS and the Secretary General of the United Nations along with the Contadora Group and its Support Group.

"It was a period deeply marked by the democratic ideal. Today, we could discuss how democracy has developed in the region, but there’s no doubt that it is the only viable project which is discussed, no one speaks of other alternative regimes that are not democratic,” said Insulza. "That has been one of the greatest legacies of the Central American Peace Plans" he summarized.

Concluding his speech, Secretary General Insulza paid tribute to "Mr. Oscar Arias Sanchez, who, armed only with reason, changed the course of history that other more powerful countries, wanted to mark with force and arms." He ended his address by repeating the words of the former Costa Rican President, which he said summarized the greatest aspirations of the region: '... peace can only be achieved by its own instruments: dialogue and understanding, tolerance and forgiveness, freedom and democracy.'

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-311/12