Havana Times

Protest against Ortega at the UN Despite Possible No-Show

After first announcing he would address the United Nations at its General Assembly this week, it is now uncertain whether Ortega will travel to New York, where a “welcoming” is organized for Wednesday Sept. 26th.

HAVANA TIMES – Nicaraguans opposed to the Government of Nicaragua confirmed today that they will hold a protest “sit-in” against President Daniel Ortega in front of the headquarters of the United Nations (UN), even if Ortega chooses at the last moment not to attend the General Assembly on Wednesday.

“We have organized a demonstration of repudiation against the dictator Ortega and it is still standing, and we expect many people from New York, Miami, Washington, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, California and even from Canada,” said Norma Castillo, member of the S.O.S. Nicaragua, an organization that promotes protest, reported dpa news.

Ortega had been registered among the speakers of the Wednesday Sept. 26 session, but his name was removed from the list according to the updated schedule of the General Assembly on the United Nations website. If he decides to be a no-show, foreign minister Denis Moncada will most likely head his country’s delegation.

The Government of Nicaragua never confirmed or denied the possible trip of the 72-year-old former Sandinista guerrilla to New York, which Ortega himself had advanced earlier in the month.

Ortega told a French television station that he planned to attend the UN General Assembly and hoped to “talk” with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to tell him that Nicaragua “has been a victim” of US policy.

In response, the US ambassador to the OAS, Carlos Trujillo, declared that Trump had “nothing to talk about” with Ortega “while in Nicaragua the paramilitaries continue to violate human rights.”

Before the panel discussion began Lesther Aleman asked for a minute of silence for those killed, wounded and jailed during the civic rebellion in Nicaragua.

In the midst of the expectation, insistent rumors circulated in Managua about the possible presence in New York of university student leader Lesther Aleman, who made himself known for publicly insisting that Ortega “surrender” in the first session of the national dialogue, on May 16th.

Aleman participated on a live panel discussion on Nicaragua on Monday at Florida International University in Miami.

The crisis in Nicaragua erupted with a student protest on April 18 and multiplied after the violent action of the police and paramilitaries against civilian demonstrators, leaving over 320 dead, thousands wounded and several hundred arrested and many being processed on serious fabricated charges.

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