The Mískitus and Mayangnas indigenous communities of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua denounce the total lack of protection on the part of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, the invasion of settlers, insecurity, cultural threat and lack of justice for all the crimes committed by invaders.
«We have lost our culture with the imposition of foreigners, our young people no longer want to speak their languages, they feel sorry, because deep down the dominant white and Castilian society discriminates against them, so they want to be one of them. The physical death caused by the invasions of our territories or the dispossession in the hands of the usurping settlers who are protected by officials of the current regional government, and logically by the national government, is a serious threat to our forests, our ways of life and our culture”, lament the community.
In addition, they denounced the outburst of some mayoralties belonging to the Yatama indigenous party during the last municipal elections on November 6, where the Ortega regime claimed full control of municipal mandates at the national level. At the same time, they highlighted the use of violence exerted by the dictatorship to withdraw protesters who were against the dispossession of their political representatives.
The proclamation was signed by at least 14 indigenous leaders, on January 5, 2023, after holding a meeting where they analyzed the current social, political, and economic situation in the Caribbean region, which they described as “sad.”
Given this, they demand “respect for the national and international legal framework regarding the rights of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples. Urgently initiate the clean-up of the territories considering the demands for justice and compensation for human rights violations and the destruction of the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples, as well as the eviction of settlers from our titled territories. Accept the elections of community and territorial authorities in accordance with their customs and traditions, without external interference of any kind, neither political nor economic, nor coercion, nor manipulation, nor deceit, “says the letter of the communities.
“We ask the world that in the face of the serious humanitarian and environmental crisis against our mother earth and biodiversity, the environment in our territories, do not leave us alone in this fight, intervene with the Nicaraguan government to stop the massive destruction”, they add.
The international community has repeatedly demanded that the rights of indigenous communities be respected and that justice be done in cases of murder, violence and kidnapping by invaders.
