The eighth summit of the Association of Caribbean States was held in Managua March 28-29 with the participation of twenty-five member states and nine associate members. One of their reasons for forming twenty-five years ago was to improve their response to natural disasters. Given the Caribbean is more prone to disasters and every nation has suffered from more and more of them, the group met to create an action plan on how to respond to Climate Change and its consequences.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Friday at the 8th meeting of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), in Managua that “the member states of the ACS share the responsibility of defending the consensus that we have built together and of continuing to promote solidarity as a necessary premise for action on all the issues that involve us”. He added “the ACS must continue to be a cornerstone in the unity of the Greater Caribbean, the only alternative in the face of the enormous challenges we face.
The Twenty-Fourth Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Third Cooperation Conference is meeting from this Thursday on topics such as tourism, risk reduction, disasters, trade, transportation, and protection of the Caribbean Sea.
In this VIII Summit, members celebrated the 25th anniversary of the creation of the organization whose main objective is to serve as a mechanism for cooperation and concerted action in the areas of trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters in the Caribbean area.
Its member states are Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Aruba, Curaçao (France, on behalf of French Guiana, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin), Guadeloupe, Netherlands, on behalf of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius, Martinique, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands. (Radio La Primerisima, 3/29/19)
Below is President Daniel Ortega’s speech on Climate Change at the closing session of the Summit.
Climate Change is a theme that has to do with the survival of peoples on planet earth.
Development cannot be disproportionate as it has been because it only benefits the well off.
Development has to be sustainable. Development without frontiers, like that which we have come to know – unlimited development, becomes destructive development, which, it is true, favors and enriches the countries that historically managed to put themselves at the forefront of development.
They used their development first to fight over hegemony in the world, to wage war among themselves.
From there came slavery. Slaves snatched from their homes and communities and put up for auction, put up for sale, by slave traders representing the business interests of the colonialists.
The impoverished countries have been enslaved by the consequences of globalization.
We are enslaved by the global international situation because we don’t have the resources to confront the damage our peoples have suffered like the pillaging of our natural resources. When the colonizers came they were looking for riches and they took them for themselves.
The greed of the rich governments has resulted in destruction since they prefer to invest in wars.
They don’t want to invest to protect themselves but they don’t hesitate to invest and spend billions on the arms race that has been unleashed, billions for death, for destruction.
The countries that make up the Association of Caribbean States have become aware of their role in favor of the environment.
There can be no peace in our countries when we are victims of the way in which the rich countries are exploiting natural resources, the way in which they are developing the global economy, the way in which they are not becoming aware in the countries that have the power, the strength, to contribute to the reorientation of all of our countries, our decisions, our actions, around the agreements that were made in Paris.”
We must not only defend those agreements, but also seek to commit ourselves beyond them in order to achieve that great objective which has to do with security and with the human rights of our peoples.
Even though it is a complex world, a difficult and violent world it is also a world where the peoples demand peace.
This battle must be fought in favor of our peoples and in favor of humanity.
We have a starting point (excessive pollution), which goes against the most valuable thing that the planet has, which is the human species.
Tortillaconsal.com has translated an extensive interview about Climate Change with Valdrack Jaentschke, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs with Channel 4’s Alberto Mora.
“It’s not just a question of measures for adaptation or mitigation of Climate Change, in other words, adjusting to what is coming, but recognition that our countries have suffered losses and irreversible damage,” Jaentschke said. Click on the link to read the entire interview.
Upcoming Events:
- April 18 Premiere E-Book Release of Live from Nicaragua: Uprising or Coup!
This is the reader that explodes the myths and tells the true story of Nicaragua’s failed coup of 2018. For ordering information email [email protected].
- Solidarity with Nicaragua! Webinar Series
A webinar series for solidarity activists leading up to the July “Solidarity with Nicaragua!” delegation organized by AFGJ and the Friends of the ATCWednesday, April 17th 3pm PST/6pm EST:
Report back by delegates on the January 2019 Food Sovereignty & Agroecology delegation to Nicaragua
Register HERESunday, April 28th 11am PST/2pm EST:
Tracing the historic lines of international solidarity with Nicaragua. Webinar featuring AFGJ’s Chuck Kaufman, Coleen Littlejohn, and Stephen Sefton. Register HERE
- Delegation: 40th Anniversary of the Triumph of the Sandinista Revolution
When: Thursday, July 11th to Sunday, July 21st, 2019.
Where: We will begin and end our trip in the city of Managua, Nicaragua’s capital. We will visit urban and rural communities in different areas of the country, concentrating specifically in the northern mountainous regions. Lodging will take place in ATC schools, locally-run hotels, and family homestays.
Who: Curious about or committed to peasant and worker rights, social movements, and internationalist solidarity? We’d love for you to travel with us! Most of all, we want delegates who wish to extend this experience to their own communities upon returning home.
To Participate: Email [email protected] for a delegation application. Applications are due by May 15th, 2019. Please don’t hesitate to write us directly about application extensions after May 15th. This delegation is organized by the Friends of the ATC solidarity network along with the ATC, La Via Campesina Nicaragua, and Alliance for Global Justice, and supported by the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign (UK).
- Compas de Nicaragua Fall Dance Tour
We have finished auditions for our fall dance tour! Meet the dancers who will be traveling to the US this fall! Here is how you can host the dance tour in your community! If you are interested in hosting this unique tour, please contact me at [email protected]. We recently led a family vacation tour here in Nicaragua. Compas has begun to offer tourist trips along with our service learning trips. If you are interested in a one-of-a-kind and affordable vacation in Nicaragua, please contact the email above for more details!
BRIEFS
By Nan McCurdy
Opposition divisions make negotiations difficult
National Assembly Deputy Wilfredo Navarro, departing from the latest round of negotiations, said the divisions and rivalries within the opposition Civic Alliance are creating obstacles to reaching agreements. Navarro is a deputy for the Independent Constitutionalist Liberal Movement, which is allied with the government. Navarro, who was a long-time leader of the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) is now a member of the government negotiating team. (Multinoticias, 4/9/19)
Worker’s Party of Mexico Supports Nicaraguan Government’s Struggle for Peace
The XXIII International Seminar of the Workers’ Party (PT) of Mexico, whose convocation is supported by more than 80 political organizations from all continents, issued a resolution on April 6 supporting the Sandinista revolution, and the government of Nicaragua for its efforts in the struggle to maintain peace. Representatives from Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Vietnam, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and several European countries also condemned the blockade against Cuba, demanded that the United States take its hands off Venezuela and expressed their support for the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In his words of greeting, the Cuban delegate, Leopoldo Valle, expressed the importance for the region of support for the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, in his fight against the aggressions of the United States; for Nicaraguan Daniel Ortega, target of new imperialist attacks; for Evo Morales for his battle in the multi-ethnic revolution, and for the strengthening of the Farabundo Martí Front of El Salvador. (Radio La Primerisima, 4/8/19)
Government Releases 50 More Prisoners Involved in Coup Violence
The Ministry of Governance announced on April 5 release orders for 50 prisoners detained for crimes committed against public safety and tranquility during the 2018 attempted coup. These individuals received house arrest or other precautionary measures, the press release states. This brings the total number released to house arrest in the last two weeks to 200. (Nicaragua News, Radio La Primerisima, 4/5/19)
The Castle of Opposition Lies Tumbles Down
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has released the reconciled list of persons imprisoned in the context of the socio-political crisis that originated in Nicaragua in April last year.
The number verified by the Red Cross is 290 “political prisoners” of which 200 have already been released to house arrest. The Red Cross’s authoritative count reveals the crude lies of sectors of the opposition united in the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy (ACJD) and the Blue and White National Unity (UNAB). According to their reports, communiqués and a media campaign unleashed in social networks and other media, the number of “political prisoners” ranged between 600 and 900 people. Using this false data, including the claim that more than 1,000 people have been disappeared, the opposition has launched international campaigns calling for new and more forceful sanctions against Nicaragua.
Unfortunately, the most radical sectors of the opposition again suspended dialogue with the government on April 3 and called for demonstrations. (Giorgio Truccio, ALAI, 4/5/19)
New Loans for Infrastructure Projects
Minister of Public Finance Ivan Acosta announced that the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) approved a US$201.8 million loan for infrastructure projects. “The loan includes US$176.6 million for the Highway Construction Program and US$25.2 million for the Airport Modernization Project in the Nicaragua Southern Caribbean Autonomous Region,” Acosta said. (Nicaragua News, 4/5/19)
Daniel Accuses Extremist Groups of Attempting against Nicaragua’s Stability
At a meeting with new ambassadors on April 3 President Daniel Ortega highlighted the agreements reached with the opposition at the negotiating table, despite extremist, radical and fascist groups that threaten stability in Nicaragua. “We are committed to peace, in all fields we are committed to peace, we want peace with security, stability, free from threats of the use of force,” he said. He added that despite the conspiracies, the government has always bet on dialogue and continues to seek mechanisms to find peace even though time was very short and negotiations complex. “Extremist, radical groups are taking possession, and we are in that struggle seeking peace and stability without ignoring that in our region we are not the only ones in this struggle,” Ortega added.
Ortega highlighted Nicaragua’s commitment to peace, a peace based on respect for other nations, without intervening and threatening actions that endanger the security of families and the people in general. “We are committed to peace in all areas, we want peace with security, stability, free from threats, the use of force. What country can develop if it is under the threat of the use of force? The United Nations has a very clear article that is a commitment of all the countries that adhere to the United Nations, where we pledge not to use force and not to threaten force.”
President Ortega said there is a solution to stop the advance of global warming. He said we need commitments and investments to save life on the planet; also, migration demands investments so that people who are in conditions of greater exclusion and poverty can strengthen themselves. If they do not want rivers of migrants overflowing to Europe and North America, then we have to invest in the countries and the people to stop this problem, taking into account that the people come from countries that have been historically excluded, stripped of their wealth and resources. It is not a question of compensation or of compensating these peoples but of investments, he said.
The new ambassadors are from Norway, Mexico, Sweden, Guatemala, Bulgaria, Zambia, Poland, Panama, Yemen, Cuba, India, Ireland, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Venezuela, Hungary, Vietnam, Cuba, Philippines. (Radio La Primerisima, 4/5/19)
