El Salvador Too Much Like a Father?

By JANICE C. SIMPSON.

Well-wishers sent bouquets of roses, chrysanthemums and gladiolus garlanded with bright festive ribbons to the presidential residence. Relatives and close friends of Jose Napoleon Duarte and his family gathered in the private chapel in the Salvadoran President's home. There they took part in a Mass of thanksgiving for the safe return of Duarte's oldest daughter, Ines Guadalupe Duarte Duran, 35, who was released 44 days after antigovernment guerrillas kidnaped her and a friend, Ana Cecilia Villeda, 23. But the joy of the long- awaited homecoming was muted by signs that a total recovery from the kidnaping incident will be a difficult process for the Duartes and the country.

The two women reported that they had been well treated, and they appeared to be in good physical condition. But Duarte charged that the guerrillas had attempted to brainwash his daughter. "They tried to destroy the link between her and me," the President said. "But they did not succeed." Nevertheless, it is evident that the time in captivity has deeply scarred Duarte Duran. An energetic mother of three, she ably assisted her father in his 1984 presidential campaign. Visitors last week found her hesitant and withdrawn, sometimes clinging to her father in an almost childlike fashion. "Her mood + goes up and down. She is still frightened of everything," said Duarte. On the advice of the psychologist who counseled the family during its 44-day vigil, the President has joined his daughter in therapy sessions.

Duarte, who personally supervised the complex negotiations that secured his daughter's freedom, has been accused by some of his opponents of cutting a deal too generous to the guerrillas. As a result, his ability to govern the country has been seriously compromised for the first time since he assumed office 17 months ago. In an effort to regain control, Duarte is considering a harder line toward the rebels. "I was trying to give them political space so they could accept the democratic process," he said in an interview with TIME. "For example, we haven't (asked) for the extradition of all the comandantes from the countries where they are living."

The government freed 25 political prisoners in the deal, including at least two high-ranking commanders, and provided safe passage out of the country for 101 disabled guerrillas in exchange for the release of the two women and 23 mayors and municipal officials who had been abducted by the rebels over the past six months. Duarte's critics condemned the swap, saying that the President ignored the mayors' plight until his daughter was taken hostage. Said Hugo Barrera, an industrialist and a conservative political leader: "He didn't act as a chief of state but as a father."

Barrera and others also sharply criticized Duarte for sending two other daughters, a daughter-in-law and five grandchildren to the U.S. a few weeks after the abduction. Duarte says he has proof that a network of guerrilla spies closely monitored the activities of all his children and planned additional kidnapings. Indeed, he says, two other daughters narrowly escaped abduction attempts. But the critics contend that moving his own family to safety undermines confidence that the government can control the rebels. "If he doesn't feel secure, how secure should we feel?" asked Barrera.

Despite some reservations, the military, still the ultimate arbiter in El Salvador's affairs, has so far supported Duarte. "If this had happened three years ago, the army would have rejected the idea of negotiating with the guerrillas," said one high-ranking officer. "And if it had happened six years ago, there would have been a coup." Nonetheless, Duarte must move quickly to reconsolidate his strength before the guerrillas succeed in their admitted goal of destroying the fragile alliance the President has built with the military. Two days after the prisoner exchange, a dozen men raided the farm of Duarte's former chief military aide, Air Force Colonel Omar Napoleon Avalos, and carried him off in his own pickup truck. No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnaping, the first abduction of a military man since the six-year civil war began, but campesinos told soldiers they saw guerrillas marching the colonel toward rebel-controlled territory. The military is watching intently to see how Duarte handles the case.

Last week Duarte flew to Washington to repair his political image abroad. The Duartes, father and daughter, met privately with President Reagan, who warmly embraced the former hostage. Later in the day, the Salvadoran President appeared before the National Press Club, where he defended the actions he had taken to secure his daughter's freedom. In a speech on the themes of terrorism and humanism, there were flashes of the new toughness Duarte hopes to project, as he lashed out against neighboring Nicaragua, calling it a center of "totalitarianism and violence" that harbors terrorists. But it was the grateful father, not the vengeful commander in chief, who had the last word. "Humanism and love," said Duarte, "will triumph over terrorism."

Just a year ago, many Salvadorans were hailing Duarte as a triumphant leader who could restore stability and prosperity to their turbulent land. Indeed, a historic set of talks he initiated with rebel leaders in the town of La Palma last October seemed to move the country closer to peace. The talks stalled, but Duarte secured heavy infusions of aid, arms and training from the U.S. that strengthened the Salvadoran military and forced the rebels to retreat to hit-and-run tactics. Over the past few months, however, the guerrillas have staged a number of spectacular operations, including an attack last June on sidewalk cafes in the exclusive Zona Rosa section of the capital, in which 13 people, including six Americans, were killed. Last month a daring predawn assault on the government's main military training center, at La Union, killed 42 soldiers and wounded 72 others. But the kidnapings of Duarte Duran and now Avalos are the clearest indications that the guer- rillas are far from defeated. Both sides predict that the fighting could drag on for years.

With reporting by Jon Lee Anderson and Harry Kelly/San Salvador