NGO denounces human rights violations in Nicaragua and asks for support for expats by Daniel Ortega

Last week, Nicaragua withdrew the nationality of 94 citizens -bringing to 317 the number of stateless people in recent days- for his criticism of Daniel Ortega, who also ordered the banishment of 222 former political prisoners, who were released and flown to the United States.

So far, Latin American governments they did not unanimously condemn the case of the 317 stateless Nicaraguanswith the exception of Chile.

Colombia there Mexico reacted with caution, while Brazil there Argentina They remained silent, like the rest of the Central American countries.

In this sense, the NGO save democracy urges other Latin American democracies to support the struggle of political prisoners and calls on them “to speak out with force against these totalitarian actionsand jointly provide I support citizens who have been stripped of their nationality and private property.

In a statement, the agency also expressed “its deepest rejection of the systematic and increasingly frequent violation of human rights in Nicaraguaincluding the illegitimate deprivation of liberty and the flagrant violation of the right to nationality and private property of many Nicaraguans for attempting to exercise freedom of expression, freedom of association and other universal political and social rights”.

« The recent legislative reforms adopted by the government of Daniel Ortega contravene international law in particular the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Declaration of Human Rights. In this very serious socio-political context, the regime of Daniel Ortega continues to repress any attempt at democratic renewal,” said Save Democracy.

Finally, this NGO urged “the Nicaraguan government to immediately guarantee the human rights of citizens, including the right of access to justice, the right to due process, the right to nationality, the right to private property and along the same lines, it demands the release of all persons arbitrarily detained as political opponents, including those who participate in civil society organizations and defend women’s rights.

In this sense, he asked that the Sandinista regime “take urgent steps for democratic recovery and the rule of lawand refrain from any other autocratic action against human rights defenders or against people who express critical opinions.

The 94 Nicaraguans –human rights defenders, priests, environmentalists, Sandinista dissidents, students, businessmen and traders, among others– They were also deprived of the right to property, accused of crimes against the government and declared fugitives by justice.

Among those who have been stripped of their Nicaraguan nationality is the bishop Rolando Alvarezwho on February 9 refused to be exiled to the United States with the other 222 people and the next day was sentenced to more than 26 years and 4 months in prison.

Nicaraguan writers Sergio Ramírez and Gioconda Belli thanked the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, on Sunday for “not keeping quiet about Nicaragua”, where the authorities deprived of nationality 317 opponents and detractors of Daniel Ortega’s government, including the two dissenters.

“Thank you very much president @GabrielBoric for embodying dignity and integrity by not keeping silent about Nicaragua. A hug,” Ramírez, a 2007 Cervantes Prize winner and exile in Spain, wrote on Twitter.

In a message on this social network, Boric sent a fraternal hug to Ramírez, Belli, journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, feminist Sofía Montenegro “and all those whom Ortega tried to deprive of their Nicaraguan nationality”.

“The dictator does not know – alluding to Ortega – that the country is carried in his heart and in his actions, and is not deprived of it by decree”, added the Chilean president.

For his part, Belli, author of the novel “El país de las mujeres”, winner of the Latin American Literature Prize La Otra Orilla 2010 and also in exile in Spain, praised Boric, so far the only Latin American president to openly condemn Ortega for declaring 317 Nicaraguans stateless.

“Thank you for being consistent and supporting a rule of law and democratic demand in Nicaragua and Latin America. My respects and affection to Gabriel Boric”, wrote on Twitter the winner of the Seix Barral Brief Library Award 2008 for her book “Infinity in the palm of your hand”.

(With information from EFE)

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