Video today showed pro government groups who verbally and physically attacked Nicaraguan bishops who had travelled to Carazo to defend the population there where 14 people earlier were killed. The church was then vandalized by hooded and unhooded government supporters. This statement by the Coordination of Social Movements and Civil Society Organizations of Nicaragua refers to those events.
WE CONDEMN THE NEW REPRESSIVE EXCALATION AND WE CALL FOR RESISTANCE
Another new massacre has been unleashed with special cruelty in Nicaragua. This weekend, once again, the already announced and carried out “Clean up operation” invaded territories with murderous “death caravans”.
Armed para-partisan groups threatened the disarmed citizenry so that they would stay in their homes, and shot weapons of war, killed and kept them from gathering the cadavers, they kidnapped, invaded homes, took people away to clandestine places where they were submitted to interrogation through torture.
The paramilitaries have not respected neither individuals nor institutions. They have invaded churches, threatening religious and pastors, in addition to having killed the faithful. Today, July 9, in the municipality of Diriamba they attacked priests and bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua, who are witnesses and mediators in the National Dialogue, which puts at risk the possibility of a peaceful way out of the crisis, that the people of Nicaragua has defined as their principal strategy, and that the Coordination of Social Movements is promoting.
We demand the immediate end to all forms of repression and the dismantling of the armed groups that operate in coordination with the police forces and with weapons used only by the armed forces.
We show our solidarity with the families of the victims and we extend our message to all the people who are detained, disappeared and those who try to support them.
We demand that the international institutions that are working in Nicaragua adopt all the protective measures and existing denouncements, and take into account that the defense of Human Rights is higher than all other mandates. The current situation deserves the declaration of an Extraordinary Human Rights Emergency.
We demand that the international community (UN, OAS and European Union) act with commitment so that Human Rights can be recognized under conditions of safety and respect for the lives and integrity of the Nicaraguans.
Likewise, we call on the population to maintain the civic and peaceful struggle, redouble territorial organization, improve security to protect life and continue participating in the mobilization and resistance. We reiterate that the barricades are a peaceful demonstration of the citizens rights to their security.
We call on organizations and social, political and economic actors to redouble and intensify efforts to obtain the unity that would allow us to put an end to the repression and achieve the immediate departure of the Ortega-Murillo regime.
Managua, Nicaragua July 9, 2018