Nicanet - The Nicaragua Network

Nicaragua Network Hotlines for December 5, 2006

News topics covered in this Hotline include:


Topic 1: Meeting between Shannon and Ortega marks new phase in US-FSLN relations

President-elect Daniel Ortega met with Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon on Nov. 28 in what was the first meeting between a US government official and the FSLN leader since 1990. According to Nicaraguan political analysts the meeting represents the beginning of a new phase in the historically adverse relations between Washington and the FSLN.

During his presidential campaign and since his presidential victory Daniel Ortega has said on numerous occasions that his government wants “respectful” relations with the US government. On a trip to Panama last week Ortega said Washington will “have to learn to cohabit with Nicaragua.” While US government representatives threatened that a victory for Ortega would put US - Nicaraguan relations at risk, Shannon, echoing Ortega’s words, said on Nov. 27 that his government wants a “respectful relationship” with the new Nicaraguan government.

The meeting was also attended by US Ambassador Paul Trivelli, US Embassy Trade Secretary Peter Brennan, FSLN International Affairs Secretary Samuel Santos, and President of the National Assembly and FSLN Deputy René Nuñez. There were no comments to the press after the private meeting although Shannon did speak to the press later that day. According to Shannon the meeting with Ortega had been “very fruitful” and several themes, including the social challenges of poverty and inequality, had been broached with the Nicaraguan President-elect. Shannon said that the US government respects the Nicaraguan people’s decision in electing Ortega and that “it doesn’t matter whether a government is left or right wing as long as there is a commitment to democracy.” According to the US official “the foundations for a good relationship” with the newly elected Nicaraguan government had been laid.

“We are going to continue to work with the Nicaraguan people and to do all we can for a sovereign, independent and better future, while bearing in mind that we live in a globalized world,” said Shannon who emphasized the importance of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) for the Nicaraguan economy. Before the elections the US Commerce Secretary had warned that an FSLN victory would threaten the implementation of CAFTA in Nicaragua. Shannon made no mention of this pre-election threat, however.

Former Nicaraguan foreign minister Emilio Álvarez Montalbán believes that the US government is shocked by the wave of left wing electoral victories in Latin America and feels obliged to maintain cordial relations with Ortega as a result of its loss of influence in the region. Political analyst Aldo Díaz Lacayo agrees with Álvarez on this point but believes that behind the handshakes and smiles the US does not accept Latin American geopolitical unity. “This unity means that the US is losing its position within the continent... and they still haven’t worked out how to regain dominance in the region.” Díaz goes on to say that Shannon’s visit has “eliminated the doubt created by Washington ... that [the US government] would not work with [Ortega], that US - Nicaragua relations would become very strained and conflictive.”

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Topic 2: Ortega: SAM-7 should not worry anyone

On Nov. 29 Daniel Ortega met in Honduras with President Manuel Zelaya. Both men agreed that the meeting, at which themes of bilateral interest and the process of Central American integration were discussed, had been very amicable. Zelaya, who described Ortega as a “friend,” said that they had discussed the possibility of visiting points of conflict on the Nicaraguan-Honduran border such as La Mosquitia and the Gulf of Fonseca. According to Ortega it is “absurd” and a “disgrace” that border conflicts should exist in Central America and that the Nicaraguan and Honduran governments should have felt the need to go to the International Court of Justice over such conflicts.

When asked about the 1,000 plus SAM-7 missiles under possession of the Nicaraguan army, weapons which the US State Department wants to see destroyed, Ortega said the missiles “should not worry anyone.” In July this year while on the campaign trail he had said that he would only agree to support the destruction of the missiles once the Honduran and Salvadoran war planes had been destroyed. Ortega said the political situation in Central America is very different now to that of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s when the region was blighted by war and dictatorship. Once he takes offices on Jan. 10, he said, his government will be dedicated to promoting disarmament in the region.

The FSLN leader went on to say that governments across Latin America should invest in the fight against poverty and hunger and the needs of the majority. During the electoral campaign Ortega made no secret of his plans to promote unity within Latin America and the Caribbean. When asked about his relations with Washington Ortega said that his government will look to have respectful relations with all countries.

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Topic 3: Nicaragua should not continue to sign economic programs with IMF, says economist

Nicaragua should not sign any more economic programs with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) according to Iván García, an economist for the Civil Coordinator, an umbrella group of dozens of NGOs and civil society organizations working in Nicaragua. García says that the conditions imposed by the IMF are excessive and prevent the government from investing in priority areas such as healthcare and education. According to the economist, the conditions imposed on Nicaragua are far stricter than those imposed by the IMF on other Latin American nations such as Honduras and Bolivia which are also very poor countries with huge internal and external debts to service. Inexplicably Honduras and Bolivia are permitted by the IMF to spend almost double what the Nicaraguan government is permitted to spend on education and healthcare.

García believes that after Nicaragua became a part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative and was benefited by the G8’s debt relief program this year, the government should have taken advantage of the opportunity to apply for donations and loans from countries which would not have imposed conditions on the funds. Instead the government signed another economic program with the IMF which has meant that the country is still subject to its conditions. According to García, members of the international community and specifically a number of European countries are putting off donating or loaning money to Nicaragua because of the government’s inability to invest in crucial sectors such as education and healthcare. “We believe that in order to meet the millennium goals for healthcare provision and education the government must double spending in these areas ... [otherwise] the current situation is not going to improve,” says García. The economist says he is disappointed that the funds saved by the government as a result of the debt relief program have been spent on servicing Nicaragua’s internal debt and not on poverty reduction programs as was intended.

President of the Nicaraguan Central Bank Mario Arana, meanwhile, believes it is “highly recommendable” for the government to continue to sign economic programs with the IMF because doing so guarantees a continuous flow of external funds and provides confidence for private investors.


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Topic 4: Alemán accused of stealing a further US$1.68 million of foreign donations

The Comptroller General Office has accused former president Arnoldo Alemán of stealing US$1.68 million from funds donated by the governments of Norway and Holland which was intended to be used to make payments on Nicaragua’s foreign debts. This most recent accusation is backed by a 43 page document which provides evidence about how Alemán and other members of his administration, including former Public Finance Minister Esteban Duquestrada, laundered this money from state bank accounts to Panama, then to the US and finally back to personal accounts in Nicaragua.

According to Chief Comptroller Alberto Novoa, Alemán’s administration never published accounts showing how this money, which was first transferred out of government accounts into the private accounts of the presidency, was spent. As well as Alemán and Duquestrada, five other former officials have been accused of money laundering and fraud. These are Oscar Moreira, María Lourdes Chamorro, María Auxiliadora Herdocia, Concepción del Carmen López and Ernesto Harahona Garay.

Novoa requested that judge Eduardo Alvir set a date for a preliminary hearing as soon as possible and before Dec. 10. Alemán’s defense lawyer Mauricio Martínez said that Alemán is not bothered by the accusation because he is “immune” to legal action being taken against him. Martínez also said that, because Alemán is currently under Family Life Regime, an arrest warrant cannot be issued against him.

On Nov. 28 Martínez appealed against the Comptroller’s accusation claiming that it was not within Novoa’s competence to make formal accusations. The appeal was accepted by the Managua Appeals Tribunal which resolved in favor of it ordering judge Alvir to suspend any action he was planning to take on the case. Novoa, who believes Alemán is attempting to win time, described the court’s resolution as “shameful” and called on the Supreme Court of Justice to intervene.

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Topic 5: Legislators agree: water must not be privatized in Central America

The IV Central American Conference on Hydro Resources took place in Honduras on Dec. 2 and 3. The event, which was sponsored by Global Water for Central America, was attended by delegations of legislators from each Central American country. The Nicaraguan delegation was led by Vice President elect Jaime Morales Carazo, President of the National Assembly Environmental Committee.

During the conference the urgent need for each country in the region to pass a national water law was discussed. This legislation should aim to rule out water privatization and prevent exploitation of hydro resources. All legislators agreed that this law should also implement measures to ensure that industrial and agricultural use of water is paid for. Morales Carazo confirmed that Nicaragua has made most progress on the introduction of this legislation. The National Assembly has passed articles 1 to 45 of the National Water Law.

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Topic 6: Letter opposing Robert Gates for Defense Secretary delivered to Senators

On Monday, Nicaragua Network staff delivered a letter with over 650 signatures of organizations and individuals from all over the United States to the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee urging them to ask Robert Gates about his involvement in violations of U.S. and international law that made him ineligible to hold the office of Secretary of Defense. Read the letter (and all the signatures) on the Nicaragua Network’s web page at www.nicanet.org.

Of particular concern to the Nicaragua Network was a memo by Mr. Gates which came to light after the letter was written but which we referred to in a cover letter to the Senators. In that memo, written in December of 1984 and available on the web site of the National Security Archive and reported in the Los Angeles Times, Gates advocated that the United States withdraw diplomatic recognition of the Nicaraguan government, impose a quarantine, and use air strikes. We saw this type of disregard of international law, advocating attacks on a country which had not attacked us, as being exactly what propelled us into the irresolvable situation that we are in now in Iraq.

On Tuesday, Nicanet staff attended the Gates confirmation hearing. The only Senator to ask Gates a question about his past was Carl Levin (D-MI), soon to be chair of the committee. He noted that in his book former Secretary of State George Shultz wrote that he did not have confidence in Gates; that he had manipulated the selection of intelligence material when he was the deputy of CIA Director William Casey. Gates answered that Shultz’s view was influenced by his relationship with Casey who he viewed as having his own foreign policy. There was bad blood between him and Casey, Gates said. He thought that Casey was too pessimistic on El Salvador. In meetings he said we were manipulating intelligence on Angola, Gates continued, “but he didn’t say that I personally was manipulating intelligence.” Senator Levin did not follow up even though Shultz DID specifically criticize Gates. The committee voted unanimously to recommend confirmation to the Senate.

Call your Senators TODAY and ask both of them to oppose Gates when his nomination comes to the floor of the Senate Thursday or Friday. The phone number of the Capitol switchboard is: (202) 224-3121.

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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.