Exiles from Nicaragua in Panama Call for Unity (video)
HAVANA TIMES – Panama has been one of the countries that has welcomed refugees from Nicaragua in the context of the sociopolitical crisis that this Central American country is going through.
Last night, the Alvaro Conrado April 19th Movement in Panama made public its position before the meeting that will take place this Wednesday, February 27 in Managua between representatives of the Ortega government and the Civic Alliance.
This group of Nicaraguans in Panama invited the other movements inside and outside the country to maintain unity in the face of this new attempt at dialogue. They expressed their vote of confidence to the Civic Alliance and demand that the release of the political prisoners be prioritized. Likewise, they noted that currently there are no conditions for talks due to the continued violent repression of the Ortega-Murillo government.
Statement of the April 19th Movement of Nicaraguans in Panama
The Alvaro Conrado* April 19th Movement in Panama was born out of the need to create a community of Nicaraguans united to serve as a support network and provide accompaniment to the thousands of compatriots who have been forced to emigrate and take refuge in the wake of the sociopolitical crisis in Nicaragua.
The Ortega Murillo Dictatorship has destroyed the rule of law in Nicaragua where the most basic and most sacred of all universal rights, the right to life, is no longer respected.
As Nicaraguans in exile we continue on with struggle in our hearts and with our voices raised. We seek the unity of Nicaraguans all over the world, wherever they are refugees, joined for the purpose of rising up against a regime that has taken from a whole people its’ most fundamental rights.
We humbly serve our fellow refugees, providing support to the most vulnerable, those who are unemployed and without shelter. We provide guidance and accompaniment to those who need it, and instructions for legal immigration processes. We share experiences in community, healing the wounds of the struggle. We proudly raise our flag, the day is soon when we can once again raise the blue and white flag in our homeland.
Our people are suffering, it hurts us to breathe
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*It hurts to breathe were the last words of 15-year-old Alvaro Conrado when he died after being shot on April 20, 2018.