TUESDAY, APRIL 05, 2011

Nicaragua News Bulletin (April 5, 2011)

1. Ortega opponents and supporters march
2. Commotion caused by D'Escoto appointment
3. Costa Rica to send personnel to mouth of San Juan
4. Attorney in Nemagon case vindicated
5. Improvements in family diets
6. Ministry of Labor finds minor miners

1. Ortega opponents and supporters march

On Apr. 2, eighteen police officers were injured during clashes on a day when two opposing marches were held: one protesting the reelection candidacy of President Daniel Ortega and another supporting Ortega. Officers Marcial Arauz and Santos Salinas were the most seriously injured, according to Dr. Larry Ubeda, assistant director of Huembes Hospital in Managua. He said that Arauz was impacted by the explosion of a homemade mortar and Salinas was hit when he blocked a large stone aimed at National Police Commissioner Aminta Granera, both projectiles thrown by the opposition protesters. On the other side, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) said that five of its members had been injured by anti-riot police. No one was arrested.

On Mar. 22, opposition groups had applied for permission for a march from the Plaza of Victories, which they rebaptized the Plaza of Fraud, to the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE). A few days later, the Sandinista Youth Association announced a march on the same day with a similar route and destination. The Sandinista Youth camped out in the Plaza the day before the announced marches and the police did not allow the opposition marchers access to the Plaza.

Granera insisted that the Police were not suppressing the opposition protest, but rather containing it to prevent an encounter with the other march and “a blood bath.” She said, “We could have thrown a couple of tear gas bombs and in five minutes it would have been over. We would not have had 18 injured. Nevertheless, we wanted to be responsible and demonstrate to the people that this police is not a repressive force.” She said that five people were temporarily handcuffed and detained but said she had ordered them all set free.

The opposition marchers said that the Police gave preferential treatment to the Sandinista marchers and they shouted at the Granera and the other officers, “Sell out,” “Traitor,” and “Your salaries come from our taxes but you only protect Sandinistas” while booing and throwing stones, bottles and other projectiles. In contrast, the Sandinista Youth marchers greeted Granera with “vivas and hurrahs,” according to La Prensa.

Gonzalo Carrion of CENIDH said, “This was all done to prevent people from mobilizing to protest against reelection.” He added that it was part of a particular project that was repressive and that suppressed public liberties. Violeta Granera, president of the Movement for Nicaragua [an organization that receives funding from the US National Endowment for Democracy], one of the organizers of the march, said, “There was no reason to put together a parallel march of that size with the resources of the State, if President Daniel Ortega was not afraid of us.” The march was organized by non-governmental groups as a “political but not partisan” event. However, opposition presidential candidate Fabio Gadea, his running mate Edmundo Jarquin, and supporter Eduardo Montealegre marched at the end of the column. (La Prensa, Apr. 2; El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 2, 4; Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 2)

2. Commotion caused by D'Escoto appointment

On Mar. 29, Rosario Murillo, head of the Nicaraguan Council on Communication and Citizenship, announced that Fr. Miguel D'Escoto had been named Libya's interim representative to the United Nations and that President Daniel Ortega had asked him to accept that post. The naming of D'Escoto came after the United States had refused entry to a new Libyan representative appointed after the previous one left the post. D'Escoto, a former Nicaraguan minister of foreign affairs, recently served a one year term as president of the General Assembly of the UN.

There was negative reaction from inside and outside Nicaragua. Liberal Party National Assembly Deputy Jose Pallais said, “Ortega will pay the consequences of being a partner of an international pariah.” Former Libyan Ambassador to the UN Abdulrahman Shalgam said, “Gadaffi uses mercenaries as soldiers; now he uses them as diplomats.”

Then, on Mar. 30, United States Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said that D'Escoto did “not have the proper visa to be the permanent representative of any country before the UN.” She noted that, while D'Escoto had been born in the US, he renounced his US citizenship in the 1980s. D'Escoto was in New York at the time but, evidently, traveling with an ordinary tourist visa. She also noted that the UN had not received “official notice” of the appointment. The Nicaraguan government had published a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon from Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Muhammad Koussa naming D'Escoto as Libya's representative. However, the next day, Koussa left for the United Kingdom in an apparent defection. On Apr. 1, the Nicaraguan government announced that D'Escoto had been named Nicaragua's alternate representative to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, thirteen countries from the Global South sent a letter to the UN Security Council on Mar. 31 asking for a peaceful solution to the Libyan conflict. The countries were: Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador Venezuela, Cuba, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Equatorial Guinea, and Mali. In the letter the countries express their “profound concern” about the situation in Libya and urge the Security Council to “adopt urgent measures that lead to an immediate cease fire and a peaceful and sustainable solution which reflects the will of the Libyan people.” (Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 29, Apr. 1; La Prensa, Mar. 29, 30; El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 31)

3. Costa Rica to send personnel to mouth of San Juan

Nicaragua said that it would protest to the International Court of Justice (World Court) Costa Rica's intention to send civilian personnel to the disputed zone at the mouth of the San Juan River in what Nicaragua says is a violation of the Court's March 8 preliminary ruling. Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry Legal Director Cesar Vega said, “Costa Rica is misinterpreting in a capricious and ill intentioned way the contents of the ruling” by sending environmentalists and representatives of the Ramsar Wetlands Convention to the zone. The World Court ruling ordered both countries to refrain from sending civil or military personnel to the area. The visit was expected to take place on Apr. 5.

The position of the Foreign Ministry is that, in order to take advantage of an exception laid down by the Court, Costa Rica would have to show “elements that indicate that there is danger of irreparable damage to the territory in dispute,” Ramsar would have to be consulted and would also have to agree that the danger existed. “There is no motive for that visit,” said Roberto Araquistain, Nicaraguan vice-minister of the environment. He added that Nicaragua has not yet received the report from Ramsar on its Mar. 12 visit to the mouth of the San Juan nor has Ramsar responded to a letter from Nicaragua about the upcoming Apr. 5 visit.

Costa Rica accused Nicaragua of “bad faith” for wanting to impede the visit and of distorting the Court's ruling. Noting that Nicaragua admitted cutting down 200 trees during the dredging process, Costa Rican Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Roverssi said, “We want the technicians of Ramsar to see the grave damage that has been done, accept our remedial plan and establish a long term strategy to recover the wetlands.” The two countries are scheduled to meet on Apr. 12 in the Costa Rican border state of Guanacaste to talk about security and drug trafficking.

Meanwhile, Google has changed its map, again! On Feb. 8, we reported that Google had changed its map to put the controversial Harbor Head at the mouth of the San Juan River back in Nicaraguan territory. But Nicaraguan media reported on Apr. 3 that the company had again changed the map and the small piece of land appears as part of Costa Rica. La Prensa says it is the fourth time the map has changed. La Prensa reported it had made four calls to Google's offices in Buenos Aires to clarify the issue without success. “Surely they don't know about the [preliminary] ruling by the Court at The Hague or they wouldn't have made that error,” said Eden Pastora who is in charge of the dredging of the river for Nicaragua. (Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 4; La Prensa, Apr. 4)

4. Attorney in Nemagon case vindicated

The California State Bar Association has closed its investigation of the US attorney for Nicaraguan banana workers suffering from the long-term effects of poisoning by the pesticide Nemagon. The Bar Association determined that Judge Victoria Chaney's allegations in July 2009, of improprieties by Juan J. Dominguez did not warrant any action and closed the ethics investigation.

The situation arose from a case by former banana workers against Dole Food Co., formerly known in Central America as Standard Fruit Co. In Nov. of 2007 Dole was found liable in a Los Angeles jury trial for worker sterility caused by the pesticide, which had been banned in the United States. Judge Chaney reversed most of the jury verdicts in the case known as Tellez, et al. v. Dole Foods Company, Inc. and recently dismissed the case completely, alleging that Dominguez had suborned witnesses. The allegation was based on testimony Dole provided from secret Nicaraguan witnesses. Several of those witnesses later recanted their testimony and also said that Dole had reneged on promises of large cash payments and US visas.

Plaintiffs' appellate attorney, Steve Condie, has said he will appeal the dismissal of the case by Judge Chaney.

Dominguez stated, "Our system of justice is severely undermined when attorneys and their clients are unjustly attacked with bizarre allegations from anonymous witnesses that are not subject to investigation and effective cross examination." To read more about this case, go to www.nicanet.org. (Radio La Primerisima Mar. 30)

5. Improvements in family diets

Over 1.3 million people in 224,340 families are benefiting from subsidized food prices in 3,739 points of sale run by ENABAS, the government's program to help families confront rising food prices. Low income families are able to buy subsidized basic grains and cooking oil. Only rice is sold at market prices in the ENABAS stores. In addition, ENABAS in March distributed 12,860 food packets to workers in the Free Trade Zones, to health care workers in the FETSALUD union, to teachers, and to workers at other government institutions.

In other food security news, the Urban and Semi-Urban Agriculture Project of the government's Nicaraguan Institute for Appropriate Technology (INTA) continued to strengthen the program for the establishment of community gardens at schools and other community spaces throughout the country to introduce more fruits and vegetables into the Nicaraguan diet. The project is supported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Students and others learn from the planting and care of the plants and benefit from the improved diet that contains more variety than they are accustomed to. In Ciudad Sandino 101 families are participating while in Barrio Laureles Sur another 96 families are planting tomatoes, peppers, watermelons and several kinds of squash in their patios. Seven schools in District VII of Managua are participating. Student Yaoska Kamans said, “I was motivated to participate because planting trees and vegetables helps conserve the environment and we also improve our diet.” (Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 30)

6. Ministry of Labor finds minor miners

In a series of inspections in pumice mining facilities, the Ministry of Labor discovered a number of young minors working in dangerous and hazardous conditions, which violated child labor laws. In March, the Ministry visited 18 mines. In the Santa Maria Mine, the group discovered four minors under the age of 16 working. A number of adolescents were discovered to be working in other places as well.

According to the Ministry of Labor, the minors' presence violates a series of labor rights regulations. They do not have individual work contracts, are not registered with the Social Security system and work excessively long work days. Moreover, 83% of the minors work for less than minimum wage, and 83% work in dangerous health and physical conditions. The Ministry ordered managers to immediately comply with a series of measures. In the case of the four minors under the age of 16, the Ministry ordered that they be immediately relocated to positions that would not negatively impact their health. (Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 1)
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