Anti-government protesters continue to march in Managua
MANAGUA, NICARAGUA — Last week, after security forces moved against anti-government demonstrators, President Daniel Ortega declared victory against an opposition determined to end his more than decade-long tenure as leader of this Central American nation.
“They thought we were defeated, simply because we had patience,” Ortega said July 19, the 39th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution that overthrew the U.S.backed Somoza family dictatorship. “But a moment arrived when we said ... ‘This is enough! We have to re-establish order in our country!’”
About 300 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Nicaragua since large-scale protests began in April, according to human rights groups and opposition leaders. Ortega, in turn, accused the opposition of killing dozens of police officers and government supporters.
Ortega blamed an “armed conspiracy” financed by “outside forces” — a reference to the U.S. — as being behind the demonstrations. Activists and the U.S. State Department have rejected the accusation and condemned government violence.
And, while police this month evicted opponents who occupied the national university here and other sites, protesters were again on the march in Managua Saturday — demanding Ortega’s resignation and denouncing what they called brutal tactics by security personnel.
The imposing presence of heavily armed, plainclothes security men has not stopped the opposition from taking to the streets, though Saturday’s protest was small compared to past mobilizations.
“Ortega said the opposition is defeated — that is a lie,” said Suyen Barahona Cuan, who is leader of the opposition Sandinista Renovation Movement. “His government’s brutality, its repression, has only made us stronger.”
As the demonstrators proceeded up a broad boulevard, there was no sign of police or paramilitaries. The marchers hoisted signs demanding “justice” and the end of Ortega’s rule.
Reconciliation efforts have so far failed to end the crisis gripping Nicaragua. After Roman Catholic leaders sought to mediate the dispute, Ortega denounced them as “coup” backers.
Ortega, a Marxist guerrilla and a commander during the Sandinista uprising, forged alliances with business groups as president and has generally moderated his criticism of the United States.