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Journalist
Lucía Pineda Ubau, who had
been imprisoned since
December 2018. / 100 % Noticias
courtesy photo.
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Government again requested
Nicaragua
release journalist Lucía Pineda
Ubau
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By
the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
The government, through the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made
another call for Daniel Ortega,
president of Nicaragua, to release
the political prisoners, including
journalist Lucía Pineda Ubau, who
had been imprisoned since December
2018.
According to Minister Manuel E.
Ventura, "for Costa Rica, every
day Lucía Pineda is in prison is
an affront to democratic values,
to freedom and human rights."
Since the arrest of Lucía Pineda Ubau,
on December 21, 2018, Costa Rica,
through the Embassy and the
Consulate in Managua, has made
more than a dozen requests to
provide consular assistance to the
journalist, who holds dual
Nicaraguan and Costa Rican
citizenship.
"We will not cease in our efforts
to see Lucía Pineda Ubau
released, along with hundreds of
other Nicaraguans who are
currently imprisoned for demanding
their right to express themselves
and demonstrate," said Minister
Ventura.
According to the Ministry, the
journalist Pineda is accused of
terrorism and inciting hatred.
Mrs. Pineda has denied such
charges and has indicated that she
only fulfilled her duty to inform.
The trial that was scheduled to
take place on March 18 was
suspended at the last minute.
Relatives of the journalist have
repeatedly expressed concern about
the state of health and integrity
of the journalist due to the
deplorable conditions of
imprisonment.
Last week, one year after the
start of the protests in
Nicaragua, Nicaraguan citizens
living in Costa Rica organized a
pacific march along Second Avenue*
in San José. According to the San
José Municipal Police, there were
no incidents of violence.
The Inter-American Commission
Humans Rights says at least 325
people were killed last year amid
a security crackdown on the
protests and that more than 50,000
have fled the country.
As A.M. Costa Rica reported on
April 8, 2019, the Permanent
Representative of Costa Rica in
Permanent Council of the
Organization of American States,
Montserrat Solano Carboni, during
her speech at the extraordinary
session on the situation in
Nicaragua, said that "Costa Rica
continues to advocate for a
peaceful solution to the crisis in
Nicaragua, but the Nicaraguan
people are running out of time,
patience and hope. Nicaragua and
its people need to stop the
constant and serious violations of
human rights committed by the
government."
The report of the General
Secretary of this organization,
presented on January 11, presented
multiple examples of the violation
of the Rule of Law, the violation
of democratic order and the
absence of a reliable electoral
system in Nicaragua.
"The decision of the government of
Nicaragua to persecute human
rights defenders, journalists,
students, among others, and to
expel all international human
rights organizations makes it
difficult to believe in the will
to dialogue," said Carboni.
During that extraordinary session
of the Permanent Council of the
Organization of American States,
the organization again called for
dialogue in Nicaragua after the
protests unleashed in April last
year.
"The issues of justice and
advancement of elections
contemplated at the negotiating
table," said Luis Angel Rosadilla,
representative of the General
Secretary of the Organization of
American States in Nicaragua, "we
have maintained in the role that
corresponds to us, to observe, not
to intervene except in
organizations, we hope that we
will be able to quickly advance in
the issues that are still
waiting."
On February 14th, a delegation
from the General Secretary of the
Organization of American States
was present in Managua at the
initiative of the government of
Nicaragua with the purpose of
holding exploratory talks
regarding the situation in the
country.
In the context of the
corresponding legal mandates and
instruments, the delegation of the
OAS General Secretary proposed the
release of political prisoners,
the need for progress in the
electoral process and the
importance of considering the
recommendations of the
Inter-American System, among other
aspects.
The positions of the government of
Nicaragua on the aforementioned
points were received. In this
regard, the government of
Nicaragua stated that, in its
opinion, the detainees have been
subjected to the process and
announced its intention to
strengthen the electoral process
by 2021 within the framework of
the Constitution and the law.
In this regard, the General
Secretary will wait in the event
of being able to continue
negotiations within the framework
of the agenda proposed by the
General Secretary, and it was
agreed to maintain a communication
channel for this purpose.
The Nicaraguan crisis started in
April 2018, when thousands of
people took to the streets of the
country to protest the changes in
the country's social security
system. The demonstrations ended
up becoming orders for the
resignation of President Ortega,
who has been in power for 12
years.
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After a continuous
year of violations of human
rights, what should
organizations like the OAS do
with the Nicaragua crisis? We would
like to know your thoughts on this
story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com
*Link to reach the place map.
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