Nicaragua: during his visit to Central America, Pedro Sánchez asked the regime of Daniel Ortega to release the opposition leaders

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez, worried this Friday about the political situation that exists in Nicaragua and urged the president of this country, Daniel ortega, to what “play fair” Yes release the opponents detained in recent days.

“I would like to speak personally and directly to President Ortega: that he play fair, that he liberate the opponents and that he attend, in a fair game and in a fair fight, this electoral process“Sánchez said at a press conference after a bilateral meeting with the President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado.

Sánchez, who concludes today a two-day visit to Costa Rica, explained that Spain’s position on this issue is equal to that of the European Union in the sense of a “Firm defense of rights, freedoms and democratic values.”

“We see with great concern what is happening in Nicaragua which, moreover, is not new, we have been dragging it for a few years”, said the president of the Spanish government.

For its part, the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference demanded that “the arbitrary and illegal restriction of citizens’ freedoms and the persecution of opponents and the media be institutionalized” in the country., after the recent wave of arrests of opponents of the government of Daniel Ortega.

In a statement released on Friday, the Nicaraguan bishops recalled that “The validity of the principle of the division of powers in the state is of great importance” and they insisted on the fact that they want for Nicaragua “a democratic system, where the political authority is accountable to the people and the representative bodies must be subject to effective control by the social body ”.

This control by the social body “is possible first of all by free, credible elections observed at national and international level which, in turn, allow the election and also the substitution of representatives ”, they indicated.

The bishops also clarified that The “obligation” of elected officials to render accounts “guaranteed by the respect of electoral deadlines” is a “constitutive element” of democratic representation.

In addition, they also criticized “the persistent situation of injustice “and the promulgation of” laws to the detriment of Human Rights, political seat and harassment ”.

“We must all demand, with the means available, the respect for the people’s vote so that following free and transparent elections, a government elected by the sovereign people can emerge“, Asked the Episcopal Conference, which appealed to” conscience “to elect representatives who” respect the dignity of the person, human rights and freedom “, principles which for the Catholic Church are” essential, urgent and indisputable ”.

In the past two weeks, Daniel Ortega’s government detained four opposition candidates. The first to be arrested, charged with an alleged crime of money laundering, was Christian Chamorro, followed by Arturo Cruz, for “an attack on society and the rights of the people”, as well as Felix Madariaga Yes Juan Sebastián Chamorro, to the concern of the international community a few months before the elections scheduled for November.

Other presidential candidates, such as the peasant Medardo Maiena, the afro-descendant George Herníquez Cayasso, the journalist Miguel Mora, the doctor Maria Eugenie Alonso, and the former leader against Louis flies they denounced being the object of persecution and harassment by the national police.

Last month, the Nicaraguan legislature appointed a majority of ruling party-aligned magistrates to the electoral body that will oversee the elections. He has since disqualified two games.

In December, the legislature passed a law that critics say aims to prevent opposition politicians from running for office.

This wave of arbitrary arrests drew strong condemnation from the international community, led by the United States, which He has already announced that he is preparing new sanctions against the Ortega regime.

In a statement, the State Department said that Chamorro’s arrest “it is an abuse of their rights, and represents an attack on democratic values, as well as a clear attempt to thwart free and fair elections ”.

With information from EuropaPress

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