11 de octubre 2018
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Three left-wing parties, with representation in the Dutch Parliament, warned Sandinista legislators that they are in “danger of becoming a great shame” to the world, because of their silence and permissiveness towards the repression by the Ortega regime against the Nicaraguan people.
“We hope that you (Sandinista deputies) are aware of the great international interest in your actions. After almost forty years of your revolution, which was a source of inspiration to millions of people in the entire globe, it carries the danger of becoming a great shame,” states the letter signed by the spokespersons of the social democratic, green and socialist parties.
They also exhorted: “Representatives of the people, please act, take your responsibility seriously and defend the international law as did your colleagues in the eighties and nineties of the twentieth century.
The letter, addressed to Gustavo Porras, President of the National Assembly and Chief of the Sandinista bloc, was sent on September 28th, the same day that the regime declared “illegal” civic demonstrations and threatened to imprison people and organizations that summon them.
End the repression
“We urge you to do everything possible to put an end to the repression and polarization that—according to the news received from friends and colleagues—mainly have their origin in the government’s actions,” states the letter.
“In the last months, at a distance, we witnessed the protests and disturbances in your country. Hundreds of people have died, thousands injured, hundreds of people imprisoned, refugees, and there are even cases of disappearances,” describes the letter.
“Human rights organizations in Nicaragua and internationally—the Organization of American States and the United Nations—have convincingly demonstrated that the Nicaraguan state has used excessive violence and committed systematic violations of human rights. Not only does the subsequent decision of President (Daniel Ortega) to end the UN mission hurts us, but we also consider it a serious diplomatic error,” stated the left party’s spokespersons.
The Social-Democratic, Green and Socialist parties describe themselves as “traditionally” in solidarity with the struggle of the “Nicaragua people against the Somoza dictatorship.” “After the fall of the Somoza dictatorship, we have also provided political and material support for the reconstruction of Nicaragua.”
Additionally, they state that they have “opposed—inside and outside of Parliament—the interventionist policies of the United States in Latin America.”
The Socialist Party and the Greens have 14 representatives each in the Parliament of the Netherlands, while the Social-Democrats have nine deputies. The Dutch Chamber of Representatives has 150 seats.
The Clean-up Operation
“While officially expressing abroad that it is making serious efforts for peace and tranquility, the government is carrying out its ‘Clean-up Operation.’ In this context, systematic violations of human rights are also committed. Kidnappings and arbitrary arrests of opponents, torture and false accusations of terrorism,” expressed the written statement.
“Besides that, hundreds of teachers and health workers considered to be opponents of the government have been fired, and—even more serious—for providing medical assistance to wounded people considered as anti-government demonstrators. They have been dismissed for the ‘crime’ of taking seriously the ethical norms of medicine, as formulated in the Hippocratic Oath,” states the letter.
The spokespersons pointed out that some “twenty Dutch specialists, doctors and other health workers with many years of work experience in Nicaragua, have protested against these excesses by means of an open letter to the Ministry of Health.”
