(UPDATED) OrMu Fails Litmus Test at Metrocentro; Multiple protesters arrested; Sandinista militant fires at crowd, wounds three.

March 30, 2019

Nicaragua

On Friday, the Ortega-Murillo and Alianza Cívica negotiators signed two agreements. The first secures the release of all political prisoners, and the second deals with rights and guarantees afforded to all Nicaraguan citizens, by virtue of the Nicaraguan Constitution.

The litmus test for the second agreement came on Saturday afternoon, after Unidad Nacional Azul y Blanco (UNAB) called for a “national sit in.”

The Ortega administration failed stupendously when riot police geared up against protesters at Metrocentro. The agreement didn’t even make it past the 24-hour mark before it was violated.

The police arrested seven people at Metrocentro, and three protesters were wounded after an armed man opened fire on the crowd.

2-3 pm – local time

Metrocentro  is a privately-owned shopping mall in Managua. It has been the site of renewed protests since UNAB staged #AlaCalle, on March 16. These images show the start of the of the gathering.

These protesters climbed the fence

Protesters chanted anti-government slogans. Flor Ramírez (aka Doña Flor) can be seen on the left, wearing a blue and white huipil. She would be among the first to be arrested.

At approximately 2 pm, local time Trinchera de La Noticia posted these images, showing a large concentration of police officers outside Metrocentro. According to Trinchera, protesters were trapped inside.

The police broke into the perimeter and proceeded to grab and drag protesters out. This happened some time between 2:30 and 3 pm.

The images and video from Managua show riot police officers ganging up on protesters.  Flor Ramírez was forcefully removed from the premises.

There are several videos showing Doña Flor’s arrest. She was among the first people to be dragged out of the Metrocentro premises.

This is another view of Doña Flor’s forceful removal from Metrocentro. Two other unidentified protesters were also forced onto police vehicles.

The “arrest” of an unidentified protester, documented by La Prensa.

The team from Accion 10 news filmed the police action against protesters. They were attacked too.

The police reported seven arrests. Everyone was released later.

This young girl witnessed the police action. She asks “why are you repressing us?”

In spite of police presence, protests continue at the Metrocentro parking lot. This group jumps to the chant, “if you don’t jump, you’re a toadie.”

Protests also happened elsewhere in Managua. This video, from Barrio María Auxiliadora, shows police approaching a group of protesters. The police accuse them of public disorder. The protesters retort “what about the agreements?” One protester confronts the police, yelling “My brother was killed. Are you going to bring him back?”

Another angle of the same picket, before the police arrived. People are on the sidewalk. No one is obstructing traffic or acting violently.

The right to peaceful assembly and protest are guaranteed in the Nicaragua constitution, which yesterday’s agreement takes as a reference. The agreement reiterates the government’s obligation to respect for citizens’ rights.

Among other things, the agreement says that “The State guarantees that no one can be subjected to arbitrary detention or prison, nor be deprived of their freedom, except for reasons established by law”. The accord further acknowledges that “no prior permission is needed to exercise the right to peaceful assembly, as long as it does not impede free circulation of people and vehicles, and does not alter the normal coexistence among the population.”

In other words, this gathering, in Matagalpa, is legal, as it does not impede free circulation. It also doesn’t seem to be bothering anyone’s “normal coexistence.”

Nevertheless, riot police was at hand, across the street.

In the document signed YESTERDAY, both parties “recognize” that the state is primarily responsible for carrying out the agreements. “The state, its branches, institutions and other organs commit themselves, as is their constitutional duty according to Article 6 of the Constitution, to implement this agreement in strict compliance with established constitutional principles.”

The state has failed to do so, again.

The Alianza Civica condemned the police attacks via Twitter. They have demanded the release of everyone who was detained illegally at Metrocentro. Their tweet ends by stating that “[Political] will is demonstrated through actions.”

4 pm – local time

At approximately 4 pm, local time, a man opened fire against protesters. The crowd surrounded, disarmed, and beat him up. Local press reports he wounded at least three people.

The man was later identified as German Dávila Blanco. He was carrying his FSLN membership card. Dávila is a former military. Protesters took the ID from Dávila after subduing and beating him up.

A press photographer for El Nuevo Diario took a picture at the moment of the attack. The picture shows a man in a blue stripped shirt, presumably Dávila, with his back turned to the photographer.

A similar shirt can be seen on Dávila in this image, taken after he was subdued by the crowd.

Other images have emerged. This one shows a man in a blue stripped shirt, holding a gun.

There is also video, from a news crew that was filming the rally. The video shows the moment when a man, presumably Dávila, was tackled and wrestled to the ground.

There is also video of the police, at the time of the gun fire. They don’t move.

As a result of the attack, there were several people wounded. They were cared for on site, before transport to local hospitals.

Yesterday’s agreement included a government commitment to “disarm anyone carrying weapons without authorization.”

The police have yet to arrest him.

The Alianza Civica issued a statement saying that the “Ortega-Murillo regime have once again put at risk the negotiations and the search for peaceful and constitutional solutions. The regime puts citizens in danger, by failing to comply with its obligation to recognize and protect the rights of Nicaraguans.”

6 pm

Police Commissioner Jaime Vanegas read the official police version of the attack at Metrocentro. According to the police, the protesters caused the violence.

The police statement characterized protesters as “violent groups” who have been “invading private property over the past three weekends.” The police accused these “violent groups” of “altering public order, disturbing commerce and normal coexistence, and attacking people.”

As for the attack at Metrocentro, the police state that it was protesters who accosted and “attacked women and children.” Later, they “surrounded seventy-year-old German Felix Davila and attacked, both verbally and and physically.”

Dávila’s FSLN party membership card includes his national ID number. The year of birth is the number immediately preceding the three zeroes. In Dávila’s case, that number is 62, which means that he is 57 years old, not 70, as the police states. The ID was taken from Dávila by the group that subdued him.

As for the attack on Dávila, the police uses video of it to argue it was unprovoked. According to the police, the gunshots “occurred as the aggression [upon Dávila] was taking place.”

In other words, Dávila could not have fired the shots that injured at least three people, since he was being “lynched” at the time.

Dávila was taken to the hospital. His condition was described as “delicate.”

The police promises to investigate the matter. However, it is clear that the official version is already set.

The OrMu propaganda machine is framing the attack on Dávila not as self-defense, but as an aggression carried out by “terrorist groups”, “right-wing fascists”, and “coup mongers.” Barricada describes the situation as caused by “terrorist groups,” Canal 4 describes the same groups as “small-sized, right-wing, fascist coup-mongers,” and Canal 8 opts for “”right-wing fascists.”

No OrMu media outlets has reported on the violent police crackdown at Metrocentro or on the breach of the accords.

 

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