NicaNotes: ‘Human rights’ propaganda against Nicaragua out of Costa Rica

Reprinted from tortillaconsal.com , 26/10/2019

By John Perry

Some of the local ‘human rights’ organisations in Nicaragua, which received foreign funding and operated as propaganda vehicles against the government, lost their legal status earlier this year. One of these was CENIDH, run by Vilma Nuñez. Several of the CENIDH staff, including Gonzalo Carrión, one of its directors, left in February to set up a new body in Costa Rica, the Colectivo de Derechos Humanos Nicaragua Nunca Más, allegedly using money that belongs to CENIDH (The Grayzone has reported more widely on The Rise and Fall of Nicaragua’s ‘Human Rights’ Organisations and the recent conflicts within them).

Nicaragua Nunca Más is clearly well-resourced, as it now has an office in San Jose, publishes elaborately produced reports, and is able to present its arguments and hold meetings with the United Nations, the Organisation of American States (OAS), the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights (IACHR), and other international bodies. Although there is nothing on its website to indicate where this money comes from, as was also the case with CENIDH, its Facebook page suggests it gets support from the UK embassy in Costa Rica and other sources. Nicaragua Nunca Más enjoys the collaboration of the Costa Rican government, which regularly condemns Nicaragua despite having its own considerable human rights issues.

Nunca Más was only set up in February but already it is having a considerable influence on international bodies. So far its most successful campaign has been against the ‘assassination’ of campesinos in rural areas of Nicaragua, allegedly by the Nicaraguan army or police, and supposedly focused on people who opposed the government during the protests in 2018. All of the key international bodies have treated this seriously. The OAS took evidence about it from Nunca Más on September 25, and on October 4 the IACHR issued a press release, denouncing the killing of ‘at least 30’ campesinos, the majority linked with the opposition or in political conflict with the government. In addition Andrew Gilmour, the (British) Assistant Secretary-General for human rights at the UN, travelled to Costa Rica to hear the allegations of ‘terrible repression’ from Nunca Más, and Gilmour also listened sympathetically to the similar views of the Costa Rican government.

In its campaign for international sanctions against Nicaragua, the opposition Civic Alliance has just presented the OEA with one of the glossy reports produced by Nicaragua Nunca Más. Entitled Situación de Derechos Humanos de la Población Campesina (‘Human rights situation of the rural population’) it accuses the government of systematic, selective and lethal repression of campesinos (peasants), with 30 of the deaths allegedly occurring in the first nine months of this year.

For a report which supposedly gives details of a campaign of terror in the countryside, it has an unusual structure. The first part is not about the present day at all, but deals with the protests against the interoceanic canal in the years leading up to 2017. Despite the allegations of repression, the anti-canal movement was able to hold around 80 large demonstrations in this period, and no one was killed (although there were clashes with police when protesters set up road blocks, which led to injuries on both sides).

The second part is about the roadblocks set up in rural areas during the failed coup attempt in 2018. But the report says nothing of the deaths which occurred in the roadblocks, for example the many people killed when they tried to pass them, or who died on the way to receive urgent treatment because ambulances were prevented from reaching the hospital in time. The report by solidarity activists, Dismissing the Truth, devotes a chapter (Chapter 5) to the deaths that occurred in Central Nicaragua in the first half of last year, showing that most of the victims were indeed local people, but killed not by police but by those controlling the roadblocks.

The third section of the Nunca Más report is about the arrest and trial of Medardo Mairena and Pedro Mena, men who were found guilty of organising the massacre in the small town of Morrito. The act of terror they led is barely mentioned, and it is stated inaccurately that two people died when the actual death toll was five, of whom four were police and one was a popular local teacher.

The full story was told in January by Dick y Miriam Emanuelsson. The Whatsapp messages on the phones carried by Mairena and Mena when they were arrested, and testimony of people who heard the plans being made, provided the evidence that led to their conviction. Nevertheless they were released in the government’s conditional amnesty in June, and Mairena is now touting himself as a potential presidential candidate.

The fourth section is about displacement of campesinos who fled to Costa Rica when the roadblocks were dismantled. Hardly any people involved are mentioned by name, but in any case the report completely fails to point out that many of those who fled the roadblocks did so because they were guilty of crimes and were carrying weapons. Instead, it portrays them all as innocent victims of government persecution.

Only in the fifth section of the report are there details of ‘executions’ in rural areas, and most of these relate to the period 2008-2017, well before the recent protests began. The 2019 cases, supposedly a consequence of last year’s protests, take up only nine pages of the report. Of the ’30’ deaths, only seven are presented with any details. Most of these relate to members of one family, of which two deaths occurred in Honduras. In one of the seven cases, only the first name of the victim (‘Martin’) is given, making it impossible to verify the account.

The real stories behind several of the earlier and recent cases have been examined by the independent news agency Carta Boden, which often prints news stories favourable to the opposition as well as reporting government news. For example, the murders that occurred in Honduras, 25km distant from the frontier with Nicaragua, were attributed by the local police and press to family enemies, with no evidence of any involvement by the Nicaraguan authorities. In total, including cases dating back to 2008, Carta Boden says that the report claims that there have been 55 rural assassinations, but gives details only of 26 of these, and makes a clear link with the Nicaraguan army or police in only 18 cases. Even for these, the analysis shows that many were related to ordinary crimes such as drug trafficking, cattle rustling or murder. Carta Boden concluded that the deaths it investigated had nothing to do with the political situation.

In other words, Nicaragua Nunca Más has written a report claiming that the Nicaraguan government is carrying out a campaign of terror in rural areas, which contains little or no hard evidence that this is happening at all. Even where deaths or other incidents are documented, the report very often fails to explain the context which would enable the incidents to be properly understood. Of course, the opposition know that if they present a glossy, well designed 80-page report, the majority of the media who are sympathetic to their politics will produce headlines such as The Regime’s Repression against Campesinos.

What should be more surprising, but sadly isn’t, is the uncritical gullibility of the international organisations when they receive this material and their failure to do due diligence in checking the facts. Presumably, Nicaragua Nunca Más knows that administrators at the UN, OAS and IACHR are unlikely to do more than glance through a report of this kind and will take it at face value. Even if they look at the detail, they will have no knowledge of the local circumstances. For the opposition and their propagandists in ‘human rights’ organisations, the key aim is to give the impression that (as the report puts it) the rural areas of Nicaragua are suffering under a government-led ‘wave of crime’ directed against people who formed part of the opposition last year. The fact that few people in Nicaragua have observed this crime wave is totally irrelevant since the report’s overriding purpose is to offer false pretexts for unjust international condemnation of Nicaragua’s Sandinista government.

 

BRIEFS

By Nan McCurdy

Millions of Dollars Provided In Loans to Nearly 400,000 Women
Last week, the director of the microloan program called “Zero Usury,” Leonor Corea, reported that in the last 12 years financing totaling US$23.9 million has been provided to more than 380,000 women in 140 municipalities throughout the country to establish and expand small businesses. Corea said that “In 2019 financing has been provided to 15,000 women which reflects the Program´s contribution to the revitalization of the national economy.” (Nicaragua News, 10/28/19)

Putin Awards Order of Friendship to Vice President Rosario Murillo
Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo the Order of Friendship on October 28 for her contribution to friendship and cooperation. The decree published on Monday was signed by Putin on October 26. Nicaragua established diplomatic relations with the former Soviet Union on October 18, 1979, shortly after the triumph of the popular revolution by the Sandinista National Liberation Front that returned to power in 2007. (Radiolaprimerisima, 10/28/19)

One Year Ago Nearly 600,000 Catholics Convinced Pope to Remove Bishop Báez
One year ago, Christian base communities convinced Pope Francis to remove from Nicaragua the former auxiliary bishop of Managua, Silvio Báez, who considered himself one of the main organizers of the violence and chaos of 2018. Báez claimed credit for organizing the opposition group known as “the Civic Alliance” and was recorded saying he would like to see President Ortega put in front of a firing squad. “It is not enough to pray,” said Rafael and Tomás Valdés of the Christian community of San Pablo Apóstol church in the 14 de Septiembre neighborhood.” They and their fellow parishioners gathered almost 600,000 signatures requesting that the Pope remove Báez from the country, a petition fulfilled by the Pope soon afterward. (Radiolaprimerisima, 10/26/19)

Cordoba Stronger Against the Dollar
The Central Bank of Nicaragua decided on October 28 to set the rate of devaluation of the Cordoba against the U.S. dollar at 3 percent annually, which is a reduction of 2% compared to the prevailing rate of devaluation of 5 percent. This rate will begin to be applied and published in the monthly exchange rate table as of November 1, 2019. The bank said in a press release, “This decision is adopted in the context of an adequate macroeconomic policy framework and adequate indicators, which include: balance in public finances; surplus in the current account of the balance of payments, adequate level and coverage of international reserves; and stability in the financial system.” The Bank added that reducing the devaluation will help stabilize aggregate spending for the national economy by reducing costs and improving the purchasing power of wages. (Radiolaprimerisima, Informe Pastran 10/28/19)

Nicaragua Leads Central America in Livestock and Exports
Nicaragua’s livestock sector has had a good year, not only in the expansion the raising of livestock, but also in the export of beef. FSLN Deputy and cattle producer Douglas Aleman called Nicaragua “the king of meat in Central America. Thirteen thousand families operate 164,000 farms and ranches with an official census of 5.57 million head of cattle and 650,000 direct jobs. Aleman observed, “…we have a production of 5 million liters of milk per day. Currently 75% of production is destined for export.” He said that “the fact that we are recognized as the country with the largest herd in the region, with the best quality meat, highest exports is because we have a national strategy for the development of the sector. There is a vision, a State policy, government support with better infrastructure such as roads, electrification, drinking water, telecommunications, sanitary controls, bovine traceability, IPSA support; all this helps production and therefore marketing, which together with the effort of producers and the effort of the meat industry have given us this impetus.” According to the Center for Export Procedures (CETREX), in the first nine months of 2019 Nicaragua exported 87,744 tons of beef, generating US$362 million, second in exports to green coffee. Beef is followed by sugar, peanuts, beans, farmed shrimp, lobsters, fresh cheese, fish, and tobacco, among others. (Informe Pastran, 10/28/19)

Nicaragua Creating Public Policies to Eliminate Child Labor
Minister of Labor (MITRAB) Alba Luz Torres, is participating in the conference on the Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labor Regional Initiative being held from October 22 to 25 in Lima, Peru. Torres said, “Nicaragua has been working on the elimination of child labor through public policies and effective social programs for the eradication of poverty and the restoration of the rights of children and adolescents.” Representatives of 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that aspire to meet the Millennium Development Goal for a region free of Child Labor in 2025 are participating in the meeting. (Nicaragua News, 10/26/19)

China to Invest US$200 Million in the Textile Industry
Free Trade Zones National Commission Vice-President Alfredo Coronel reported yesterday that a company from the People’s Republic of China is investing US$200 million in the Nicaragua textile industry. The company will operate in Mateare municipality in the department of Managua creating more than 3,000 jobs. Coronel added that other textile companies are set to begin operating in the country. He also stated that the Chinese company is 90% installed and operations are set to begin in December of this year. (Nicaragua News 10/25/19)

Natural Medicine and Alternative Therapies Growing
The Ministry of Health reported there are 188 natural medicine clinics and complementary therapies practices in the country. Of these, 70 clinics are for pain management, which have already provided more than 500,000 consultations since 2015. Through natural medicine’s 17 affiliated clinics, 4,300 natural medicine community outreach workers and 4,100 health workers have been trained in things like phytotherapy, massage, moxibustion, cupping therapy, foot reflexology, stress therapies, and Bach flower therapies. Next month a Vietnamese medical mission will come to Managua to train workers in these clinics. (Informe Pastran, 10/28/19)

Agreement Will Improve Protection and Management of Wildlife Reserve
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) announced it has signed an Agreement with the “Juan Ramón Rodríguez” Agricultural Cooperative for the management and protection of the Chocoyero-El Brujo Wildlife Reserve located between Ticuantepe, La Concepción and Crucero municipalities in the department of Managua. Cooperative President Félix Pedro Carballo said, “We are very committed to the care, management and protection of the Reserve, guaranteeing greater sustainability, attracting more visitors and improving income generated by tourism services.” He added, “There are more than 180 species of flora and fauna in the Reserve, including 24 different species of bats and countless parakeets.” (Nicaragua News 10/26/19)

Nicaragua Design and Expo Huge Success
The eighth edition of Nicaragua Design and Expo 2019 concluded October 27 with awards given to the best designer and to participants in the design competition and fair. Camila Ortega Murillo is director of Nicaragua Design, the most important fashion event in the country with national and international designers and more than 60 national and international models. She was accompanied at the awards by the co-director of the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (INTUR), Anasha Campbell, and Managua mayor Reyna Rueda. Ortega Murillo said the awards are to highlight the work, perseverance and creativity of the participants. Designer Fernando Fuentes recalled that in last year’s Nicaragua Design only 9 national designers participated; this year there are 22. “Many graduated recently from design school here.” Fuentes gave the prize for “emerging designer” to Osneyda Cáron, recently graduated from design school. Cáron said that when she entered the school of design, “I knew I had a hidden talent. The school helped me. I used the tools and now I am here!” Nicaragua Design awards all kinds of design, not just clothes. Ariel Rodriguez won an award with his sculpture exhibit called “Coral Arrecife”. (El19Digital, 10/28/19)

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