Senior member of Sandinista dictatorship was VIP guest atSFardfheis
SINN Féin hosted a senior member of Nicaragua’s controversial Sandinista regime at this year’s ard fheis as the Central American country fell under one-party rule.
The visit to Ireland by the Nicaraguan minister Valdrack Jaentschke, a close associate of president Daniel Ortega, came at a time when the Sandinista party cemented their control of the country in municipal elections, when the party won all 153 municipalities, removing all opposition in elections widely described as a farce.
The party has been condemned by a myriad of international organisations for outlawing opposition parties and violently repressing civil society groups.
Sinn Féin national chairman Declan Kearney took to Twitter to celebrate the ‘fraternal relations’ between Nicaragua, Cuba and Palestine in a post later shared by Nicaraguan pro-government media.
El 19, a newspaper with close ties to the Sandinista government, described ‘the historical ties of friendship’ between the dictatorship and Ireland.
The newspaper reported: ‘Mr Declan Kearney, National Secretary of Sinn Féin, conveyed his party’s greetings to the leadership of the Sandinista Front for National Liberation and the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation,
Elections widely described as a ‘farce’
as well as to the Nicaraguan people as a whole.’
Born on Corn Island – a Caribbean island just off the Nicaraguan cost – Mr Jaentschke is an academic and politician who describes himself as an activist for social justice, but is regarded as a key member of President Ortega’s increasingly brutal regime.
He has occupied many prestigious positions including non-resident ambassador to several Caribbean nations. He was deputy foreign minister in 2018 when Nicaraguans revolted against the Ortega-led government.
The protests were met with brutal force by the government which has since held sham elections and clamped down on civic society groups and opposition parties.
During a visit to meet Siptu trade union officials in Dublin after the 2018 revolt, Mr Jaentschke accused the US and the international media of backing a ‘silent coup’.
However, the United Nations has criticised elections in Ortega’s Nicaragua, claiming they do not meet international standards for free and fair ballots.
A report from the UN Human Rights Committee said it was concerned about: ‘Reports of due process violations, the use of ambiguous criminal definitions during investigations and prosecutions, and the difficulties faced by lawyers in accessing court hearings, case files, and communicating freely and privately with their defendants.’
Normal election observation missions are banned in Nicaragua, but last year a group of governmentapproved observers were allowed to visit the country. These included Irish MEP Mick Wallace who, on foot of an invitation from the Ortega government, attended the 2021 general election along with members of the Russian government’s
foreign affairs committee.
President Michael D Higgins, who invited Ortega to his home in Galway in 1989, has now turned against the Sandinista regime and called on the government to release political prisoners. It is estimated more than 200,000 people have fled to neighbouring Costa Rica amid allegations of arbitrary detentions
and human rights abuses.
Hundreds of charities providing aid to the country have been shuttered by Ortega, including Irish non-governmental organistaion Trócaire. A Trócaire spokesman said: ‘Trócaire is one of several hundred NGOs that have had to cease operations in Nicaragua due to the cancellation of our registration by the State of Nicaragua. Trócaire has worked in Nicaragua for over three decades and last year supported more than 51,000 people in need in the country. We are deeply disappointed that we can no longer deliver vital humanitarian assistance to communities we have worked with for over 30 years.’
A Sinn Féin spokesman said: ‘A total of 60 representatives from 50 countries were in attendance at this year’s ard fheis. Sinn Féin’s unambiguous support for international law, human rights and our advocacy of constructive engagement, dialogue and multilateralism is well-established.’
‘We can no longer deliver vital assistance’