The unfortunate role of the UN in Nicaragua

MIAMI.- Finally, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, issued a statement on the escalation of violence in Nicaragua, where they died at least 264 people in anti-government protests in the last three months. But his statement, in addition to being late, is regrettable. Guterres said in a statement that he was "deeply concerned" by "continued and intensified violence in Nicaragua", as well as by the attack of 9 July against the priests of the Catholic Church who act as mediators in the crisis. He also called on "all parties" to refrain from resorting to violence.

But, shamefully, he failed to say that almost all deaths were caused by President Daniel Ortega's regime. All major human rights organizations agree that most of the violence comes from one side only: the police and paramilitaries of Ortega. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS) says that there have been 264 deaths since the start of the demonstrations on April 18, while the Association of American Human Rights of Nicaragua calculates the number of deaths among 309 people When I asked the head of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS, Paulo Abrao, how many deaths were caused by pro-government forces, he said that they accounted for more than 90% of the total. "There are police and pro-government among the dead, but the percentage is very low, at most 15 or 16 people," he said. Ortega, a left-wing populist who has co-opted all powers, has been in power since 2007. He was re-elected for the last time in a highly contestable election in 2016.

Ortega and his powerful wife, vice – President Rosario Murillo, claim that the demonstrations are led by "golpistas" and "terrorists". But the truth is that what started in April as a student protest has become a national event. Students, unions, professionals and the country's largest professional organizations took to the streets to protest what has become a bloody dictatorship.

Juan Sebastián Chamorro, president of the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic Development (Funides) and an opposition member, the Civic Alliance, said that "Ortega is trying to make believe in the world that violence comes from both sides, but it is about a generalized and peaceful popular rebellion that has accumulated in eleven years of an authoritarian regime. " Barricades in the streets were erected by students to protect themselves from Ortega's paramilitaries, he added

Which brings me back to Guterres' statement calling on "all parties" to stop the violence . Human Rights Watch director for the Americas, José Miguel Vivanco, has described Guterres's statement as "shameful". "Ortega is the supreme leader of the Nicaraguan police, and the de facto police chief Francisco Díaz is a close relative," Vivanco said, "instead of making sure that the police do not have the police. not run people, Ortega defends the police and blame the opposition. "

It's time for the UN to do something to stop the bloodbath in Nicaragua. It is a bigger human rights crisis than many of those making headlines around the world. The more than 264 deaths in political violence in Nicaragua in recent weeks are already more than 150 dead in the bloody demonstrations of Venezuela last year and more than twice the 130 dead in recent clashes in the Gaza Strip [19659004] However, while the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Human Rights Council issued several condemnations against the use of force by Israel on the Gaza border, they did not issue a single resolution condemning the murders of Ortega in Nicaragua. The hypocrisy of the UN is regrettable. It is time for the Secretary-General of the United Nations to examine the evidence and press Ortega to stop the mbadacre in Nicaragua

@oppenheimera