The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Nicaraguan social organizations suspend their operations due to Ortega's Foreign Agents Law

2021-02-05T21:55:06.213Z


Two of the country's main NGOs promise that under official pressure they will come out “stronger” Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega delivers a speech in September 2020.Reuters The Foreign Agents Law, one of the four regulations approved by the Nicaraguan Parliament to silence dissent, has advanced on the few civil society organizations that continued to operate in the country after the closures and confiscations ordered by the Government of Daniel Ortega from 2018, when the sociopolitical cr


Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega delivers a speech in September 2020.Reuters

The Foreign Agents Law, one of the four regulations approved by the Nicaraguan Parliament to silence dissent, has advanced on the few civil society organizations that continued to operate in the country after the closures and confiscations ordered by the Government of Daniel Ortega from 2018, when the sociopolitical crisis broke out.

In less than 24 hours, two prominent organizations announced the closure of their operations in rejection of this legislation that seeks to impose controls and restrictions on organizations that promote respect for human rights and freedom of expression and the press.

The first to reject this Thursday the official ultimatum to "register as a Foreign Agent" was PEN Nicaragua, a group of writers, poets and journalists who promote freedom of speech.

"Despite the fact that our aims and work respond to humanitarian and libertarian ideals, we are aware that this connection would make the State impose on us the registration as foreign agents and the fulfillment of monthly requirements that do not correspond to the reality of our limitations" said award-winning writer Gioconda Belli, president of PEN Nicaragua.

The Foreign Agents Law blocks international funding and donations to civil society, human rights NGOs, journalists and, especially, opponents to limit their political organizing activities.

In recent weeks, the Interior Ministry issued a series of notices to register as foreign agents under penalty of sanctions.

At the same time, those who sign up will have to report their operations every month, something that has been interpreted as a method of political control and espionage.

"The pretext of safeguarding sovereignty and national security that is invoked in such law is inadmissible, since it is already guaranteed by other laws, in the national legal framework," declared this Friday in Managua the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation, which promotes the freedom of the press, and that it also suspended operations.

"This is a clear manipulation that seeks to paralyze the functioning of organizations that the Government considers contrary to its guidelines, in evident violation of universal human rights, freedom of thought and dissemination, democracy and the rule of law," he added. the organization founded by Cristiana Chamorro, daughter of former President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro and the national hero Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, assassinated by the Somoza dictatorship in 1978.

Ethics and Transparency (EyT), an electoral observation body, also refused to register as a 'Foreign Agent'.

For its part, the Permanent Commission on Human Rights (CPDH) decided to register, but they denounced that each time they arrive at the registration window, new requirements are required, which makes it impossible to complete the process.

"This law is another instrument designed to persecute and crush those of us who resist the design of captivity and submission to which they want to subject us with arbitrariness that exceed constitutional limits," criticized Ana Elisa Martínez, director of the Violeta Foundation.

Although in its legislative stage the regulations left out as 'Foreign Agents' international media correspondents, in recent weeks journalists have received a registration notice through local banks.

The law affects both legal and natural persons.

Give a period of five days for registration, and if the call is ignored, "the competent authority will apply fines."

"You may request the cancellation of the legal personality to the respective instance in the case of legal persons.

All without prejudice to the criminal responsibilities for carrying out acts that threaten the sovereign security of the nation, determined by the judicial authority, ”says Article 15 of the regulations.

The refusal to register also authorizes "the competent authority to prevent the activities from being carried out and, with prior judicial authorization, the funds and assets of the natural or legal person who refuses to comply with the Law may intervene."

The Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation and 60 other civil society organizations filed unconstitutionality appeals.

However, the Supreme Court of Justice, controlled by Ortega.

ignored the complaints.

"By submitting to this Foreign Agents law, we would be renouncing our Nicaraguan citizenship, and we will never do that," said Cristiana Chamorro.

Confiscated NGO buildings demolished

At the same time as the approval of this law, the Ortega government made official the de facto confiscations of NGOs and journalistic newsrooms intervened by the police in December 2018, when it granted possession of the properties to the Ministry of Health (Minsa).

On January 29, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) denounced that its headquarters in Managua was being demolished.

Also the editorial staff of

Confidencial

, the publication directed by journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, began to be dismantled under the pretext of founding a "mother's house."

“Since 2007, when he returned to power, Daniel Ortega identified one of his most important political adversaries in civil society.

That is why it has always wanted to control the NGOs, but it has never advanced as much as with this Foreign Agents Law ”, affirmed the sociologist Elvira Cuadra.

“The law criminalizes the fundamental right of citizen organization and participation.

It is true that the law will limit these organizations, but it will not stop them.

They do not need a legal status to function ”.

The poet Gioconda Belli told EL PAÍS that, although Civil Society has been legally dismantled, "Ortega's decision to end it strengthens it."

"It will strengthen the will of those of us, to reinvent ourselves and use all our creativity and love to continue undermining the walls behind which his ruthless dictatorship wants to enclose us," said the writer.

"This law and all those of these days only show that they are aware that their power can only be sustained by trying to crush the energy behind the rejection that inspires their government," said the poet.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2021-02-05

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-07T05:26:20.319Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.