TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 04, 2007
Nicaragua Network Hotline (September 4, 2007)
Topics in this hotline include:1. Hurricane Felix Devastates Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast; Donations Needed
2. Government increases pressure on Exxon-Mobil but there is still no agreement
3. Sweden to suspend aid to Nicaraguan
4. Human Rights Watch: therapeutic abortion ban is an affront to international law
5. 2,000 Nemagon victims march in Managua to demand more and better medical attention
Topic 1: Hurricane Felix Devastates Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast
At 5:45am on Sept. 4 Hurricane Felix hit the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) as a category five hurricane, causing devastation in region's capital Bilwi (Puerto Cabezas) and at least 75 other communities. According to preliminary reports, the 160 mile per hour winds have ripped the roofs off 80-90% of the buildings in the North Atlantic Autonomous Regional capital of Bilwi/ Puerto Cabezas (RAAN) and destroyed many homes. Local radio and communication antenna and the airport control tower collapsed in the storm and the local government building was destroyed. The Catholic church and the Supreme Electoral Council building lost their roofs, numerous neighborhoods flooded, and at least four boat were lost at sea. Government delegate for RAAN Antonio Joya said, "The situation is chaotic, Puerto Cabezas is being completely destroyed."
Puerto Cabezas has a population of over 63,000. The majority of inhabitants live in wooden houses and makeshift homes which are highly vulnerable in the face of a category five hurricane. Reports from the many small villages of Miskito Indians accessible in normal times only by canoe, are unknown at this time. Over 500 soldiers were sent to the region by the Ortega government Monday afternoon to coordinate the evacuation of the town and neighboring villages and communities. According to preliminary reports, however, less than half the population of Puerto Cabezas was willing to be evacuated.
At 11:00am on Sept. 4 Felix had moved east to Waspam. Having reduced its force to a category 3 hurricane, the torrential rain was reported to be causing dangerous flooding across the region and a high risk of landslides. Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera said the situation in Waspam, made up of remote indigenous indigenous communities, was "very complicated" because it had proved impossible to evacuate the more than 3,000 people living in the area of greatest risk. "There are people in their homes, and we can't do anything now," said Rivera.
Only a few deaths have been reported so far, but communications with most of the affected area have been sparse. During the morning of Sept. 4 both the UN and the World Food Program made promises of aid to help sustain the emergency effort and reconstruct the towns and communities destroyed by the hurricane.
The fear is that Felix might act similar to Hurricane Mitch which devastated Nicaragua in October 1998. Wind damage on the Caribbean Coast was the least of Mitch's effect as the slow moving storm, even after being downgraded to a tropical storm, dumped over 50 inches of rain in three days, causing extensive flooding, mud slides and loss of life.
Nicaragua Network will continue to release bulletins as information becomes available. What is certain is that emergency money will be needed immediately to allow people to survive the next week and to begin the rebuilding process. If you are able to help you can make a tax-deductible donation through the Nicaragua Network. One hundred percent of your contribution will be used to aid the hurricane victims. You can make a secure on-line credit card donation by going to: http://www.nicanet.org/donate_afgj.htm. Write “Hurricane” in the “Other” blank to insure your donation is directed to hurricane relief. You can also call our office at 202-544-9355 with your credit card information or send a check to Nicaragua Network, 1247 E St., SE, Washington, DC 20003
Topic 2: Government increases pressure on Exxon-Mobil but there is still no agreement
There is still no agreement between Exxon-Mobil and the Nicaraguan authorities to bring an end to the two and a half week long seizure of seven oil storage tanks in Corinto. Judge Socorro Toruño ordered for the seizure to take place in response to the US$2,909,482 the multinational company owes to the Nicaraguan Customs (DGA) in unpaid taxes.
In response to the failure of Exxon-Mobil's representatives to turn up while the seizure was taking place on Aug. 17, despite being in an office just a few meters away and despite having been informed a number of times, Judge Toruño gave over responsibility of the tanks to the representative of the DGA in Port of Corinto, Roberto Zepeda. A few days after taking control of the tanks Zepeda signed a contract with the Nicaraguan semi public oil company PETRONIC in which it was agreed that the seven tanks, with a capacity to store 50,000 barrels of oil, would be rented to PETRONIC for the next six months.
PETRONIC imports oil from Venezuela as part of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) but does not have the storage facilities necessary to introduce the oil into the country without extra costs. Exxon-Mobil is in a bitter struggle with Venezuela after refusing to accept the government's majority control of oil partnerships so undoubtedly the Nicaragua controversy is part of a more complex situation. However, Exxon-Mobil's storage tanks had been sitting empty for months costing Nicaragua millions of dollars since oil tankers were having to be slowly emptied into tanker trucks rather than quickly into the large capacity storage tanks. Nicaragua is in the midst of a long running energy shortage making Exxon-Mobil's behavior even more outrageous.
On Aug. 27 and then again on Aug. 29 Judge Toruño attempted to return control of the tanks to representatives of the company under the condition that the contract with PETRONIC be respected, but Exxon-Mobil refused.
On Aug. 28 Vice President Jaime Morales Carazo criticized Exxon-Mobil for refusing to cooperate with the Nicaraguan authorities in the ongoing attempts to overcome the national energy crisis. "No private interest can be considered as being more important than the national interests," said Morales.
According to Morales, private negotiations with Exxon-Mobil during the last few months had failed to produce an agreement which would guarantee the use of the unoccupied tanks by PETRONIC. It was Exxon-Mobil's refusal to cooperate with the government's efforts to reduce the impact of the current energy crisis, he said, which led to the decision to seize the Exxon-Mobil installation. He went on to say that what is happening with Exxon-Mobil in no way signifies that the current government has a "confiscatory mentality." The government also upped the pressure on the transnational company, opening investigations into an oil spill in Managua and additional unpaid taxes.
Topic 3: Sweden to suspend aid to Nicaragua
On Aug. 27 the Swedish embassy in Managua announced that its government plans to suspend entirely the bilateral aid it sends to Nicaragua. The process of suspension will take place gradually over a period of two to four years, according to a press statement issued by the Swedish embassy.
On Aug. 28 the Swedish Ambassador Eva Zetterberg gave a press conference during which she said the decision to cut aid to Nicaragua was a "political decision" but was not related to the recent change of government. According to Zetterberg the Swedish government plans to decrease the number of countries to which it sends bilateral aid from 70 to 33 in attempt to "improve the effectiveness of the aid money ... by concentrating efforts in a smaller number of countries." Zetterberg said that her government had to take into account the number of donors cooperating with each country before deciding which countries would continue to receive bilateral aid. "In Nicaragua," she said, "it is obvious that there is a community of donors. And after the recent elections even more donors have appeared," (in reference to the bilateral agreements President Daniel Ortega has signed with Taiwan, Venezuela and Iran). "In Nicaragua there is not a lack of donor countries."
According to Zetterberg, the decision to cut aid to Nicaragua was not based on the ban on therapeutic abortion which came into force last year or on corruption within the justice system, although she did say that those matters "concern" her government.
Topic 4: Human Rights Watch: therapeutic abortion ban is an affront to international law
The ban on therapeutic abortion in Nicaragua is "incompatible with the Nicaraguan state's obligations under international law ... [to guarantee] the rights of women and girls to life, health, equality, privacy, physical integrity, freedom of religion and freedom of thought," said the Executive Director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch, Jose Miguel Vivanco on Aug. 31.
On Oct. 26, 2006 the National Assembly amended the Penal Code making illegal any form of abortion (even if carried out as the only means of saving the women's life). Doctors found guilty of practicing an abortion can be sentenced to up to 14 years in jail. Since the ban was introduced ten months ago, several women and girls have died because doctors have refused to carry out the therapeutic abortion necessary to save their lives.
"The abortion ban is an affront to international law," said Vivanco who went on to give details of a Human Rights Watch investigative mission which visited Nicaragua in August to gather information about the effects of the ban. According to Vivanco the mission found that those most at risk are poor women and girls who cannot afford either to travel to another country or to pay a private doctor to carry out a clandestine but secure abortion that meets with normal medical standards.
Vivanco went on to say that the Supreme Court in Nicaragua is planning to issue a ruling on the abortion ban within the coming weeks, and, in anticipation of this, Human Rights Watch has contacted the Supreme Court to remind the magistrates that the ban is "incompatible" with international law.
Topic 5: 2,000 Nemagon victims march in Managua to demand more and better medical attention
On Aug. 29 over 2,000 former banana workers, victims of the pesticide Nemagon used on banana plantations in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, took part in a protest march in Managua to demand more and better medical attention. Carrying symbolic coffins, the protesters marched through central Managua to the US Embassy where they demanded that the US send a specialized medical brigade to treat the needs of over 20,000 former workers affected by their exposure to Nemagon.
From the US Embassy the protesters marched to the headquarters of the FSLN where twelve former banana workers met with President Daniel Ortega. During the meeting the banana workers demanded that the law which protects Nemagon victims not be changed. They also requested that the President approve a budget increase of between US$1.6 and 4.8 million so that all those affected by the deadly pesticide can be treated effectively.
Finally the protesters marched to the makeshift camp outside the National Assembly to join the hundreds of former banana workers who have been carrying out a permanent protest outside the legislative branch building for several months also to demand more and better medical attention.
This hotline is prepared from the Nicaragua News Service and other sources. To receive a more extensive weekly summary of the news from Nicaragua by e-mail or postal service, send a check for $60.00 to Nicaragua Network, 1247 E St., SE, Washington, DC 20003. We can be reached by phone at 202-544-9355. Our web site is: www.nicanet.org. To subscribe to the Hotline, send an e-mail to nicanet@afgj.org
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