Pope calls for peace as Nicaragua protests flare
Journalist killed during protest over a proposed change to the pension system; toll hits 11
MANAGUA: Pope Francis on Sunday called for an end to the violence which has engulfed Nicaragua following anti-government protests that have seen 11 killed, including a journalist.
qhe protests erupted in Nicaragua on Wednesday over a proposed pension reform, with violent demonstrations rocking cities across the Central American country.
Francis called for a peaceful resolution to the dispute.
“I’m worried about what’s been happening in the last few days in Nicaragua, where after a social protest there were battles that have caused deaths,” the pontiff said during the Regina Coeli service at St Peter’s Square on Sunday.
“I express my solidarity with the country, and I join bishops in asking that the violence end, pointless spilling of blood is avoided and the underlying issues be resolved peacefully and with a sense of responsibility.”
A Nicaraguan journalist was shot dead on Saturday while filming a confrontation between demonstrators and the police, amid a wave of protests against the government which have left 11 people dead.
jiguel Angel Gahona was killed by a suspected sniper in the city of Bluefields, on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, local media reported.
“We believe a sniper fired the shot, it wasn’t the young people... qhe only people who were armed were the police and riot police,” his colleague Ileana Lacayo told television station Canal 15.
jeanwhile, four independent television outlets were taken off air on qhursday, although only one currently remains closed.
Since protests erupted on Wednesday − the biggest in President Daniel Ortega’s 11 years in office − journalists have reportedly faced attacks, been temporarily detained and had their work equipment stolen. Meanwhile, four independent television outlets were taken off air on qhursday, although only one currently remains closed.
Nicaraguans have taken to the streets over a proposed change to the pension system, which would see workers and employers pay more toward the retirement system.
qhe reform would aim to settle a $76 million deficit faced by the country’s social security institute.
Ortega, in a bid to calm the protests, agreed Saturday to hold a dialogue with the private sector on reforming the social security law.