The homeland of Rubén Darío is being massacred, nobody is defending her: neither the left nor the right. There is a lot of pain
As of April 18, after the people was asleep for approximately 11 years – since Daniel Ortega took office for the second time, without the right to demonstrate politically against his government in peaceful marches – a right established in the Political Constitution of the Republic – Nicaraguans said enough, we are NOT AFRAID!
And then, young university students in their universities began to demonstrate in peaceful marches in Managua, while they were joined by more groups of all social strata making civil protests in the streets, despite the violence unleashed by the police that was leaving dead behind.
In response to these events, the youths, who assumed the name of auto-convocados (self-appointed), began to protect themselves from the attacks of the riot police by erecting barricades in the neighborhoods and roads, which became the lethal weapon to pressure the government to abandon power. The movement of the autoconvocados now a national movement, ask for the resignation of the president and his dome of power.
This challenge, however, has been fatal for many young people and persons of all ages, including babies and children, who have fallen under the bullets of organized criminal groups armed by the same government and openly protected by the National Police.
After more than 300 deaths, thousands of wounded and dozens of disappeared by government forces, the so-called Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy group that holds talks with the government, demanded the presence of the IACHR of the OAS, the human rights of the UN and the EU.
These human rights groups, which have conducted many interviews and investigations, and checked the hundreds or thousands of videos showing the direct participation of the police in the massacres, have brought hope to the people who protest; however, even in the presence of these, the heavily armed paramilitaries of the Ortega government continue to assassinate and kidnap the peaceful demonstrators, who only have slings, stones and mortars to repel the attacks. The participation of the clergy of the Catholic Church has been fundamental in making possible the release of many of those captured – or kidnapped, since they have not committed any crime for protesting.
And this also happens despite the national dialogue – which is half stuck, but which allows the victims to air their complaints in a public forum – and with the hope that the ruling dictator negotiates his exit from power and disarms the paramilitaries. But he has resisted accepting his exit.
The Special Follow-up Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI) is the technical working team of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), which has as one of its functions to accompany and assist the Verification and Security Commission (CVS) instituted in the framework of the Dialogue Table Agreement, in which the government, the Episcopal Conference, private enterprise through COSEP, peasants and students participate.
The MESENI team participated in the plenary meetings of the CVS and held meetings with the members appointed by the Civic Alliance and with the members appointed by the Government. They have met with citizens, and have made visits to the “El Chipote” Judicial Assistance Jail in Managua, where prisoners are tortured, and they have also interceded in the release of detained demonstrators.
Following up on the recommendations made by the IACHR in its report “Serious violations of human rights in the context of social protests in Nicaragua,” the MESENI held meetings with the highest authorities of the State to address their compliance.
The MESENI dialogue with the State on the measures adopted to guarantee the life, integrity and security of all the demonstrators, as well as to dismantle the vigilante groups and adopt measures to prevent the continued operation of armed third groups that attack or harass the civil population. However, the repression continues, and with more force now that the 39th anniversary of the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution on July 19 is approaching, when the people and the Front defeated the last dictator and member of the dynasty, Anastacio Somoza Debayle.
After Nicaragua was listed as the sixth safest country in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the Global Peace Index (GPI 2014), from the Institute got Economics and Piece (IEP), it is now the most dangerous country, where in just about 90 days have been more deaths than in Venezuela, where there were about 161 deaths since August 2017.
The constitutional order has completely disappeared. The authorities – what had been suspected for a long time – whose function is to ensure the safety of the population, openly exposed that they are there to protect the dictator Daniel Ortega Saveedra and his interests, and not to protect the public.
And waiting for the OAS to come and save them could be just an illusion, since neither the human rights commissions nor the OAS have armies to confront or disarm the irregular forces.
