Hours after the clergy of the Diocese of Estelí issued a public letter in which they blamed the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo for the escalation of repression against the Catholic Churchthe Institute of Telecommunications and Post Office (Telcor) canceled the transmission license of Radio Stereo Fe, which belonged to that diocese and disseminated religious content in the northern zone of Nicaragua.
Telcor’s argument is that the 98.5 FM frequency on which Radio Stereo Fe broadcast “was personally authorized” to Monsignor Francisco Valdivia Lazo, who died on August 18, 2021. In such a way that the station, which broadcast in the departments of Nueva Segovia and Madriz, is not authorized to continue using the radio spectrum.
“It has been verified that Radio Stereo Fe is broadcasting in the city of Ocotal, using the 98.5 MHz frequency, without this regulatory entity granting you (Father Álvaro Toledo) or any other natural or legal person other than Mr. Francisco Valdivia Lazo (rip d), no enabling title that authorizes the provision of the FM sound rebroadcasting service using said frequency, therefore Radio Stereo Fe is operating illegally”, says the Telcor notification. “The immediate cessation of its transmissions is ordered,” he concludes.
Although the closure of the station was authorized this Tuesday, August 23, by the director of Telcor, Nahima Díaz Flores, daughter of the director of the Police and the ruling couple’s father-in-law, Commissioner General Francisco Díaz, it was until this Wednesday that the director of Radio Stereo Fe was notified and the station went off the air.
“Today (Wednesday) we had a visit from the gentlemen of Telcor, Managua. They gave us the notification informing us that our radio has to be turned off immediately,” Radio Stereo Fe’s administration warned on its Facebook page.
Regarding Telcor’s argument, the radio administration pointed out that it is “unjustifiable”, since “since Father Francisco Valdivia (RIP) has had several directors, those that you (the audience) already know, and there has been no problem ” by the authorities.
Due to the above, “we condemn the closure of our radio station, where many humble people from our communities fed on the word of God,” said the station’s administration. “We will continue to evangelize through our social networks and all the other means that technology offers us. Let us not be discouraged and continue united in Prayer”, they conclude.
The message of the diocesan clergy of Estelí
This new attack by the regime is part of a repressive escalation against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which in recent months has kidnapped the bishop of Matagalpa and Estelí, Rolando José Álvarez, seven priests and two seminarians; It has also carried out a series of harassment of religious and canceled twenty media outlets belonging to the Church.
This Tuesday the clergy of the Diocese of Estelíwhich brings together the parishes of the departments of Estelí, Madriz and Nueva Segovia, spoke out against the repression of the Ortega and Murillo regime, which persecutes and criminalizes the prophetic work of the Nicaraguan Catholic Church.
In a letter addressed to the Government, the clergy points out that the regime is responsible for “creating anxiety and disorder in this country”, and not the Church, much less the bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí, Monsignor Rolando José Álvarez, who, along with five priests, two seminarians and a layman, are allegedly being investigated for “organizing violent groups to destabilize the State.”
“What do they want? What are they doing? We call on you to convert and to stop bothering our lives, let us work in peace! Release the bishop, the priests and the laity and the Lord will have mercy on you, if you convert from the heart”, cites the letter from the diocesan clergy of Estelí.
The statement condemns the persecution against priests in recent months, such as the case of the siege against Father Harving Padilla in Masaya, and the priest Uriel Vallejos in Sébaco, the other imprisoned religious: Óscar Benavidez, Manuel Salvador García, and Monsignor Leonardo Urbina.
In addition, they question the closure of non-profit non-governmental organizations that are part of the pastoral and social work of the Church, such as the Father Fabretto family, Cáritas de Estelí, and the expulsion from the country of the missionary sisters of charity of the Order Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
