TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2007
Nicaragua Network Hotline (December 18, 2007)
Topics covered in this Hotline include:1. Appeals Court Sends Former President Arnoldo Aleman Back to House Arrest
2. Amnesty for Political Figures under Consideration in National Assembly
3. World Court Rules on Dispute with Colombia
4. Two New Councils of Citizen Power to Sell Food Products at Moderate Prices
5. Prosecutors Refuse to Release the Charges in the Case of ¨Rosita¨
6. Government Reaches Agreement with Union Fenosa
Topic 1: Managua Criminal Appeals Court Sends Former President Arnoldo Aleman Back to House Arrest
On the morning of Dec. 12, the Criminal Panel of the Managua Appeals Court upheld the 2003 conviction and 20 year prison sentence of former president of Nicaragua Arnoldo Aleman for laundering funds stolen from the government. For a time it appeared that the former president would be ordered back to prison, but in the end he was returned to house arrest after having spent many months with the whole country of Nicaragua as his “jail.”
When it appeared that Aleman would have to return to prison, rumors flew that he would ask for asylum in a friendly embassy (Colombia, El Salvador and Taiwan were mentioned). Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) leader Leonel Teller said that party head Aleman “is a victim” of Daniel Ortega, who “is worried about being able to succeed himself and wants the support of the PLC to amend the constitution to permit presidential reelection.” Teller alleged that Supreme Court Justice Rafael Solis of the FSLN had thrown out the threat that if Aleman did not agree “he would spend Christmas in jail and the opposition party members would have their property expropriated or confiscated.” Other PLC members said that their party's refusal to support the Councils of Citizen Power was the cause of their leader's troubles. U.S. Ambassador Paul Trivelli said that he thought that it was good that the appeals court had finally ruled on Aleman's case “after four years.”
Also on Dec. 12, Aleman received formal notice from Nicaraguan officials of charges against him in the courts of Panama for laundering US$58.2 million that was deposited illegally in banks in that country. Also notified of charges against them in Panama were Aleman's wife Maria Fernanda Flores de Aleman, his father-in-law Jose Antonio Flores Lovo, and former head of Nicaragua's Internal Revenue Department Byron Jerez.
Topic 2: Amnesty for Political Figures under Consideration in National Assembly
Enrique Quiñones, chair of the committee on peace, defense, government and human rights of the National Assembly, said that consideration of bills being offered that would grant amnesty to important political figures would definitely be of the highest priority when the Assembly returns in January. He said that three different amnesty bills had been sent to committee.
Deputies representing the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) admitted that the Appeals Court's upholding of Aleman's conviction had accelerated action on the bills. They said that the prison sentence forms part of the pressures that President Daniel Ortega is applying to get the PLC to support constitutional amendments and the Councils of Citizen Power.
At the same time, it was assumed that Eduardo Montealegre, the leader of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN), would come under the proposed amnesty for allegedly fraudulent actions around the issuing of the infamous CENIs bonds when he was Treasury Minister. Montealegre said that he was being pressured to support the Councils of Citizen Power and other measures promoted by President Ortega.
For its part, the Sandinista Party said that the amnesty would benefit drug dealers and put in danger national security and the fight against organized crime. “In their desperation to pull out of the hands of justice those who have stolen from the people in various ways,” Ortega said, “they will also release drug traffickers.” According to La Prensa, only one of the three bills introduced in the Assembly makes clear that there can be no amnesty for laundering money that comes from drug trafficking. Maximino Rodriguez, head of the PLC bench, stated, however, that the amnesty would only cover political crimes, not drug trafficking.
Topic 3: World Court Rules on Dispute with Colombia
The International Court of Justice at The Hague, also known as the World Court, ruled on Dec. 13, in the case of the dispute between Nicaragua and Colombia over islands and national waters in the Caribbean. According to the Court, the islands of San Andres, Santa Catalina and Providencia belong to Colombia, but the court supported Nicaragua by saying that the meridian marking 82 degrees west longitude did not constitute the border between the waters of Nicaragua and Colombia, but only the “western limit of the San Andres Archipelago.” Now the Court will have to decide about sovereignty over the Roncador, Quitasueño, and Serrana Cays, also in dispute between the two nations.
Mauricio Herdocia, a Nicaraguan expert in international law, said that, “With just this verdict, Nicaragua now has the security that it can count on an exclusive economic zone and a continental platform of complete dimensions.” He emphasized that the World Court ruling meant that the Colombian argument that the Barcenas-Meneses-Esguerra Treaty had established the border between the two countries at the 82 meridian “completely falls down.” The Barcenas-Meneses-Esguerra Treaty was signed with Colombian government in 1929 under what Nicaraguans have called “infamous circumstances” when Nicaragua was under U.S. occupation.
Topic 4: Two New Councils of Citizen Power to Sell Food Products at Moderate Prices
On Dec. 13, President Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo inaugurated two new Councils of Citizen Power (CPCs) that were formed by owners of small stores and makers of tortillas in neighborhoods of the Third District of Managua. Ortega said that the products contained in the so-called “basic basket” of goods that the government agency ENABAS had been selling at low prices will now be sold by the new CPCs and that this model will be repeated in District Five of Managua.
Minister of Agriculture Ariel Bucardo said that 59,000 families had benefited from the distribution of basic grains that has been done by the CPCs, organized in 210 posts, of which 169 are small grocery stores, principally in Managua. Bucardo said that the decision to turn the sale of essential food products over to the CPCs formed by small store owners had been made in order that their livelihoods not be affected by government distribution of cheaper products.
Topic 5: Prosecutors Refuse to Release the Charges in the Case of ¨Rosita¨
Nine members of the Network of Women Against Violence continue to be under threat of prosecution due to accusations made by the formerly defunct US-funded contra “human rights” organization, Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights (ANPDH) based on a four year old case of a therapeutic abortion for a nine year old who was raped. ANPDH is reportedly now under the control of the Nicaraguan Catholic Church hierarchy. Managua District IV Prosecutor Mirna Siles has promised to deliver a copy of the complaint by Roberto Petray, director of ANPDH, against the nine who have not yet seen what allegations are made in the complaint. Siles, who is responsible for the investigation, said the law does not require that the prosecutor provide a copy of the complaint.
Wendy Flores, a lawyer of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), which provides legal support to the nine leaders of the Network of Women Against Violence, said they need to have a copy of the formal complaint in order to examine the extent and accuracy of the claims. Flores considers the intent of the case to be an obvious attempt to criminalize the struggle of the human rights organizations of women and children and an attempt to deny women the power to protest and demand their rights. A woman who was interviewed felt that the case was being pursued in the interest of the religious hierarchy and allegedly the Nicaraguan government. “They want to punish [the women] for the work they do,” the unnamed woman said. She said that the Nicaraguan State must be able to prove they are guilty of any crime. “The case of ‘Rosita' was previously closed by prosecutors in 2003. There is no allegation in any court, and that is why we must reject the complaint, since it falls on its own account,” she said.
Topic 6: Government Reaches Agreement with Union Fenosa
The Nicaraguan government and the Spanish transnational company which owns rights to Nicaragua's electricity distribution, Union Fenosa, reached a preliminary agreement to “cross out their debts,” and the parties said that at the end of the month they will make it official. Until a week ago the government's debt with Union Fenosa was around $37.5 million, while the distributor owed about $40 million to the state. Negotiations were extended through December and will lead to the signing of the agreement that will take place the week of January 15. The manager of Union Fenosa, Jorge Katín, commented that the process is “virtually in its final stage.”
The debts accumulated between the parties have several origins. Union Fenosa expects that the government will pay for the electricity consumed by the state institutions. The government charged Union Fenosa for the electricity produced by state-owned generating facilities. Some of these debts have dragged on since May of this year, when the government announced that it needed $15 million to address the energy crisis in the country. In the end, there was no money and the situation deteriorated.
Power rationing reached up to 17 hour cuts in some places, while other users spent days without electricity when a power plant failed or had distribution problems. Following these failed attempts to resolve the situation, the government and Union Fenosa expect to finalize this agreement in January. Union Fenosa insists upon a rate hike, arguing that the rates charged are not enough to pay for the electricity that it must buy from the generators. The government, which initially accused the company of not investing sufficient funds to prevent losses, now only argues that further increase would affect those who have less income. Citizen groups such as the Nicaraguan Consumer Defense Network and the Community Movement continue to demand that Fenosa's contract be voided and the company kicked out of the country.
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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