Within the framework of the European Union (EU) – Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit, scheduled for July 17 and 18 in Brussels, Belgium, 147 Nicaraguans, exiled by the Daniel Ortega regime, together with the with human rights organizations, they signed a letter requesting that the situation in Nicaragua be prioritized.
Among the signatories to the initiative are writers Sergio Ramírez Mercado and Gioconda Belli, journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, former politicians Félix Maradiaga, Medardo Mairena, Juan Sebastián Chamorro and Tamara Dávila, as well as human rights defender Bianca Jagger.
Related news: Opponent Haydee Castillo seeks support at the EU-CELAC Summit to increase diplomatic pressure against Ortega
Opponents and defenders of human rights urged the proposal, during the Summit, to create the «Group of Friends of the Nicaraguan People»this, as they affirm, is “to guarantee a multilateral, coordinated and high-level response to the serious human rights and humanitarian crisis that the country is experiencing.”
The exreo and political exile Juan Sebastian Chamorro said to Article 66 that although it is true, the CELAC Summit is a meeting of a hemispheric and continental nature, “the opportunity should be taken to make them see the importance of the formation of this group —”Group of Friends of the Nicaraguan People”— to coordinate actions that lead to a peaceful and democratic solution”.
He recalled that Nicaragua is the country that has suffered the most deterioration in terms of human rights, which is why he affirms that the formation of this new group is “the opportunity to lead and coordinate actions.”
«The Celac Summit is an opportunity to discuss these issues, although it should not be thought that the group is going to come out of Celac, but that the presence of foreign ministers and heads of state is being used to show the deterioration of human rights in Nicaragua (…)”, he said.
For his part, the former presidential candidate and president of the Foundation for the Freedom of Nicaragua, Felix Maradiaga, He explained that the objective is for this group to be made up of various governments “that are willing to help us recover democracy in Nicaragua.”
«(…) We ask that the Group of Friends accompany a series of actions and strategies to achieve the freedom of political prisoners, as well as justice and reparation processes for the victims. The fundamental objective is to increase the global pressure to obtain democracy and Freedom”, added the political exile.
Priority to the rights of Nicaraguans
On the other hand, the opponents who signed the document hope that the Celac Summit will be an opportunity “to discuss pressing challenges in terms of human rights in countries of Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, such as democratic setbacks, violence and insecurity.” and abuses against migrants and asylum seekers.”
“In recent years, few countries in the region have recorded a deterioration in the human rights situation as serious as that observed in Nicaragua, including systematic attacks on independent media, the dismantling of civil society and the consolidation of an authoritarian regime,” they said.
They stressed that, according to the report of the United Nations Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua (GEDHN), it was concluded “that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Nicaraguan authorities have committed crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture , sexual violence, deportations and persecution for political reasons”.
For next July 17, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, local time in Brussels, the panel “How to strengthen the international response to the crisis in Nicaragua” will be held, in which the defender and exiled politician Haydée will participate. Castillo and Juanita Goebertus Estrada, director for the Americas at Human Rights Watch, as well as political scientist Félix Maradiaga.
