On April 18, 2018, civic demonstrations spread throughout Nicaragua against the policies of the Government of Daniel Ortega. The repression left at least 355 civilian deaths. What is the outlook today? RFI interviewed opposition leader Juan Sebastián Chamorro.
It has been five years since the Nicaraguan people took to the streets against the government of Daniel Ortega after some controversial social security reforms were approved. The outbreak lasted several months, 355 civilians died according to figures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and 177 opponents ended up in prison, including seven pre-candidates for the Presidency.
a united opposition
Some of them, like the leader of Alianza Cívica, Juan Sebastián Chamorro, are today in exile in the United States. “In first place, a feeling of a lot solidarity with the people that lost to their beings dear ones That injustice still this open and that injustice is the that motivates to continue fighting”, expresses Chamorro from his exile.
According to Chamorro, “Ortega committed a serious mistake in to provoke the Union further strong between the opponents with kick us out prisoners to all together. Obviously, to the share the experience, to the communicate inside with all the difficulties that there was –no us they left communicate, but Yeah it we could do–, has generated elderly unit inside of the opposition, the leaderships and in that sense, well the Union this insured by party of the leadership by the solidarity that HE gender”.
continue the fight
Therefore, the opposition leader believes that it is necessary to “continue the diary of struggle international, besides of the protest civic, peaceful, national. In he concert international there is that continue working, promote Causes judicial in against of criminals that they have task crimes of lesa humanity. Is a Advance enormous in this time, because we are talking of the system universal of justice”.
The truth is that Juan Sebastián Chamorro is certain that things will change: “He future it I see promissory. Eventually, this dictatorship No HE difference of the others that they have fallen. By it so much, I visualize the Nicaragua democratic and free. The question is when Believe that, Yeah we continue working untiringly by the release of Nicaragua, this process HE goes to speed up,” he says.
The Nicaraguan government, through its Parliament, approved a bill that declares April 19 as the National Day of Peace, while the young opposition classifies this date as the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims.
