Nicaragua Network Hotline--May 20, 2008 Date: Sun, 25 May 2008 12:55:11 -0500 (CDT) Nicaragua Network Hotline www.nicanet.orgMay 20, 2008 1. IMF refuses to disburse US$39 million due to National Assembly failure to pass Anti Fraud Law 2. Transportation strike ends with agreement to increase diesel subsidy 3. Opposition complains about asylum for injured victims of Colombian attack in Ecuador 4. Women's groups very concerned about sharp increase in violence against women 5. US Embassy advises US citizens in Nicaragua to take extra care Topic 1. IMF refuses to disburse US$39 million due to National Assembly failure to pass Anti Fraud Law On May 14 President of the Nicaraguan Central Bank Antenor Rosales revealed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had decided to retain the first loan disbursement of a three year (2007 - 2010) economic program primarily because the National Assembly has still not passed the legislation, required by the IMF, to criminalize electricity theft. The three year program contemplates a US$111 million loan, US$39 million of which was scheduled to have been disbursed during the first few months of 2008. Meanwhile, opposition parties in the National Assembly, including the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS), have paralyzed the legislative body in protest of a decision by the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) to postpone municipal elections in the three municipalities hardest hit by Hurricane Felix. Electoral rolls were lost or damaged in the three municipalities and thousands of residents lost their identity cards as well as their homes. Churches and public buildings which serve as polling places were also flattened. The North Atlantic Autonomous Regional Council asked the CSE for the voting delay citing the insurmountable difficulties in holding a vote while people still don't have roofs over their heads or enough food to eat. The Regional Council is led by a coalition of FSLN and Yatama, the Miskito party which fought the Sandinista government until peace between the indigenous guerillas and the government was negotiated in 1986-1987. Opposition parties apparently think that they could make gains in municipal elections in the Hurricane affected municipalities because of ongoing suffering. For that, they are willing to "bust the national budget" by denying funds needed from the IMF loan. While the Nicaragua Network certainly condemns the IMF for using its loans to blackmail nations into passing laws protecting transnational corporations, the crass political opportunism of the National Assembly opposition must be condemned as well. Even before the vote deferral decision, the opposition groups were holding up passage of the Special Law for Responsible Use of the Basic Service of Electricity to provide leverage against other programs of the Ortega government with which they disagreed. Rosales said that a high level IMF mission will be visiting Nicaragua in June in order to reevaluate the level of fulfillment of the conditions established within the economic program. Topic 2. Transportation strike ends with agreement to increase diesel subsidy Hold-outs who rejected an initial government offer of a US$0.30 per gallon fuel subsidy for transportation cooperatives called off their 11 day transportation strike at the end of last week when the government raised the subsidy to US$1.30. Nicaraguan bus, taxi, and shipping cooperatives now enjoy the cheapest fuel in Central America. The government has also offered low interest loans for parts and maintenance. The National Chamber of Transportation (CNT), which rejected the original offer that had been accepted by a majority of transportation cooperatives, continued to block key roads and intersections and to intimidate those transportation workers who attempted to work as normal. Violent incidents were reported almost daily, the most sensational of which took place in Las Maderas (a small town on the Pan American Highway 45 kilometers north of Managua) on May 13 when a group of protesters set fire to two tractor trailers. During the incident riot police used tear gas against protesters who attacked them with stones. According to some media outlets a number of protesters were not transportation sector workers but youth who had apparently been paid to take part in the protest. Little intercity public or cargo transportation ran during the week, affecting economic activity across the country and resulting in shortages of perishable goods in most markets and producing significant disruptions in schools, universities, hospitals and other institutions. On May 16, however, the CNT announced the end to the strike after President Daniel Ortega announced the more generous subsidy. Ortega made the announcement during an event at the Casa de los Pueblos ("House of the Peoples") attended by his cabinet, several National Assembly deputies and local government officials, as well as over 800 transportation cooperative workers and hundreds of supporting members of cooperatives, unions and popular organizations. The event was broadcast live on national TV and radio. The subsidy will lower diesel fuel costs for the transportation cooperatives to US$3.15 per gallon. In Honduras a gallon of diesel is currently US$ 3.79, while in El Salvador is it priced at US$4.31. On May 17th Public Finance Minister Alberto Guevara explained that the additional US$1 discount was "the result of conversations [Ortega] had with [Venezuelan] President Hugo Chavez." Guevara said that the two concluded that it would be possible for the additional discount to be covered with funds from ALBA (the Bolivarian Alternative for the People of Our America). Guevara explained that while the initial US$0.30 discount is being covered by the profits the mixed company ALBANISA makes from the sale of oil imported under special payment conditions from Venezuela, the additional US$1 discount will be covered by the collective ALBA fund. Topic 3. Opposition complains about asylum for injured victims of Colombian attack in Ecuador Right-wing parties in the National Assembly continued last week to criticize and question the legality of the government's decision to award asylum to the three wounded survivors of the Colombian army attack on a FARC (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces) camp in Ecuador on Mar. 1where prisoner release negotiations were being coordinated. On May 16 the chair of the External Affairs Committee, Constitutional Liberal Party dissident Yamileth Bonilla, announced that she would call Foreign Minister Samuel Santos before the Legislative branch to explain why the government decided to offer asylum to two Colombians and a Mexican who were wounded in the cross border attack. Bonilla said Santos would also be asked to explain why a Nicaraguan Army airplane was used to transport them to Nicaragua and whether the three women fulfilled the internationally established requirements for asylum seekers. Previously on May 13 the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) had issued a statement demanding that Santos explain the government's "diplomatic and political relationship with the FARC, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the US and many other democracies." (Actually, Colombia is the only country in South America that has designated the FARC as a terrorist group.) According to PLC Deputy Jose Pallais, the asylum awarded to Morett, Perez and Torres "converts Nicaragua into a sanctuary for terrorists." Government representatives including President Daniel Ortega continue in their adamant defense of the controversial decision. On May 12 Deputy Foreign Minister Manuel Coronel Kautz said that Pallais' claim is an "exaggeration" and that there is no reason for the decision to affect US-Nicaraguan relations. "How could we have refused them asylum when we, the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) were guerrillas?" said Coronel Kautz. "To give and to receive asylum is a universal right. Nicaragua is a humanitarian country," Kautz went on to say. "What is more, the Nicaraguan government has revolutionary origins and we must be consistent." Topic 4. Women's groups very concerned about sharp increase in violence against women The Network of Women Against Violence is "extremely worried about the high level of violence against women," according to spokesperson Fatima Millon. The number of women murdered in Nicaragua in 2000 was 29. By 2007 that figure had increased to 65. During the first three months of 2008 already 18 women have been murdered. At least one-third of all Nicaraguan women and girls and one quarter of Nicaraguan boys have been victims of sexual or physical abuse, according to the Women's Network. Part of the problem, said Millon, is that the Nicaraguan authorities do not treat domestic violence cases adequately. For example, the Women's Network has seen many cases of women murdered by their partners who for months prior to the murder had been receiving constant threats yet the authorities have failed to act. "We are in the hands of a justice system that does not favor women, [a system] that actually exposes women to unnecessary risks," said Millon. According to Millon another key factor is that many public officials continue to consider domestic violence as a private problem. In order to raise awareness among the population the Network of Women against Violence has been organizing weekly protests in the main cities of the country. Director of the Center for the Prevention of Violence (CEPREV) Monica Zapaquett believes the problem of increasing gender motivated violence in Latin America is the result of the traditional machista social model being thrown into crisis. "Our countries appear to have a modern approach towards these issues because we have modern legislation [referring to domestic violence] but this legislation does not reflect the cultural, social, political and economic development of our societies." Topic 5. US Embassy advises US citizens in Nicaragua to take extra care The US Embassy in Managua issued a warning to its citizens who are residents in Nicaragua or visiting the country to take extra care in the face of a series of assaults on US citizens and the disruptions caused by the transportation strike. "We advise US citizens to be careful," read a statement issued by the Embassy on May 14, considering recently reported incidents of kidnapping and theft of which US citizens have been victim between Managua and Granada. The Embassy also advised its citizens that during the transportation strike, they should drive "with the fuel tank full, or nearly full, carry enough water and food, not drive on highways blocked with barricades and keep vehicle windows and doors shut." Nicaragua has the lowest level of violent crime in Central America. Foreign visitors to Costa Rica are more likely to be robbed than foreigners in Nicaragua. The transportation strike, which disrupted traffic for nearly two weeks, has now been resolved. Of course, visitors to impoverished countries are by definition more wealthy than most people in the country they are visiting and therefore targets of crime. This is true even within areas of the United States. The Nicaragua Network urges people to always be aware of their surroundings and to show appropriate caution, but not to change their plans about travel to or within Nicaragua. This hotline is prepared from the Nicaragua News Service and other sources. To receive a more extensive weekly summary of the news from Nicaragua by e-mail or postal service, send a check for $60.00 to Nicaragua Network, 1247 E St., SE, Washington, DC 20003. We can be reached by phone at 202-544-9355. Our web site is: www.nicanet.org. To subscribe to the Hotline, send an e-mail to nicanet@afgj.org Nicaragua Network | 1247 E St. SE | Washington | DC | 20003