TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2011

Nicaragua News Bulletin (December 6, 2011)

1. Nicaragua and Costa Rica exchange notes
2. Republicans demand get tough policy on Nicaragua
3. Community of Latin American and Caribbean States established
4. Costa Rica annuls gold mine concession
5. New law passed against violence toward women
6. Coffee harvest in full swing
7. FAO launches project for “dry corridor”

1. Nicaragua and Costa Rica exchange notes


On Nov. 29, the Nicaraguan government sent a note of protest to the government of Costa Rica about a 130 kilometer road that Costa Rica has been building along the southern bank of the San Juan River. The river belongs entirely to Nicaragua with its southern bank forming the international boundary between the two countries. Noting that the road was parallel to the river and only a few meters away, Nicaraguan Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuel Coronel wrote to Enrique Castillo, Costa Rican Foreign Minister that, “Besides the damage to flora and fauna in the large area of our shared wetlands caused by this project, erosion from the earth removal has all gone into our river.” He reminded the Costa Ricans that, because the San Juan River boundary is the subject of a case before the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Costa Rica was obliged to abide by an order from the Court which mandated both parties to notify each other if any project could impact the river or its wetlands. For that reason, he said, Costa Rica should immediately suspend road building operations.

Costa Rican Foreign Minister Castillo replied that the building of the road has not affected Nicaraguan territory and was not being built in a protected area, but that his country was ready to hear arguments from its neighbor to the north and invited Managua “to formally present the reasons why it considers that there could be environmental damage that could affect Nicaraguan interests.”

Nicaragua also sent a note to the Ramsar Wetlands Convention on Nov. 29. Environment Minister Juana Argueñal wrote, “Our country asks that the Convention send an investigative mission to visit the zone and prove on the ground the flagrant violations of the Ramsar Convention by our neighbor.” The Ramsar Wetlands Convention was signed in Ramsar, India, in 1971 and obliges signatories to maintain the ecological health of their wetlands.

Meanwhile, Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla said that, “For the first time in 190 years of independent life, Costa Ricans will be able to travel along our northern border without using the San Juan River. That is a heritage that we are going to leave to Costa Rica and one about which I am very proud.”

On Nov. 30, the Nicaraguan National Assembly approved a resolution denouncing “the aggressive and confrontational policy that the government of Costa Rica has been pushing in violation of the sovereign rights of Nicaraguans in the zone of the San Juan River.” The resolution was passed with the vote of 69 out of 79 deputies. The resolution said that the road “threatens to destroy the ecosystem [and] biodiversity” of the river and asked for all work to be stopped.

There was considerable speculation about why Costa Rica would build the road so close to the river. Salvador Montenegro, director of the Center for Research on Aquatic Resources (CIRA), said, “They [the Costa Ricans] wanted their police to navigate the river and the [World] Court stopped them; now, if they have tanks, they can perfectly well bring them through there.” He worried also that towns, farms, and industries would grow up along the road and all of the waste from these activities would go directly into the river. Montenegro spoke in favor of the two countries together systematically examining all projects that might affect the River, including the Brito hydroelectric project under consideration by Nicaragua.

Noted environmentalist Kamilo Lara said, “This is a delinquent act against nature and against Nicaragua.” He added, “We must recognize that there are hundreds of tons of sediment in sites where they have finished and we can see that it is a threatening work of engineering, done with hate, because there appears to have been no inspection or supervision on the part of the Costa Rican authorities.” To see a gallery of photos of the road, go here: http://www.el19digital.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=23&level=album&iid=1495

Claudio Monge, a member of the Costa Rican legislature from the Citizen Action Party (in opposition), admitted that his country was building what he called “an improvised highway” although he added that the controversy with all its raised voices was “a shared irresponsibility” with Nicaragua. He said, “It seems to me that they [Chinchilla and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega] used their power to manipulate subjects as delicate as these relations between two sister peoples with friends and family members in common.” He also added, “I am not going to deny that on the Nicaraguan side you see that intense green of the jungle and in parts of my Costa Rican side, I see [bare] areas abandoned by our own authorities.”

In related news, on Dec. 5, Costa Rica presented documentation to the World Court on its claim before the Court against Nicaragua for dredging the River at Harbour Head near its mouth. Nicaragua has until August to present its side. (El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 29, Dec. 1, 3; Radio La Primerisima, Nov. 29, 30; La Prensa, Nov. 30; Dec. 2; Informe Pastran, Dec. 5)

2. Republicans demand get tough policy on Nicaragua

Republican members of the US Congress are pressuring the Obama administration to apply a get tough policy against Nicaragua. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said at the start of a committee hearing to discuss the Nov. 6 presidential election in Nicaragua, “Twenty-five years ago, President Ronald Reagan assisted freedom fighters in pushing back the cancer of communism that Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas were spreading into Nicaragua. …. Today, I am proud to carry the torch and do the same for the people of Nicaragua.” Her colleague Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL), chair of the Western Hemisphere Sub-Committee, called for a tougher policy not just on Nicaragua, but also on Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina. The Republican members of the committee called on the Obama administration to refuse to recognize the reelection of President Daniel Ortega and call for new elections. However, former US Ambassador to Nicaragua Robert Callahan, identified as a conservative Republican, testified at the hearing that, while he agreed with Lehtinen and Mack that Ortega's candidacy was unconstitutional and the elections fraudulent, the United States should remain in Nicaragua. He was seconded by Jennifer McCoy of the Carter Center, who said that while she believed the elections had “grave faults,” the United States should not isolate itself from Nicaragua.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration officially announced the nomination of Phyllis Powers to be the new US ambassador to Nicaragua. Powers has worked extensively in counter narcotics in a number of countries, giving credence to the argument that the administration values the firm hand against organized crime and drug trafficking shown by Nicaragua under Ortega. Dan Restrepo, director of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council, said the US wanted to “conserve our strong relationship with Nicaragua” and was consulting with other nations in the Americas about a multilateral policy with relation to Nicaragua and the elections.

In other election related news, Electoral Prosecutor Armando Juarez said that he would not be calling in any officials from the US Embassy after hearing the accusations by Victor Boitano that the Embassy had financed opposition figures to the tune of US$30 million to destabilize the elections. Boitano said with relation to leaders in the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) Alliance, “I am accusing them of sabotaging the electoral process, of destabilizing the country, of acts of violence against government officials… principally in the north of the country.” Juarez said that he may call in PLI leaders for questioning.

And finally, the opposition march on Dec. 3 brought out between 4,000 and 6,000 (depending on which news source was counting) to denounce what participants alleged was fraud in the elections and demand that new elections be held. The Informe Pastran said the test for the Liberal party opposition “was not successful.” Fabio Gadea, the PLI Alliance candidate, continued to insist that he had won in spite of the fact that international polling agencies predicted a vote count for President Ortega very similar to the final results. (Informe Pastran, Dec. 1, 5; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 1; La Prensa, Nov. 29; Radio La Primerisima, Nov. 29, Dec. 1)

3. Community of Latin American and Caribbean States established

On Dec. 2, in Caracas, Venezuela, presidents of 33 Latin American and Caribbean nations set up a new organization called the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States already better known by its acronym CELAC. The only western hemisphere nations that are not members of the organization are the United States and Canada.

In his speech, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said that the formation of CELAC was turning the dream of Simon Bolivar into reality. He said that unity was necessary as part of the struggle against imperialism and praised Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for his vision and his efforts to bring CELAC into being.

Jacinto Suarez, who serves as vice-president of the Central American Parliament, said that CELAC represents a threat to the interests of the United States as represented always by the Organization of American States (OAS) which he said was founded on a Pan Americanism based on the Monroe Doctrine. One OAS official, Adjunct Secretary Albert Ramdin, welcomed CELAC and said the OAS was open to dialogue. Meanwhile, Elias Castillo, president of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino), said Parlatino would be interested in serving as the legislature of CELAC. (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 2, 3, 5; La Prensa, Dec. 3; Informe Pastran, Dec. 5)

4. Costa Rica annuls gold mine concession

The Costa Rican Supreme Court, on Nov. 30, affirmed a lower court's annulment of an environmental permit for the Canadian gold mining company Infinito Gold for a gigantic open pit mine known as La Crucitas. The mine location is only three kilometers from the San Juan River which marks the border with Nicaragua. Environmentalists in both countries opposed the mine. The Canadian company has threatened to seek US$127 million under international arbitration for lost investment in a mine where it expected to extract a million ounces of gold.

The Costa Rican Public Prosecutor's office is considering possible criminal charges against former President Oscar Arias, former Minister of the Environment Roberto Dobles, and six former government officials. In 2008, then President Arias issued a decree bypassing Costa Rica's strict environmental laws by declaring the mine “in the public interest” in spite of it being located in a protected area inhabited by endangered species. An additional 10 officials of the Environmental Ministry are under investigation for possible irregularities in issuing the environmental permit. Arias posted on his Facebook page, “This is a subject that the Office of the Public Prosecutor has been investigating for a long time. If I can help clarify his investigation, I will be happy to do so.”

Costa Ricans were reported to be celebrating the Supreme Court decision “in the workplaces, streets, but mostly in the social media.” Alvaro Sargot Rodriguez, one of the environmental lawyers who challenged the concession, laughed at Infinito Gold's threat to seek international arbitration saying, “Apparently the person who spoke doesn't know the Costa Rican judicial route is already at an end. He said the lawyers involved in the case would collaborate with the government if the company seeks international arbitration. He said, “We'll go for the jugular and seek compensation for the environmental damage they did at La Crucitas.” (La Prensa, Nov. 30; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 1; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 1)

5. New law passed against violence toward women

On Nov. 30 the National Assembly approved, with 68 votes in favor, the Integral Law against Violence toward Women. The law sets criminal penalties for crimes of violence against women and identifies femicide as a crime separate from murder in general, committed by someone with a relationship to the woman. The Chair of the National Assembly Committee on Women, Youth and Children, Maria Dolores Aleman, said that the sanctions against aggressors of that type “represent a consensus that was able to fulfill the expectations of all of us.” She said that the law a significant advance for the nation in the “identification, prevention, attention, and penalties” to benefit the victims of violence. The law also creates new crimes of domestic violence. The National Assembly leadership recognized the Maria Elena Cuadra Women's Movement for its initiative and help with consulting the affected sectors of society during the writing of the law. Aleman said the law was necessary because of the growing number of female murders since 2003. In the past year there have been 89 women killed including girls between 3 and 10 years old.

On Nov. 29, the group UN Women did a presentation on the global advances on the rights of women. Isolda Espinosa, coordinator of the group, praised the participation of women in Nicaragua and noted that 32% of candidates elected in the recent national elections were women. [The Sandinista bench in the National Assembly for the first time is comprised of a majority of women.] She also praised the greater access of women to the judicial system through the training of judges and the creation of more police stations for women and children. The women's police stations annually receive between 25,000-30,000 complaints of domestic and sexual violence.

Martha Munguia, director of the Action Now Women's Center, said that not only have the number of reports of battery risen in the 20 years since the founding of her organization, but the number of women seeking shelter has increased. Action Now gives shelter to 800 battered women per month but Munguia said that the need is greater than the space available. She spoke at the laying of the corner stone for a new shelter. Only private groups serve women in extreme danger of violence with nine shelters functioning in Nicaragua, two of which are run by Action Now. Munguia accused the government of “double talk” when it comes to violence against women. Action Now has received US$110,000 from the Embassy of Norway to construct the new shelter and another US$17,000 for specialized equipment to give psychological, medical and legal help to the housed women. Norway has also donated some equipment for work therapy. (Radio La Primerisima, Nov. 30; El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 29, Dec. 3)

6. Coffee harvest in full swing

More than 200,000 seasonal coffee pickers have joined the 85,000 permanent workers on the more than 32,000 coffee farms in the departments of Matagalpa, Jinotega, Esteli, and Nueva Segovia where 90% of Nicaragua's coffee is grown. Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ariel Bucardo estimated the 2011-2012 harvest will be 2.2 million hundredweights producing US$500 million in exports primarily to Europe and the US and exceeding last year's exports which were a record-breaking US$438 million. International coffee prices, while not at their peak, are still at an excellent $200 per hundredweight.

Many Nicaraguan families depend on the seasonal income of the coffee harvest which runs through February. The wage set in negotiations between the government, unions, and producers is US$1.17 per 5 liter box. Julio Solorzano, representative of the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPANIC), said the average worker picks five boxes a day. Coffee is Nicaragua's largest export and income has increased by 75% over the past ten years, now representing 22% of Nicaragua's total exports.

Solorzano said that the increase will permit coffee producers to begin to pay off US$200 million in debt that was restructured with banks and commercial houses in 2002 to be paid over 15-20 years with a 10 year grace period. Coffee producers were decimated between 1998-2002 due to Hurricane Mitch and a world collapse in coffee prices [caused by oversupply after the World Bank helped Vietnam multiply its crop]. (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 1)

7. FAO launches project for “dry corridor”

On Thursday, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the non-governmental organization Action Against Hunger announced that over the next 18 months they will be starting a project to address the issue of hunger in the so-called "dry corridor." The "dry corridor" is the portion of Central America that has felt the greatest impacts of climate change, including frequent droughts but also the floods that left 120 dead last October.

Gero Vaagt the FAO representative in Managua told journalists that the intiative, valued at US$2.7 million, would benefit some 20,000 farmers in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua (4,000 in Nicaragua alone). In order to increase the nutrition and health of inhabitants and combat hunger, the program will provide seeds that are more resistant to both droughts and floods. The project will also deal with water infrastructure projects (including cisterns to capture rain water flowing off roofs and small water purifiers) and reforestation projects, in order to help local populations and governments to address the new issues they are facing due to climate change. (La Radio Primerisma, Dec. 1; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 5)

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