Nicaragua News Service July 17-23, 1994 Vol. 2, No. 31 by Colleen Littlejohn Major news stories for the week: 1. FSLN fill plaza for 15th year July 19th celebrations. 2. US embassy begins to charge for visa applications. 3. Gurdian announces presidential aspirations. 4. Subtiavas defy Pellas family. 5. MINSA supplying recontra groups with medicines. 6. MINSA announces latest AIDS statistics. 7. FSLN presents proposal to resolve property problem. 8. FNT marches to protest ESAF. 9. Jim Goff passes on. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. FSLN fill plaza for 15th year July 19th celebrations. Commandante Daniel Ortega, Secretary General of the FSLN and other speakers at the July 19th celebrations marking the 15th anniversary of the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution, held in Managua's Plaza of the Revolution, called for "Sandinista unity" in order to find solutions to the principal problems of the country and as a prelude to a Sandinista victory in 1996. In his speech, Ortega spoke of the gains of the Revolution and also of errors committed, some of which were "imposed by the reality of the times." "The FSLN will continue to be the party of the poor and the dispossessed, to whom we pledge not to commit the same mistakes of the past,...the lack of communication with the base, the confiscations and the expropriations." Daniel also promised that the FSLN would never again impose military service, but that at the time, it was correct because of the military aggression of the United States against Nicaragua." Ortega called for party unity. "We must struggle to win the elections but in order to win, we must strengthen the unity of the Sandinistas and with our people in genera, but especially with our youth, to involve them in the struggle against hunger and unemployment. Ortega also called for solidarity with the people of Libya, Iraq, South Africa and especially Cuba. During the celebration, the "Carlos Fonseca" Order was given to several outstanding FSLN militants including Father Uriel Molina of the Centro Valdivieso and Francisco Guzman, recently elected rector of the National Autonomous University. Other speakers during the Managua celebration included Ignacio Pichardo, president of the PLI in Mexico and also president of the Permanent Conference of Latin American Political Parties (COPPAL). Between 50-60,000 people filled the Plaza to celebrate with others from Managua and Region IV. Other municipal celebrations were held in Leon, Matagalpa, Puerto Cabezas and Esteli. In Matagalpa, Commandante Tomas Borge of the National Directorate, stated that Somocismo would never again reign in Nicaragua. "Before that, all the planets in the world will bump into each other," Borge said. One of the most interesting observations during the July 19th celebrations was the enthusiastic participation of young people. Incredible to believe, but approximately half of the Nicaraguan population was born after July 19, 1979 and have no personal memory of the Somoza dictatorship nor the early years of the Revolution. In the days before the July 19th celebration, there were several articles in Barricada which attempted to characterize the attitudes of young people vis a vis the Revolution, contrasting the ideas of those who stayed with those who left, approximately 90,000 during the decade of the 80's. (Barricada 7/18, 7/19, 7/20) 2. US embassy begins to charge for visa applications. The long lines in front of the US embassy for visas are beginning to dwindle as the embassy begins to charge $20 simply for the right to request a visa to visit the US. Over 20,000 Nicaraguans request US visas every year which would represent a hefty new income of the US mission. which declared that it needed the money to meet expenses. 3. Gurdian announces presidential aspirations. The current head of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) which represents large business interests, has made it clear that he would like to be the presidential candidate of the family of Conservative parties for the 1996 elections. Gurdian stated he thinks he has a good possibility of winning, otherwise, he would not be stating such aspirations publicly. There seems to be sympathy among Conservative party notables for the candidacy of Gurdian, and that it is time for the Conservatives to hold power, given the Liberals were in power for the 40 years of the Somoza dictatorship, followed by the Sandinistas, and then the UNO coalition. 4. Subtiavas defy Pellas family. Over 100 residents of the Subtiava Indian community, cooperative members and members of Movimiento Communal, worked together last week to unblock the San Joaquin River, which had been dammed up. The dam would deny access to water for several cooperatives on the land that the Pellas family, owners of the San Antonio sugar complex and Flor de Cana, claim is theirs. This claim is made despite the fact that the Subtiava community holds title to the land from the time of the Spanish kings. The Pellas have now destroyed over a 1,700 acres of forest land and pasture in their attempt to extend their sugar empire. These events were called an ecological disaster by spokespersons of the Nicaraguan Environmental Movement. Police have been assisting the Pellas family in its attempts, and this support was condemned by local human rights groups because of the repression used against the Indian community. Nine of the 15 homes destroyed by the police were reconstructed by the cooperatives and the Community Movement. 5. MINSA supplying recontra groups with medicines. Newspaper articles in Barricada last week revealed that the Ministry of Health in the Sixth Region, which covers the Matagalpa and Jinotega area, have been supplying active recontra groups with supplies and medicines. Some of the active members of the groups have even been identified as being on the MINSA payroll, picking up a monthly check yet not actually working. Supposedly the Minister of Health, Martha Palacios, is investigating the allegations. She stated that an early donation had been approved months before, but that she was not aware that the practice was being continued by the current regional health director. (Barricada 7/18) 6. MINSA announces latest AIDS statistics. A seminar was held last week in Managua about the economic implications of AIDS in Nicaragua. During the event the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health announced there are an estimated 15,000 HIV carriers who do not show symptoms of the disease in the country. It is estimated that at least 5,000 of them will become seriously ill within the next five years. The first AIDS case in the country was detected in 1983. Since that time there have been 123 positive cases of which 43 have now died. Last week a young 18-year old man was lynched by a group of campesinos who thought he was an HIV carrier near the town of San Juan de Rio Coco in the First Region. (La Prensa 7/21) 7. FSLN presents proposal to resolve property problem. The FSLN presented a proposal last week to the government in which they proposed that the application of the Decrees 3 and 38 should be respected (the decrees which confiscated Somoza and his closest allies' property). The FSLN also proposed that those confiscated should be paid indemnities, that the process established to pay with bonds be speeded up, and that those who benefit from Laws 85 and 86 (Sandinista rural and urban land reform) also be respected. The initial reaction of Emilio Pereira, Minister of Finance, was to state, "The [US] Department of State, the FSLN, and the confiscated want us to move quickly on this problem, and we are going to speed up, but we want to do things right -- just like we have with the economy." Ortega and Pereira did agree that the new initiative of the FSLN had nothing to do with US pressures surrounding the Helms Amendment, which threatens to cut off all aid to Nicaragua by July 29th, to those countries which still have ongoing property disputes with US citizens. Meanwhile, in Washington the US ambassador to Nicaragua, John Maisto, declared that Nicaragua was "approving laws that will very much help to resolve the difficult problem of property confiscations." (Barricada 7/21) 8. FNT marches to protest ESAF. Approximately 1,500 people joined the march called by the National Workers Front (FNT), to protest against hunger and to demand a change in the Chamorro government's present economic policies. Most of the marchers were unemployed, laid-off workers, or those about to be laid-off from plants soon to be privatized. After leading a 5 kilometer march from the cathedral to the FNT headquarters, Lucio Jimenz, National Coordinator of the FNT, stated that it was impossible for the unemployed and hungry population to continue putting up with the constant rises in prices of basic goods and services. Prices have been rising slowly since the beginning of the year, but the pressure to increase is even greater now that the government has decreed a 1% weekly rise in the price of gasoline and diesel. Jimenez stated that if prices continue to rise, workers would begin a campaign to demand salary increases. Salaries have been frozen since 1991, the official beginning of the Chamorro government's structural adjustment policies. The average salary in Nicaragua is the equivalent of $168 per month, according to official statistics. (Barricada 7/18) 9. Jim Goff passes on. Managua residents were saddened to learn that the Reverend Jim Goff, former collaborator of the Valdivieso Center (CAV) in Managua, and one of the founders of the Committee of US Citizens living in NIcaragua (CUSCLIN), died on Saturday, July 23 in his US home of Claremont, California. Jim and his wife Margaret, another CUSCLIN founder, remained active in solidarity upon returning to the US several years ago. Jim will be missed by many. Our condolences to Margaret and the rest of their family.