17 member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) signed this Thursday, February 23, a declaration in which they celebrate the release of 222 prisoners of conscience of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo and, in turn, deplore the abuse of the regime by stripping this group of exiles of their nationality, like the 94 “stateless” announced by the Nicaraguan Public Ministry on February 15, 2023.
The statement was signed by Argentina, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.
The document was not signed by Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Bolivia, Brazil, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bahamas, Surinam, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, Belize, Dominica and Grenada.
“We salute the release of 222 Nicaraguan political prisoners on February 9, 2023 and their arrival in the United States on that same day. We also welcome the offer of the Government of Spain to grant citizenship to released political prisoners,” the statement quoted.
In addition to Spain, Other countries that have been willing to offer their nationality to the “exiles” and “stateless” of the Ortega dictatorship have been Chile, Colombia, Argentina, and Mexicowho did not sign this declaration discussed in the OAS Permanent Council.
“We deplore that, as the IACHR pointed out in its February 13 communiqué, that although these political prisoners have been released, the Nicaraguan government has taken steps to strip them of all their political rights and citizenship, leaving the majority of they are stateless,” the letter states.
“We oppose the arbitrary cancellation of the nationality of 94 Nicaraguans on February 15, 2023, as well as the illegal seizure of their assets, and the use of these measures as a method of punishment and oppression,” it adds.
The countries that signed the declaration stress that “after months and years in some cases, of unjustifiable detention, in often appalling conditions, the release of these political prisoners was pending and we share the joy of the families, friends and supporters of those released.” ”.
The last time the OAS had ruled on the human rights crisis in Nicaragua was on October 7, 2022, when the general Assembly of foreign ministers of the organization approved, for the fourth consecutive year, a resolution against the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
The text, unanimously approved by the 32 participating member countries, demanded that the Ortega dictatorship “immediately release all political prisoners” and “cease the repression and arbitrary detention of the leaders of the Catholic Church.”
They remember the martyrdom of Monsignor Rolando Álvarez
The declaration of the representatives of the 17 nations also takes note of the risk situation of the 35 political prisoners who are still imprisoned by the dictatorship, mainly the case of Monsignor Rolando AlvarezBishop of Matagalpa and administrator of the Diocese of Estelí.
“We remember the death, in disturbing circumstances, of the Nicaraguan political prisoner Hugo Torres, who died in the Chipote prison in February 2022, and we reiterate our concern for all the political prisoners who remain unjustifiably detained in Nicaragua. We also take note, with great concern, of the recent sentence of Bishop Rolando Álvarez to 26 years in prison and the revocation of his nationality”, he quotes.
“We recall that, under article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to a nationality and no one may be arbitrarily deprived of it,” the statement added.
Nicaragua currently maintains a OAS withdrawal process as a member country, which is scheduled to end on November 19, 2023. Currently, the regime does not have a representative before this regional body, in addition to close and confiscate the office it had in Managua.
“We continue to urge the Government of Nicaragua to cease all violent actions against the country’s population and fully restore civil and political rights, religious freedoms and the rule of law; and put an end to all forms of intimidation and harassment against journalists, the media, and non-governmental organizations,” the letter underlines.
“We also urge the Government of Nicaragua to cease the repression and arbitrary detention of community leaders, including those of the Catholic Church, and to allow international human rights organizations unimpeded access to its territory, in a spirit of transparency and accountability”, he adds.
Finally, they urge the regime to comply with the commitments established in the OAS Democratic Charter, to which Nicaragua adhered on September 11, 2001.
