"The first victory we can claim is that our hearts are free of hatred. Hence we say to those who persecute us and who try to dominate us: ‘You are my brother. I do not hate you, but you are not going to dominate me by fear. I do not wish to impose my truth, nor do I wish you to impose yours on me. We are going to seek the truth together’. THIS IS THE LIBERATION WHICH WE ARE PROCLAIMING."
Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas (2002)
Nicaragua is in mourning. Protests and repression mark one year of resistance.
One year ago in Nicaragua on April 18, 2018 long standing frustrations with the Sandinista regime
of Daniel Ortega erupted across Managua in response to a "reform" of the
pension system that reduced them for current recipients while raising
the amount taken from salaries of current workers. At 5:00pm "Sandinista
youth" and national police attack protesters, destroyed commercial establishments and took over the Central American University.
The following day classes were canceled across the country and the
government continued to call on the police and the Sandinista youth to
counter-protest.
On Sunday, April 22, 2018 with over 25 confirmed dead
Ortega rescinds the "reform." This would have ended the protests on
April 18, 2018, but after the thuggish behavior of the regime combined
with the wholesale violation of freedom of the press, freedom of
expression and association the citizenry was aroused.
Tens of thousands protested against Ortega regime on April 28
On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States issued a statement in which they condemned "the deaths of at least 25 people in a context of repression of
protests against plans to reform the social security system in
Nicaragua." The IACHR also made known that "four TV channels that were reporting on the protests were taken off the air following government orders."
Photos of seven of the youth killed in Nicaragua during anti-government protests
The death toll would continue to mount over the upcoming days and weeks.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018 was Mother's Day in Nicaragua, and it is a day traditionally of great celebrations across the country. Nicaraguan mothers marched on this day to remember the children, who were among the 80 killed since the start of the protests at that time. Pro-government para-police called "shock forces" and armed third parties fired on the non-violent demonstrators. Official reports are that 15 people were killed and 199 were injured in Managua, Estelí and Masaya.
Moms in Nicaragua peacefully protested for children killed by government.
By July 14, 2018 the Sandinista regime's
campaign of extrajudicial killings and political terror to hang on to power had reached new lows. 350 Nicaraguans
had been reported killed, 169 disappeared and 3,000 have been wounded
by police agents since the protests began reported
Nicaraguan student leader Victor Cuardas. At least 20 people were
killed on July 8, the Economist reported, and reports of new killings flooded social media every day.
However one aspect that is not being widely reported is that Nicaraguan
torture victims have disclosed hearing Venezuelan and Cuban accents in
the regime's secret prisons. The Miami Herald quoted Nicaraguan student leader Victor Cuadras on July 13, 2018:
“Castro copied his recipe for repression and harassment in Venezuela,
and now they are doing it in Nicaragua. There are many people who,
while being tortured, heard the accents of Venezuela and Cuba in the
clandestine prisons.”
Two day later the São Paulo Forum gathered in Havana, Cuba and backed Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista regime despite their slaughter of civilians.
Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela
Agence France Press reported on July 27, 2018
that more than a dozen doctors, nurses, and technical staff in a public
hospital in Nicaragua were fired because they treated wounded
anti-government protesters. The Associated Press reported that eight public hospital doctors in Nicaragua said Friday that they have been
fired after violating alleged orders not to treat wounded protesters
opposing President Daniel Ortega’s government.
Despite all of this the protests continued and students continued to put their lives on the lines. There are more than 600 identified political prisoners. On September 10, 2018 Amaya Coppens, a fifth year medicine student at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de León in Nicaragua was arrested and accused of "terrorism." She was arbitrarily detained along with
Sergio Alberto Midence Delgadillo by hooded police that used violence to
detain them, and taken away in a van.
Amnesty International estimated that 322 Nicaraguans had been killed "as of September 18, 2018, most of them caused by gunshots to the head, neck, and torso."
Amaya Eva Coppens has been arbitrarily detained since September 10, 2018
The Committee of Concerned Scientists reported thaton October 26, 2018 "she and 18 other women confined at La Speranza prison were
attacked and beaten by over 20 unidentified, hooded men. None of the
women received medical treatment. Four days following the attack
members of the Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua accompanied by
the Permanent Human Rights Commission attempted to visit the prison to
observe the condition of the attacked prisoners but were denied
entrance." Amaya Eva Coppens has both Nicaraguan and Belgian nationality. She remains arbitrarily detained in a Nicaraguan prison as of today.
Amnesty International has described the past year in Nicaragua as one of "brutal repression." They are not exaggerating. On April 17, 2019 police in riot gear disrupted a peaceful protest to mark the one year anniversary, and several dozen were arrested, according to news reports. Across the United States acts of remembrance and protest are being carried out to demand freedom for Nicaragua and justice for Ortega's victims. One year later and the opposition estimates the total number killed at more than 550. Other news accounts document that there have been "over 3,000 injured, dozens missing, more than 700 political prisoners
and approximately 60,000 exiled due to the political persecution."
Bloodshed in Nicaragua continues: Doctors fired for treating wounded anti-government protesters.
Students, and journalists among the 448 killed during anti-government protests
Today thousands of Nicaraguans are marching in Managua in support of the Bishops mediating the conflict that began on April 18, 2018 when the Ortega regime sent paramilitaries and Sandinista militants to violently put down peaceful protests and shutting down the free press. At least 448 killed over a hundred days of protests in Nicaragua.
Letter of dismissal for Nicaraguan doctor
Agence France Press reported yesterday that more than a dozen doctors, nurses, and technical staff in a public hospital in Nicaragua were fired because they treated wounded anti-government protesters. The Associated Press reported that eight public hospital doctors in Nicaragua said Friday that they have been
fired after violating alleged orders not to treat wounded protesters
opposing President Daniel Ortega’s government.
Bloody Alliance in Nicaragua: Ortega, Castro and Maduro
Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista Party are not alone in their bloody crackdown but also torture victims reported hearing Cuban and Venezuelan accents in secret prisons. Raul Castro on July 26th linked up the three countries saying: "For us, the same as for Venezuela and Nicaragua, it's very clear that
the noose is tightening, and our people need to be ready to respond to
every challenge with unity."
How the São Paulo Forum sees itself
On July 16-17, 2018 in Havana, Cuba the São Paulo Forum celebrated the victory at the ballot box of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) in Mexico, and unconditionally defended Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua despite the ongoing massacres of anti-government protesters.
In 1990 following a request made by Fidel Castro to Lula Da Silva the
Sao Paulo Forum was established with the goal: “To reconquer in Latin
America all that we lost in East Europe.” The FSP is a communist network
comprised of over 100 left wing political parties, various social
movements, and guerrilla terrorist organizations such as the Fuerzas
Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) and the Chilean Movimiento de la Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR)
Wounded anti-government protester
This network is actively supporting Ortega's bloody regime and will be growing stronger later this year with the new government in Mexico.
Former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda revealed how the AMLO victory in Mexico will impact on events in Nicaragua and the timing for a solution. The new government takes power on December 1st. At best an Andrés Manuel López Obrador will return to a pre-2000 non-intervention policy in the region or at worse actively supporting the Ortega regime and their Cuban allies. Basically Nicaraguan democrats have until December to resolve the situation in their country or be prepared for an even longer and harder slog with a major country that is now backing them either going to the sidelines or joining the other side.
Posts
