Nicaragua Network

1. ALBA summit makes plans for April meeting in Panama
2. Two international gatherings discuss canal
3. Canal briefs: Wang Jing, Telemaco Talavera, opinion poll, and Montiel sentenced
4. Nicaraguan NGOs meet with right-wing US congresswoman
5. Marches held on both sides of abortion question
6. Tourists seek out Nicaragua’s volcanoes
7. Ecuador looks to Nicaragua for policing model

1. ALBA summit makes plans for April meeting in Panama

At a summit meeting of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro welcomed the heads of states and government to Caracas and thanked them for their solidarity after the United States recently declared Venezuela a security risk to the US. The summit meeting, attended by Presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Raul Castro of Cuba, Vice-President Ricardo Patiño of Ecuador, and the prime ministers of the Caribbean members, was called to decide on a joint ALBA position for the Summit of the Americas scheduled for April 10-11 in Panama. This will be the first of such meetings that Cuba will attend and the US declarations against Venezuela are expected to be challenged. Maduro said that only united could they consolidate the independence of the region. In his speech, Ortega said to the Venezuelan people, “You are an example for the peoples of our America; you are fighting for the sovereignty of the region.” Castro said, “Today Venezuela is not alone…. Threats against stability in Venezuela represent threats against the stability of the region.” Morales stated, “If there is a threat, the only country that is a threat to all the countries is the United States.” (La Prensa, Mar. 17; Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 17; El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 17)

2. Two international gatherings discuss canal

In the month of March two international gatherings have heard presentations from supporters and opponents of the proposed shipping canal across Nicaragua. The first, on the environmental impacts of the canal, was held at Florida International University (FIU) on Mar. 9 and 10^th. Lilyvania Mikulski of FIU announced beforehand that the event would be closed to the public. David Blaha of Environmental Resources Management (ERM), the British company that is carrying out the environmental impact study on the canal, expected to be released in April, said that the workshop was being held to get the input of recognized international experts on the “possible impacts of the project in conformity with international best practices for large infrastructure projects.” Although he said that organizers expected to issue a joint statement at the end of the conference, no statement was released.

While the list of participants was not made public, Confidencial learned that they included Nicaraguan Pedro Jose Alvarez, a professor at Rice University in Texas; Ernesto Medina of the American University in Managua; and ecologist Axel Meyer from Konstanz University in Germany. Opponents of the canal living in Miami protested at the conference.

Two weeks later, on Mar. 23, La Prensa published comments on the conference by Prof. Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez said that the group of experts was preparing an eight page summary of the concerns expressed at the gathering that will be turned over to ERM. He listed four concerns that came out of the gathering: “1) The impacts of a megaproject on the rich biodiversity in [Nicaragua’s] ecosystems, including Lake Nicaragua… are difficult to predict. The scale of the project represents new challenges to science and to environmental management; 2) Recognizing the importance of the studies related to the environmental impact, we are concerned about the incomplete nature of the information and analysis; 3) Nicaragua has marked seasons and is subject to extreme climate events such as droughts, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Lack of certainty related to the impacts of climate change on already variable systems increases concern about providing [sufficient] water for the project; and 4) We have significant concerns about the future of water quality and supply, given growing demand.” (La Prensa, Mar. 6, 23; Informe Pastran, Mar. 3; Confidencial, Mar. 10)

On Mar. 16, a hearing was held on the canal’s impacts on human rights in Nicaragua at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, DC. Speaking for the government were Telemaco Talavera, spokesperson for the Nicaraguan Inter-Oceanic Canal Commission; environmentalist Kamilo Lara, head of the National Recycling Forum; and Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Organization of American States Denis Moncada. The petitioners, who claim human rights violations on the part of the government related to the canal, included the Popul-Na Foundation, the Humboldt Center, the Cocibolca Group, the Center for Legal Assistance to Indigenous Peoples (CALPI), and others.

Monica Lopez of the Popul-Na Foundation said that the canal would affect seven protected areas and destroy 480,000 acres of forest. She stated that six municipalities would be divided with people unable to visit family living on the other side. She added that the canal poses a grave danger to Lake Nicaragua which currently supplies drinking water to 200,000 people. Becky Macray, the first lawyer from the Rama indigenous community, said that, “If this project gets implemented, there is a strong possibility that the Rama language spoken in Bankukuk Taik will disappear as the last people who speak that tongue get forcibly displaced from their land.” And she insisted that consultations should have been held with the indigenous before the concession to build the canal was signed.

Telemaco Talavera told the Commission that the canal is expected to raise Nicaragua’s GDP growth to 8-10% annually and provide 50,000 jobs, helping the country lift itself out of poverty with resulting human rights benefits for the entire population. He said that protected areas to the north and south of the canal would be expanded and areas that are currently severely degraded would be reforested. He added that 74 forums and information assemblies had been held and consultations continue with the indigenous populations in areas to be impacted by the canal.

The Commission is expected to make its recommendations next month. The hearing can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=3795&v=oOxVVwrKnBc(Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 21; La Prensa, Mar. 23; Fusion.net, Mar. 17)

3. Canal briefs: Wang Jing, Telemaco Talavera, opinion poll, and Montiel sentenced

In an interview on BBC Mundo, Chinese businessman Wang Jing, whose HKND Company holds the concession for the inter-oceanic canal across Nicaragua, said that he was sure that any and all problems that arise around the canal will be resolved. “We can’t anticipate them all, but we can attempt to resolve each problem as it appears,” he stated. When asked if the project was linked in any way with political interest on the part of China in Central America, traditionally considered the “back yard” of the United States, Wang Jing said, “In this period, the world economy is so developed that one cannot say that any country is the back yard of any other,” adding that the canal would benefit the economy of the US.

Canal Commission spokesman Telemaco Talavera said last week that there are many companies in Europe, the United States, and Asia that are interested in investing in the canal and in taking part in the construction. He said that work has begun on access roads to be used to bring in heavy machinery and work on the design of the canal and adjustments of the route are proceeding. Some 28,000 people who live along the route will be affected. Talavera said, “There will have to be a negotiation in each case over the property and whether compensation will be in cash or an exchange. I understand the protests—they are within the rights of the people. It would be surprising if there were no uncertainty.” He added that compensation for property is part of the cost of the project. He said that the environmental study is in its last phase, noting, “There are hundreds of thousands of pieces of data on soil, water, air, noise, biodiversity, etc.” Then, he added, “If the environmental impact study indicates that the canal is not viable, there is no canal.”  (El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 16, 20; Informe Pastran, Mar. 19)

Meanwhile, the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) at Vanderbilt University released an opinion survey on the canal. Kenneth Coleman, principal investigator for the study, said that from the beginning, protests apart, public opinion has been more positive than negative about the canal, reflecting people’s hope for a favorable impact on employment and economic growth. Among the negatives, Coleman said, a key concern has been about possible damaging effects on the environment. Seventy-three percent believe that there would be job growth with the canal while 43.4% were concerned about potential ecological damage and 11.1% thought that the 50 year duration of the canal concession was too long. In a contradictory fashion, only 7.8% said the impact on property rights was a negative although, reflected in a different question, 90% were opposed to expropriation of properties the owners did not wish to sell. Supporters of the government of President Daniel Ortega were more likely to support the canal while those who used the internet the most were more likely to be concerned about its environmental impact. (Informe Pastran, Mar. 19; Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 19)

In related news, Army First Lieutenant Yader Montiel, a physician, was sentenced to three and one half months in jail for a “crime against military decorum” for publically denouncing the treatment by police of protesters against the canal that occurred in the community of El Tule on Christmas Eve of last year. The prosecutor asked for two years in prison and the defense for three months. Military Judge Major Efrain Garcia sided with the defense and gave Montiel 3 ½ months of which, counting time served, he has only one month more to serve. (El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 21)

4. Nicaraguan NGOs meet with right-wing US congresswoman

While in Washington, DC, for a session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, several Nicaraguan non-governmental organizations (NGOs) met with radical right-wing Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who is currently chair of the subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Cuba-born New Jersey Representative Albio Sires, a Democrat. Reportedly the Nicaraguans met with the two representatives about the “violations of human rights by the Daniel Ortega regime.” The proposed canal and the opposition’s claimed “disadvantage” in next year’s presidential election were also discussed. Rep. Ros-Lehtinen has been a virulent critic of the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. President Daniel Ortega banned her and some other right-wing members of Congress from entering Nicaragua in retaliation for US sanctions against Venezuela.

The Nicaraguans meeting with Ros-Lehtinen were: Pedro Belli, of Hagamos Democracia, a recipient of US “democracy promotion” funding, Marcos Carmona of the Permanent Commission on Human Rights, Alvaro Leiva of the Nicaraguan Pro Human Rights Association, Violeta Granera of the International Republican Institute-created Movement for Nicaragua, and Margarita Vijil of the Sandinista Renovation Movement which broke away from the Sandinista party and now allies with the right-wing opposition. Informe Pastran wrote, “The big question is whether, with this type of lobbying, it is part of the function of Nicaraguan NGOs to be driving a partisan agenda?” Pastran also noted the closeness of the MRS with “the most radical wing of the Republican Party of the United States.”

On the same day, the press reported Ros-Lehtinen’s diatribe alleging that Iran and Hezbollah are exporting “their toxic brand of political influence” to Latin America, specifically naming Nicaragua along with Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela, as host to some of what Ros-Lehtinen claims are 80 Iranian cultural centers in Latin America. (La Prensa, Mar. 19; Informe Pastran, Mar. 19)

5. Marches held on both sides of abortion question

On Mar. 17, women from a number of organizations held a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court demanding that the judges rule once and for all on the more than 30 constitutional challenges to the 2006 law and subsequent 2007 penal code that criminalized therapeutic abortion in Nicaragua for the first time in over 100 years. The women said that the challenges have been before the court for as long as eight years in some cases.  They noted that this delayed justice has had a negative impact on Nicaraguan women. On Mar. 23, Magaly Quintana of the Strategic Group for the Decriminalization of Therapeutic Abortion said that the previous day three men armed with pistols had tried to break down the door to the group’s office. The men also threatened the landlord of the building where the office is located. Magaly said the attack was reported to the police but she knew of no investigation of the incident.

Meanwhile, on Mar. 22, hundreds of people participated in the Catholic Archdiocese of Managua’s annual march for life which had the slogan this year of “Man and Woman: source of life.” Bishop Silvio Fonseca, head of the archdiocese office on the family, said that the event marked the International Day of the Unborn Child to show solidarity with those who were deprived of life because of abortion. But, he said they were also marching for those “who have lost the meaning of life to drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, and violence.”  Fonseca expressed concern about some parts of the new Family Code, passed by the National Assembly, which recognizes couples living together in a stable union on the same level as married couples. He said, “They are imposing this idea of a family united only by word, without any legal or religious commitment. Then there is the mentality of young people that, if this marriage doesn’t work, we can get a divorce. Divorce is a plague against family stability.” (La Prensa, Mar. 17, 20; El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 23)

6. Tourists seek out Nicaragua’s volcanoes

Nicaragua’s plentiful volcanoes have increasingly become a destination for “adventure tourism” among the 20-30 and 55-65 age groups. According to the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (INTUR), two out of 10 foreign visitors climb a volcano. In 2013, Central American tourists surpassed North Americans, at least percentage-wise, in volcano climbing with 29.3% of Central American tourists climbing a volcano compared to 21.8% North Americans.  The travel book, Lonely Planet, names Nicaragua as a great place to sightsee and calls sandboarding on the Cerro Negro volcano “a number one, world level alternative in Central America.” The National Development Plan includes development of micro, small, and medium tourism businesses on the “Volcano Route.” Several travel agency representatives stated that there is room to grow tourism through building access infrastructure, including transportation from near-by cities and lodging and food options nearer to the volcanoes. (La Prensa, Mar. 23)

7. Ecuador looks to Nicaragua for policing model

A delegation at the vice-ministerial level of Ecuadoran government officials visited Nicaragua to study its citizen security and policing model. Among them were officials in departments covering Social Inclusion, Integral Adolescent Development, Health, Education, and Social Development. Nicaragua, with a homicide rate of 8.71 per 100,000 stands in sharp contrast with its Central America neighbors, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala which have homicide rates of  92, 69, and 39 per 100,000 respectively. Even Costa Rica is higher at 10.3 per 100,000. The UN Development Program report titled “Citizen Security with a Human Face” cited Nicaragua as proof that poverty doesn’t necessarily generate violence. National Police Chief Aminta Granera describes the Nicaraguan policing model as “preventative, community-based, and proactive” and says the model works more to prevent than to punish crime. Nicaragua has 17.9 police officers per 10,000 people and Granera is the only former nun to head a national police department. (La Prensa, Mar. 17)