By Alternativa Socialista / Nicaragua – International Socialist League
More than 40 years ago, Nicaragua was world news due to a massive popular revolution that swept away the sinister pro-Yankee dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza. Today, the country is back on the agenda, due to the repressive escalation of the capitalist-Stalinist dictatorship of Ortega-Murillo.
A few days ago, the current regime carried out a series of kangaroo trials against 36 political prisoners considered “highly dangerous,” among them, young student leaders and historical leaders of the anti-Somoza struggle: Yader Parajón, Muhammar Vado, Lesther Alemán, and Dora María Téllez are some of the dozens of victims. A few days ago, news broke of the death of former general Hugo Torres, a hero of the revolution against Somoza, who was imprisoned at age 73 by Ortega-Murillo and submitted to conditions of isolation and torture. The “crime” they all committed was participating in the April 2018 rebellion against a brutal package of austerity measures dictated by the IMF or criticizing the attacks of the entrenched capitalist and repressive government.
The situation in the country, with dozens of political prisoners, without liberties as basic as the right to assemble, protest, press and opinion, is so serious that, combined with the social and economic crisis and the poverty of the majority of its people, constitute a desperate panorama.
At the same time, we cannot but denounce the “siren songs” of the false opposition to the regime, which has big business as its real promoters, encouraging expectations in imperialist intervention by the US, the OAS or other variants that have nothing to offer the “Nica” people. It is the same sector that promoted the policy of “false dialogue” after April 18, and contributed to the demobilization of the people that gave Ortega-Murillo time to retake the initiative and defeat the rebellion. As soon as the current government asks them to “reinitiate the dialogue,” they will accept this without conditions beyond not seeing their business affected.
Therefore, we consider it essential to set up an International Movement for the Freedom of All Political Prisoners in Nicaragua, against a political project that blatantly usurps the banners of the left and socialism. Ortega-Murillo and their clique directly express the opposite of the causes for which the true socialists and revolutionaries of the world fight. There are already initiatives underway, such as forming an International Commission to verify the health conditions of the regime’s political prisoners. We adhere to this proposal, we add it to our proposal and we call on all workers, students and popular organizations to make ours this urgent cause for Nicaragua. Let us promote actions at the Nicaraguan embassies and consulates, prepare international informative days and a great week of action in April, around the 18th of that month, on the 4th anniversary of the anti-IMF rebellion of 2018.
02/15/22