Civic Alliance: Ortega Falsely Pretends that Dialogue Advances

 

Opposition delegation says the Government tries to “conceal” its lack of will to comply with agreements made, in order to avoid further sanctions.

“They are not fulfilling anything,” denounces Juan Sebastian Chamorro, referring to the two agreements signed in Managua.

 

By Wilfredo Miranda Aburto (Confidencial)

HAVANA TIMES – The Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy rejected and criticized the communiques that the Ortega government has issued since the suspension of the dialogue at the INCAE business school in Managua, in which it ensures that the negotiation has continued to “advance” in informal meetings. The opposition argues that this is a tactic of the regime to make the international community believe that the dialogue has not failed, and in this way conceal its’ lack of political will and avoid further international sanctions.

On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry issued another statement and repeated that: “the Government confirms our absolute willingness and commitment to advance in all the Points of the Agenda previously agreed, thus contributing to the national understanding and peace, which Nicaraguan families demand.”

However, Juan Sebastian Chamorro, a member of the Civic Alliance, maintained that the regime has not even complied with the only two agreements signed, referring to the release of all political prisoners and the strengthening of citizen guarantees.

“We want to denounce this little game of the Government: they publish daily communiques to say that they are fulfilling. They are not fulfilling anything. What they are doing is going to the gate at the entrance to the INCAE school to say that they are meeting,” said Chamorro. “That is a not a true will to dialogue. It is not a question of going to warm seats. It has to do with working and reaching agreements.”

Jose Pallais, also a member of the Civic Alliance, told Confidencial that the “government is desperate” to pretend in front of the international community that the “dialogue advances,” and in this way avoid possible international sanctions.

“No advancement whatsoever”

“They are desperate to appear in a photo with us (Civic Alliance),” affirmed Pallais, and denied that the parties in the negotiation had held full meetings. “There have been two meetings in the Apostolic Nunciature on compliance with the agreements that were already agreed upon, but there has been no advancement whatsoever. Besides, there have been 2 by 2 meetings, that is, two members from each party that meet, and those meetings have not lasted more than an hour,” explained Pallais.

Felix Maradiaga, Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Public Policies (IEEPP), said that in bodies such as the Organization of American States (OAS) it is not considered that the current negotiation has “suffered a definite rupture,” despite the failure of a week ago.

Maradiaga said on the Esta Noche program that “he has spoken” with different diplomats at the OAS, especially with those who make up the Working Group for Nicaragua and the members of the Permanent Council of the OAS, who see the negotiations in Managua as “savable.”

Return of the exiles

The Foreign Ministry of the dictatorship expressed in a communique on April 10 that “an important meeting was held” in which the official delegation presented a “proposal of ‘Agreement for the return of Nicaraguans abroad,’ which was received for analysis and which would supposedly be discussed in the following working session on Friday, April 12.”

Pallais also spoke up on this statement and clarified that the regime responded to a proposal presented by the Civic Alliance on the safe return of exiles. The opposition presented a protection and follow-up mechanism implemented by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to ensure the safety of people upon their return to the country. However, the government delegation rejected it, and put on the table a counterproposal that excluded the protection and follow-up mechanism.

“They proposed that the people who return (exiles) trust the government. That nothing will happen to them upon their return. That is to say, that these people do not have a mechanism to alert when they are going to be captured. We cannot be accomplices of that,” said Pallais.

“We are not going to sign more pieces of paper”

Chamorro criticized that the regime took this protocol on exiles to issue a statement and “announce great progress.” “That is a falsehood,” emphasized the member of the Civic Alliance.

“For us, the return of Nicaraguans abroad is important, as well as the release of political prisoners, but none has been released despite the fact that the Red Cross is ready,” affirmed Chamorro. “What they are doing is carrying out a media campaign to say that they are siting at the table when in fact they are doing absolutely nothing.”

Chamorro said that the Civic Alliance demands the fulfillment of the release of political prisoners, the clarification of the status of 53 prisoners that the regime says are common criminals and not political, the invitation of international human rights organizations, and the release of printing supplies stuck in customs to the media, in order to assess a renegotiation.

“As a big deal the government says that the protocol is going to be negotiated. We are not going to sign more pieces of paper if the document that shelters this protocol of the exiles, which is on citizen rights and guarantees, was violated in less than 24 hours after (it was signed). There is far less credibility in this new protocol,” Chamorro said categorically, and announced that they would not attend the meeting on Friday, April 12, as the regime stated, until there is real willingness to comply.

The Civic Alliance also called on the dictatorship to present its plan for electoral reform on April 22, which until now is unknown. Chamorro revealed that on the week starting April 22nd an OAS electoral commission will arrive in the country.

They will accuse Ortega of breaching agreements

The Civic Alliance announced on Thursday that it will denounce to the international community that the Ortega Government is breaking the agreements reached at the negotiating table, with which they hope to overcome the crisis that erupted a year ago.

The expert on constitutional matters and a member of the Civic Alliance, Azahalea Solis, said in a press conference that they will send to the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU) the information and details about “the violation of the agreements by the Government” of Ortega.

They will also explain their position with respect to the negotiations that culminated on Wednesday of the preceding week, without agreements on justice and democratization.

“There is no negotiation because there are no agreements on justice and democracy, and because there are no international guarantors,” she explained.

So far this week, the Nicaraguan Government has issued communiques in which it expresses its “unwavering will and commitment to continue working for national understanding and peace” in Nicaragua, and has rejected that it has breached the agreement regarding citizens’ rights and guarantees, and the release of those deprived of liberty in the context of the crisis.