Former presidents of Costa Rica have applied for honorary citizenship for Sergio Ramírez, persecuted by the Ortega dictatorship

Seven former presidents of Costa Rica They asked their country’s Congress this Thursday to grant honorary citizenship to the Nicaraguan writer Sergio Ramírez, who lives in exile, and whom they consider victim of persecution by the “dictatorship” of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice-president, Rosario Murillo.

The letter, signed by the former presidents of Costa Rica Óscar Arias, Rafael Ángel Calderón, Laura Chinchilla, José María Figueres, Abel Pacheco, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez and Luis Guillermo Solís, asks Congress “to honor the struggle for freedom and to declare Sergio Ramírez an honorary citizen of Costa Rica and holder of Costa Rican nationality”.

“Recently this dictatorship was launched against one of the most recognized Latin American writersSergio Ramírez, who is today the victim of threats, accusations accompanied by arrest warrants and persecution, which will prevent him from returning to his homeland, ”the letter said.

The former presidents add that “when the relentless pursuit of the dictatorship which subdues Nicaragua tries again to silence the committed and liberating word of Sergio Ramírez Mercado, We believe that he deserves to be recognized for his fight for freedom, which is part of the spirit that has guided the Costa Rican people ”.

The letter emphasizes that the life of Sergio Ramírez has been characterized by his constant struggle for the defense and promotion of the freedoms of expression, cultural, civil and political, as well as the exercise of human rights.

The former presidents also denounced that in recent years “Nicaraguan students, peasants, young people, women, intellectuals and workers have suffered persecution and repression by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, for the simple fact of exercising the freedoms of thinking, of expressing oneself and of not agreeing ”.

Ramírez, exiled in Costa Rica, was shown this Thursday moved and grateful at the initiative of seven former presidents of Costa Rica who proposed to Congress to grant him citizenship and honorary nationality.

The initiative “honors and moves me; as well as my deep gratitude for the support that the president of the legislative branch has given to the request, ”Ramírez expressed on his social networks, who also gave “Many thanks to the former presidents for having honored me in this way.

“I returned to live in Costa Rica with my wife Tulita, forced into exile, more than half a century ago, we came to this country just married and our three children were born here, Sergio, María and Dorel; here we find close friends, and I had the joy of participating in these years of Costa Rican cultural life, in which I have always felt a part, as well as in the civic life of the country and its inhabitants ”, a expressed Ramírez.

Nicaraguan writer assured Costa Ricans are people “Welcome not only to me and my family, but also to the thousands of Nicaraguans who, forced by the dictatorships we have endured, have always found refuge and solidarity in this land of freedom and democracy.”

“One day, which will arrive as soon as possible, we will breathe the same air in Nicaragua, because a people of dignity, sacrifice and courage cannot always be condemned to live under the yoke of tyranny, and Nicaraguans will have the right to freely elect their leaders, just like Costa Ricans ”, concluded.

Ramirez, who was vice-president precisely when Ortega first ruled Nicaragua, between 1979 and 1990, has an arrest warrant in his country for “having committed acts which encourage and incite to to hate and the violence», But he proclaims his innocence and attributes the accusation against him to reprisals from the Sandinista leader for raising his voice by refusing his administration.

The order and accusation against the Nicaraguan writer occur in the midst of a wave of arrests that landed 36 opposition leaders and independent professionals, within the framework of the legislative elections of November 7.

During these elections, Ortega asks for his third consecutive re-election, for a fourth term of five years and a second with his wife as vice-president.

(With information from EFE)

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