Nica News Roundup (March 9): OrMu’s Position is Public

March 9, 2019

Nicaragua

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In this edition:

OrMu Publishes Negotiation Agenda Proposal

This morning, OrMu’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs issued an official statement, outlining the administration’s agenda proposal for the negotiations with the Alianza Civica por la Justicia y la Democracia. The statement is the first time that the administration has used the word “negotiation” rather than the verbose designation of “Encounter towards [Mutual] Understanding and Peace” in an official communication.

The proposal reminds everyone that the two Nicaraguan co-dictators intend to stay until 2021, because that is when “presidential and legislative elections” are scheduled for. Then, the statement establishes five points for negotiation:

  1. Strengthening electoral institutions, by implementing the recommendations made by the OAS electoral mission, as well as proposals for electoral reform that perfect free, fair, and transparent electoral processes.
  2. Justice and reparations, in order to continue consolidating peace, security, and stability in Nicaragua.
  3. Release of prisoners [jailed]  in the context of criminal acts against the State of Nicaragua since April of 2018, who have not been tried. Those who have been tried and sentenced, will have their files reviewed, without leading to impunity. Furthermore, [OrMu proposes to] continue strengthening freedoms, rights, and guarantees established in the Nicaraguan Political Constitution.
  4. Lobby the international community for support for the implementation of final agreements, and call on the international community for the suspension of any sanctions against the Nicaraguan people, in order to facilitate the right to human, economic, and social development in Nicaragua, in favor of the most vulnerable sectors of society.
  5. Implementation and compliance with the accords.

The statement’s language makes it clear that neither Daniel Ortega nor Rosario Murillo accept any responsibility for the crisis that has enveloped Nicaragua since April of last year. To begin, they do not acknowledge that the 600+ prisoners currently in their custody are in prison not because of “crimes against the State of Nicaragua”, but because of protesting and/or responding to state sanctioned violence against the Nicaraguan people. Furthermore, item two of the agenda — justice and reparations — is meaningless, if not laughable. You can’t just say “we’ll give you justice and reparations” in one paragraph, and then turn around and criminalize hundreds of people by characterizing their actions as “crimes against the State of Nicaragua.”

However, the most telling item on OrMu’s agenda is their call for a suspension of sanctions. With that, they have finally admitted their weakness. It is the sanctions  “against the Nicaraguan people”.

Currently, most of the existing sanctions have been against individuals. Rosario Murillo, Fidel Moreno, Francisco Diaz, Francisco Lopez, and Roberto Rivas have all been slapped with sanctions.  Albanisa has also been sanctioned, as an offshoot of the sanctions against PdVSA in Venezuela. Nevertheless, the OrMu administration is thinking ahead, to any repercussions that might come from the NICA Act or from the European Union, should no progress be made.

In addition to the administration’s stance, Nicaraguans learned the position of the OAS today, when Secretary General Luis Almagro pushed out a “joint statement” with the government of Nicaragua. The statement announced that Luis Angel Rosadilla would sit down with the Government and the Alianza, as they are the two parties engaged in the “Encounter towards [Mutual] Understanding and Negotiation for Peace.”

Azahalea Solis, alternate member of the Alianza’s negotiating team, reacted via Twitter in strong terms, objecting to the use of the government’s preferred phrasing

Secretary General Almagro: This statement speaks of an Encounter towards [Mutual] Understanding. That is a propaganda activity carried out by the dictatorial government Ortega-Murillo. The OAS must not become an amplifier for Orteguismo’s message. It is necessary for you to correct that.

Solis is correct, as the term “Encounter towards [Mutual] Understanding and Peace” has been utilized throughout OrMu communications and propaganda since the first session at the INCAE. Adopting such language undermines the OAS’ position as an arbiter of disputes. Moreover, even OrMu’s propaganda outlets adopted the word “negotiation”, echoing what was written in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ document. Canal 6, for example, called it the “Negotiation towards [Mutual] Understanding and Peace,” while El 19 Digital, Viva Nicaragua 13, Canal 2, and Canal 4 used the term “Negotiating Table” in identical their tweets.

As today’s events unfolded, the Alianza is reconsidering its participation in the dialogue. The Alianza’s position, from the start, has been ask for (1)  the release of all political prisoners, regardless of whether or not they have been tried and sentenced; (2) the reestablishment of all freedoms, rights, and guarantees established by the Constitution; (3) electoral reforms that guarantee free, fair, and transparent elections, and (4) justice. Though there is some overlap in both positions, the Alianza cannot agree to OrMu’s proposal for a suspension of sanctions, as that would leave them without any leverage to achieve any of the other points on their agenda.

Right now, nothing can be accomplished without significant back channel negotiations. The Alianza Civica has no leverage without the support of international actors who can wield sanctions and/or cut off economic and technical assistance to push OrMu to concede. According to journalist Carlos Maldonado, back channel negotiations are already happening, with the Vatican, the US Embassy, and several European ambassadors lobbying the OrMu administration.

The Alianza’s response has not been released as of this writing.

 

 

Political Prisoners Stage Rooftop Protest.

This morning, video the Modelo Prison went viral on the Nica-social media sphere. The video, shot from inside the prison, shows Yubrank Suazo explaining that prisoners in every building in the Modelo have been engaged in resistance. In a long shot, a group of prisoners can bee seen standing on the roof top of one of the buildings.

For over 12 hours, political prisoners have been engaged in resistance throughout the penitentiary, from Gallery 16 to Maximum Security. We demand freedom and compliance with the mandate of the sovereign people. We see these kids, who heroically broke through security. They defeated the security of this dictatorial regime. They have told Ortega, they have told Alaniz, they have said to all of these oppressors that we are not afraid, and that we will continue even from inside these walls.

They want to shut us up; they want to make us afraid; they want to make us give up our rights; they want us to give up the freedom of the Nicaraguan people, and we are not willing to do that. We are telling Ortega and Murillo: You couldn’t and you cannot shut down the voice of the people that rises demanding freedom and democracy, and above all justice for the blood of our martyrs.

Long live a free Nicaragua!

Long live political prisoners

Que se rinda tu madre! (let your momma surrender)

According to Julio Montenegro, attorney for the Comision Permanente de Derechos Humanos (CPDH), the protest unfolded after a prisoner “desperately called out and asked for his cell to be opened, for he was ill.” This happened at around 2 P.M on March 8. La Prensa identified the prisoner as Levis Rugama. He had been requesting medical attention for several days before the incident.

The cries for help, led other prisoners in the 300 Gallery to protest strongly. Edwin Carcache, Francisco Sequoia, Levis Rugama, and Chester Membreño all participated. Then, prisoners in Gallery 16 broke through the roof and came out. They had blue and white flags and they sang the national anthem.

Finally, at around 5 P.M, Roberto Guevara, the ranking officer at the maximum security wing, arrived with officer Ignacio Matus and William Trujillo. The three men came violently into the cells where Francisco Sequeira and Chester Membreño are housed. They pepper sprayed, cuffed, and beat both men, according to statements from family members. In addition, according to La Prensa Edwin Carcache and Levis Rugama, along with Sequeira and Membreño, were taken away. They are currently considered missing..

Another account of the incident, published in La Prensa, places the start of the protests during the evening of March 7, when prisoners in the maximum security wing protested loudly, “demanding the windows be opened due to the oppressive heat. Prisoners also demanded to be allowed to walk around the hallway, as they are kept sitting down, in a confined space, without seeing the sunlight.”

In spite of the discrepancy in the timeline, Suazo’s video clearly shows prisoners on the rooftop, and Suazo’s defiant words are echoing throughout Nicaragua, in particular, his defiant use of the phrase “they couldn’t and they won’t”, which was coined by Rosario Murillo to described the so-called coup.

The consequences for protesting are not know at this time, but it doesn’t take much mental acumen to guess.

 

 

Peasant Movement Temporarily Withdraws from Alianza

After the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua, on Friday, opted to sit out the negotiations between OrMu and the Alianza, the future of a national dialogue is very uncertain, as the Alianza has stated that they will reconsider their options over the weekend, through a general meeting with all the stakeholders in the organization.

One stakeholder that might not be attending is the Peasants’s Movement. On Friday, after the bishops’ announcement, the Peasants’ Movement issued a statement, expressing that they would “temporarily withdraw” their delegates to the Alianza. The Peasants’ Movement identified three reasons for their decision. First, they argued that the Alianza had shut them out of the negotiations, by failing to “consult [us] appropriately in regards to the issues that should be taken to the negotiating table.” In addition, the organization stated that there is no communication between the Alianza and them. “We get ur information from the media”, they wrote. Secondly, the Peasants’ Movement feels that they cannot “commit themselves to be transparent [to their constituents] about a negotiation in which we have had no incidence.” Lastly, the Peasants’ Movement affirmed that they cannot participate in a negotiation that excludes important sectors, such as the Mothers of the victims, women’s rights organization, political prisoner organizations, labor, and others.

The Peasants Movement criticisms are similar to those of Mons. Abelardo Mata, who commented on the Alianza’s lack of inclusivity.

 

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2 Comments

  1. Linguistics Nerd

    Isn’t there a different term for Campesino than “peasant”? Maybe, “farmer”?

    1. dr.minuscula (Post author)

      That is what everyone who translates the term uses. It is widely accepted. But, yes, Farmer is an approximate translation.

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