Canada on Thursday accused Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega of removing the Central American country from the “family of democracies in the hemisphere“, during the 51st General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS).
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly assured that her country is “deeply concerned about what just happened in Nicaragua”, in reference to last Sunday’s elections, which he described as “unfair“ So what “they were not free by imprisoning opposition leaders, journalists and members of civil society“.
“The Daniel Ortega regime has removed Nicaragua from the family of democracies in the hemisphere“Wielded the official, who invited the other member countries of the OAS to “do not stare“ and “take action collectively here“ in the Assembly.
“Nicaraguans want a just and democratic future“Joly said in a virtual intervention within the assembly that is held remotely due to the pandemic, and in which his country, along with other delegations, have presented a draft resolution which proposes that the regional body declare the results “illegitimate”.
Draft resolution
This document is also signed by Antigua and Barbuda, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay, and it proposes to instruct the Permanent Council of the Organization to carry out a “collective evaluation” of the situation, one of the necessary steps for the suspension of a member country, after the breakdown of the democratic order was verified.
At least 40 countries have denounced the illegitimacy of Sunday’s results, except Cuba, Russia, Venezuela and Iran, which have congratulated Ortega regardless of the irregularities reported, nor that they have kept presidential candidates, civic and business leaders in prison since last May.
Joly took advantage of his turn to also charge against the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, an ally of Ortega, whom he described as “a sample of what happens when democracy is abandoned“.
The Canadian Foreign Minister asked the Maduro government, which she referred to as “de facto“, to return to the negotiating table with the opposition mediated by Norway, from which the Chavista delegates rose after the extradition of the Colombian businessman, Alex Saab, accused of being a figurehead for the Venezuelan ruler.
Response of the delegate of Nicaragua
In response, the representative of Nicaragua in the 51st General Assembly of the OAS, Michael Campbell, rejected the “false statements“ of the representative of Canada and stated that “Nicaragua respects itself“, trying to steal the phrase uttered months ago by the Bishop of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, who at the time demanded respect for the country.
Álvarez is critical of the ruling party and has denounced the repression of the Nicaraguan regime.
Campbell took the opportunity to mention that “the whole world has stared in amazement at the finds of unmarked graves of boys and girls“ in Canada, repeating the disqualifications proffered months ago by theVice President Rosario Murillo against this same country that has remained firm in denouncing the human rights abuses of the dictatorship.
He held that “It is estimated that between 1883 and 1996 more than 150,000 indigenous children were separated from their families and sent to government reformatories where they suffered all kinds of physical and sexual abuse, torture and even murder.“.
At the end, the Nicaraguan official wondered if “Can there be democracy without the full participation of native peoples? Can there be democracy without justice for so many indigenous families and communities?“, but did not give any explanation about the human rights abuses, perpetrated by the Government of Nicaragua, which left 328 people killed in 2018.
With the results of Sunday’s voting, in which the Supreme Electoral Council awarded 75% of the votes to Ortega, the Sandinista leader achieved a fourth consecutive term and the second continuous with his wife, Rosario Murillo, as vice president.
Guatemala is the host country of the 51st General Assembly of the OAS, which takes place virtually for the second consecutive year due to the covid-19 pandemic, with a scenario dominated by the disputed elections in Nicaragua and under the slogan “For a renewed America“.
