Nicaragua on the Tip of Crisis and Danger
There is nothing to discuss or negotiate
By Henry Petrie (Nuevas Miradas)
HAVANA TIMES – From a very young age, I understood the meaning of struggling for what I want to achieve. In the kindest of ways, from my mother, and later, by the historical references from a valued teacher, I learned the importance of making constant efforts and working hard to attain a certain goal. The most demanding one was taught to me by Sandinismo in 1976, when the Somoza dictatorship had to be confronted with violent methods, which meant sacrifices and deaths.
Fighting against a dictatorship requires not only clarity of political proposals, but also awareness of the danger and a ferrous will to change. As Somoza with his National Guard and EEBI death squads, the Ortega Murillo dictatorship with its police, paramilitary and the complicity of the Army, will act as such, without regard to human rights, conventions or democratic principles, with a destroyed Constitution and government institutions.
It seems absurd to me that, at this stage of the struggle, there are some positions far removed from what we are really facing. What do they expect from tyrants? Dialogue and negotiation for the good of the country? Recognition to the bishops and their true opponents? A dictatorship will never open or soften itself, even less when the megalomania of the tyrants confronts the Nicaraguan people and the world.
Some have not understood that Ortega and Murillo are in fact fighting a war against the civic resistance of the people, against their organizations and networks; everything that moves, protests or thinks is the enemy and will be beaten, locked up and eliminated. You think this is an exaggeration?
They have lost the National and international public opinion and they no longer seem to care. The dictatorial logic is to defend power at whatever the cost, to hold on to it through firepower and death.
To that end they have been organizing their “Units of Defense of the Revolution and of National Sovereignty”, which will be projected as “an organized and mobilized effort in the face of imperialist interference and their national allies”, when in fact they are a paramilitary that will act together with the army, if they manage to appease the reticence of certain high-ranking officers.
That is why they acted against the nine non-governmental organizations and against the media directed by Carlos Fernando Chamorro; that is why they expelled the Special Follow-up Mechanism for Nicaragua (Meseni) and the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), associated with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH).
This, added to the crimes and vexations that the tyrants have been committing since April 18, only indicates that they are following through the steps of their strategy, among which are: to silence the media and capture leading journalists, while they complete and refine their supposed national defense plans.
They are waging their war. This seems exaggerated or absurd, when there is no armed force that opposes the dictatorship. Thus, they acted against the students, the urban and rural population; they shot to kill, and they will continue doing so towards any demonstration that resurfaces. They have organized a paramilitary force with high firepower and they are calling for the Ortega party’s militancy to join the defense units. The approval of the Nica-Act by the United States government will trigger actions that create the war environment they need, to impose a state of siege and suspend liberties and guarantees.
When certain politicians talk about dialogue and say things like “we have to look for new interlocutors of the opposition”, they try to displace the social force that started and has sustained the struggle to this day, with its successes and failures. And they go further: “Not everything can be achieved, we have to negotiate, because otherwise we will continue to kill each other in Nicaragua.”
The question is: What’s to talk? Negotiate what? The Blue and White Nicaraguan Unity coalition must be clear and categorical in their position. Deaths and justice are not negotiated. Here there was no war; there was confrontation, massacre, disappearances, murders, imprisonment and rape. The conditions of the departure of Ortega and Murillo must be well defined, as well as the processes of disarming the hordes of the regime and a restoration of democratic institutions.
The struggle is for comprehensive change and its authentic protagonists are those of the civic and peaceful rebellion.
Hi Galen
I am sorry trying to make sense to the wrong guy. Just googled your name and this is what I found..
“I a US citizen that has three farms in Nicaragua. I left due to the unrest. It doesn’t matter who you replace Ortega with. The end product will be the same! It all comes down to the backward thinking of their culture. Lie, cheat, steal, is an inbred factor, don’t kid yourself.”
You, Sir, are an arrogant American. Look at your post. Why the hell did you go to a backward country coming from such a forward looking country? You are an immigrant and maybe you should be treated like the immigrants are being treated in the USA. May I ask if you are Trump supporter?
You are a realtor. Is it possible you went to Nicaragua to rape (their land and people) and pillage like your forefathers did in the USA? I am glad you are out of there and hope you never return.
Mimi Faust……you hit it on the nail. Agree with you 100%
I agree. I have worked there for years and have met so many wonderful, hard working, honest, Christian, beautiful souls there. I have found the people to be kind, loving and family oriented. Even with what is happening to them and their once beautiful country, they keep hoping, standing by their families…I cannot express how devastating this has been and how helpless the people …the common people are. My heart has broken and continues to ache for them. It is horrific, I cannot bear to stop thinking of them but am not able to help them. God please, if there is some one who CAN help them, please do so. Evil is ruining their country…pure unadulterated evil, murderous, merciless, calculating EVIL.
The Venezuelan money pit ended when Chavez died. A canal which never came about. Maduro cant help. No one in Cuba can help. The ideology of the poor fighting with the evil dictator goes against the one ruling man makes these countries think hard and heavy about whose side they will be on. The Russians want to build some kind of mega military base. The Chinese want to swindle Nica out of all its natural resources. Of course any transactions that are profitable will never be shared with the people of Nica. I suppose if Ortega can raise at least three generations of communist inspired children then maybe he will have a large majority of the citizens to mindlessly follow his every whim. In Cuba the third generation students call Castro their father. Still some want to kill him. Its certainly not fail proof so thats where the violence comes in. Its called Plan B.
Oh my Lord! You have to think or put yoursekf in a position, that make you understand the way of how communism. In Nicaragua, never existed a gov. That care aboyt tgw country, all the ones that have been in power uses their position to get what thwy want $$$
My son and I where headed there, first of last yr,,he actualy has land there,,,was developing it,,,,was caught in the middle of the blockades,,,had to walk days to get out,,,no foodmatter stores had been looted,,,I had resisted for yrs to move there,,,,thinking this would happened long ago.. they the sanda’s started out right,,,so sad mankind can’t control greed…am really glad I didn’t make the move.
So how much $$$$ you made all this time ?
backward thinking of their culture. you have no idea what the Nicaraguan culture is like then.this is just plain ignorance coming from you.
It is the 80’s all over when you used to hear the stupidity of wanabe so call leftist useful idiots , what the fuck do you know about history and geopolitics .
As an American who has worked in Nicaragua on and off since 1995, lived and worked there for three years up until a few years ago, and someone with many Nicaraguan friends of different socio-economic classes, I take great exception to your statement. Nicaragua is like any country…it has its good and its bad…and right now we are seeing the bad. But overall, its people maintain an amazing resilience, friendliness, heart and joy, that given all they have been through is simply outstanding. I am sorry that you have been unable to see this with your various endeavours but I, and many others, have a completely different view of these great people.
Ortega was elected. If the majority want him out they can remove him at election time, that is how a democracy works. You don’t see Macron facing this kind of pressure to resign. I am not happy with my government but that doesn’t mean we try to force them out, we wait for elections to do that. Smarten up ! Everyone sees the hand behind this illegal action.
I a US citizen that has three farms in Nicaragua. I left due to the unrest. It doesn’t matter who you replace Ortega with. The end product will be the same! It all comes down to the backward thinking of their culture. Lie, cheat, steal, is an inbred factor, don’t kid yourself.