Still Opposes Aid to Contras, O’Neill Says

WASHINGTON â€”  House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. said today that he remains unalterably opposed to any kind of aid to the rebels in Nicaragua, despite political pressures arising from Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega’s trip to Moscow.

Two weeks ago, the Democrat-controlled House rejected Republican efforts to provide both military and humanitarian assistance to the contra guerrillas.

A few days later, Ortega traveled to Moscow to ask for $200 million in aid from Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev, angering some moderate Democrats and liberal Republicans who said they would have supported some form of aid for the contras had they known what Ortega would do.

“Politically . . . he (Ortega) embarrassed us,� O’Neill told reporters. “Whether or not there is any real change of heart, I don’t know.�

Since Ortega’s trip, which includes stops in other communist nations, there have been calls for a new contra aid fight in the House, although some Republicans have said they would prefer to wait until President Reagan returns from his 10-day trip to Europe.

O’Neill said it is possible that the contra issue will be resurrected when foreign aid legislation is debated on the House floor next week.

But Republican sources said any fresh effort to provide aid to the guerrillas seeking to overthrow the leftist Sandinista government will probably be put off for a few weeks.

O’Neill said he will oppose any contra formula which provides any direct assistance to the rebels, whether military or humanitarian. “It just amounts to resupplying the contras, “ he said.

O’Neill said he would support only assistance funneled through international relief agencies for the benefit of refugees outside Nicaragua.

The Democratic leader said he believes that Reagan ultimately wants to send American troops to Nicaragua. If that happened, he said, “it would not be another Grenada. They would be fighting in the hills and jungles of Nicaragua for a long time.�