"Bachelet ignores the information we provide"

Karen Mendez Loffredo, Sputnik, 26 de junio 2021
https://mundo.sputniknews.com/20210626/canciller-de-nicaragua-a-sputnik…

Chancellor of Nicaragua to Sputnik: "Bachelet ignores the information we provide"

Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada talks in exclusive with Sputnik after a wave of criticism for the arrest of a score of opponents. Moncada denounces that, as they did in the 1980s, the United States coordinates a plan to prevent the Sandinismo from remaining in power.

- In the last three weeks, Nicaragua has made headlines for the arrests of several opponents, including five people who say they had presidential aspirations. Why were these people arrested five months before the elections?

- The situation must be clarified. In the first place, the activity of these ladies and gentlemen is not of opponents, but of directors of non- governmental organizations that have financing from foreign countries, mainly from the United States, the European Union and other countries.

This financing is aimed at destabilizing Nicaragua and continuing with the attempted coup that began in 2018, to overthrow the constitutional government, the democratically elected government of President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo.

Likewise, there is no link other than that of the propaganda directed from the United States and other countries interested in destabilizing Nicaragua and for which the big international media of the West and the United States uses to lie, to clearly lie, and distort the reality of Nicaragua.

- But why do these arrests occur five months before the presidential elections?

"Let's remember one thing." Nicaragua is a free, sovereign, independent and self-determined State. Its electoral process is being carried out in accordance with what is mandated by the Nicaraguan Constitution, the electoral law of the country and the mandates and provisions of the Supreme Electoral Council.

An electoral calendar has been agreed upon with the political parties that have legal personality in Nicaragua and the electoral calendar establishes that from the end of July to mid-August, the respective candidates will be registered. That is to say, at this time, there are no presidential candidates or pre-candidates, much less when these people are being prosecuted for indications of committing money laundering crimes, crimes related precisely to an attack against the Nicaraguan society, against the rights of the Nicaraguan people and a series of other acts that undermine the independence, sovereignty and self-determination of our country.

These people also incite foreign interference in our internal affairs and have even asked for military interventions and have been organizing themselves with financing from foreign powers to destabilize the country and continue their attempted coup. That is the situation.

- However, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, assures that the arrests took place "under ambiguous criminal concepts and without sufficient probative evidence" and asked the Government to "release all those detained." What do you answer?

- The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, said a few days ago that all the unilateral measures they are taking against Nicaragua, which they call sanctions, and which incidentally violate International Law and the Charter of the United Nations and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of States, would be taken in coordination with Canada, the European Union and other countries and human rights organizations.

We are facing the synchronization and coordination of US imperialism in tune with its allies, which are their subjects, together with international organizations that have to do with human rights, to politicize, unfortunately, the issue of human rights. Thus we see that the High Commissioner for Human Rights is always reporting in a distorted way, without objectivity, and although we have constantly sent our reports, she ignores what Nicaragua informs her and stays with what the United States says, which is to accuse and use lies and falsehoods against Nicaragua.

- In turn, the OAS approved this week a resolution in which it expresses its alarm over what they describe as "a political deterioration" in the country and demands "electoral reforms" that guarantee that the presidential elections in November "are free and transparent". How do you rate this resolution?

- Our representative at the OAS has been insisting for several years, telling them: ladies and gentlemen of the OAS, do not violate your own Charter, which says you have no right to intervene in the internal affairs of other states. We have also told you that Nicaragua has not asked the OAS for help or support or interference in the internal affairs of our country, much less in internal policies such as the electoral process, which is an exclusive activity of Nicaraguans, of political parties that participate and that are legally constituted.

The OAS is the instrument created for many decades by the United States to make its policy of the Monroe Doctrine a reality, that is, America for the gringos, for the Yankees. It is a strategy of domination by the elites of the United States to control, dominate and seize the natural and energy resources of Latin America and the Caribbean. That is the objective, and incidentally to obstruct the good relations that countries like Russia or China project, which are relations of cooperation and solidarity with Latin America and the Caribbean.

Now, why doesn't the OAS apply the same to Colombia?

Because precisely Colombia is the main ally of Latin America for the United States, because Colombia has within its territory seven United States military bases, along the entire border with Venezuela and in different areas, and because Colombia is part of NATO. All of this makes Colombia a subordinate country, and consequently, the OAS, which is the United States' instrument to dominate Latin America and the Caribbean, avoids dealing with the issue of Colombia or Chile.

We as a State, as a Government, do not interfere in the internal affairs of countries because precisely we say: we respect the internal affairs of all countries, but we demand reciprocity. They should not interfere against Nicaragua in the OAS or in any other international or human rights organizations.

- Mexico and Argentina abstained from signing that OAS resolution, but called their ambassadors for consultation due to the "worrying political and legal actions of the Nicaraguan government," as they said in a joint statement. How do you interpret these actions of Mexico and Argentina?

- We can see it in the following way: States have sovereignty and self- determination, like Mexico and Argentina. Every State can call and summon its ambassadors to consult for whatever it deems necessary, that is not a problem because every State is autonomous and can do whatever it considers, with its international officials. Well, but this is also linked, in some way, to what we were talking about that the United States, with its international pressure and manipulations, can influence; I am not saying that it is directly influencing, but that it can influence so that some States or Governments take some measures that do not correspond to the level of historical relations that we have had with said countries such as Mexico and Argentina.

- The United States, for its part, has imposed more sanctions against Nicaragua. How will these unilateral coercive measures affect in the middle of the pandemic? What could they cause?

- Let's remember that after the triumph of the revolution in 1979, in the 80s, the United States organized the Nicaraguan Contra against the Government. They organized it, prepared it, gave it the logistics, financed it, and we had a decade of U.S. interventionism and aggression. In addition, they developed a psychological campaign, which added to the destruction that they created in our entire infrastructure, in our ports, in the power lines, in the population.

American interference caused us approximately 50,000 deaths, and at the end of the 80s, in the 90s, when we went to elections, they made another tremendous campaign to influence the psychology and the will of Nicaraguan voters, of the Nicaraguan population. Ah, but they speak of free, fair, transparent elections.

Now, with all the sanctions and measures that they are applying, moving all their scaffolding, their tentacles in all areas, they are trying, and they are already speaking of this, that there are no conditions for free, fair, clear and transparent elections in Nicaragua. They are all saying it, and what they are doing is designing their strategy and using all kinds of measures to prevent the Sandinista National Liberation Front, the Government of President Ortega and Comrade Rosario, from having the success that is already being visualized. Over 65% favorable vote towards the economic and social policies that the Government has developed for the benefit of the Nicaraguan population.

What the gringos really want, with all their allies, is to paralyze, stop, obstruct and prevent the victory of the Sandinista National Liberation Front in the elections next November in Nicaragua. That is the goal and that is why we are seeing all its tentacles move.

In addition, they are insisting a lot on the presence of international observation in our elections. Let us not lose sight of the fact that in Bolivia the OAS was able to carry out the first electoral coup d'état, and that they are using it as a laboratory and they want to apply it in Nicaragua. Obviously, we have to be very careful and prevent them from getting away with destabilizing our country, materializing a coup and producing, as in April 2018, tremendous crimes against our population, destruction of infrastructure and enormous damage to the economy.

- And what interest would the United States have with Nicaragua?

- There is a geopolitical and historical interest from the United States. Let us remember that Nicaragua is located in the center of the American continent, it is the navel of America. In addition, we have coasts on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, we have rivers inland, like all countries, and we have lakes, in addition to the San Juan River, which has been a historical communication route. All this has historically facilitated the construction of an interoceanic channel for communication and international trade. This regardless of the existence of the Panama Canal.

The Nicaraguan canal is viable in its construction to make a complementary canal. So there is a geostrategic interest. The United States invaded Nicaragua, occupied Nicaragua militarily, they held elections here with the Electoral Council made up of all their marines, incredible things, they executed a president in the last century, declared slavery, burned Granada. So, the geostrategic interest of the United States, and they left it embodied in an agreement between the gringos and Nicaragua; is that the right to build the canal be transferred to it for 100 years. They wanted to either build the canal or prevent other countries that were their adversaries from building that inter- oceanic communication route.

The other element has to do with Latin America and the Caribbean and the control they think they are predestined to have with their Monroe policy. So, Nicaragua resists that action, that interventionist attitude of the United States, we reject it, we denounce it, we condemn it and we are very clear in saying that Nicaragua is a free, independent and sovereign country. We want to have relations with all countries, and we do, but on a level of respect, of sovereign equality of the States and of non-interference in the internal affairs of Nicaragua.

- Returning to the issue of the elections, there are five months until these presidential elections. Who will Ortega face? Will there be alternatives for those people who are not in favor of Daniel Ortega?
- Yes, what happens is that sometimes the distorted information makes you see things in a different way. If you come to Nicaragua and meet with the authorities that coordinate and that by mandate of the Constitution organize, direct and monitor the electoral process, which is the Electoral Council, then you will see that there is an institutional, legal and juridical design with participation of political parties.

I think 17 political parties are going to participate, the colleagues from the Electoral Council reported a few days ago. And who will participate? The candidates chosen by each party or political alliance. When are we going to find out who the candidates really are? Between July 28 and August 18, which is the time agreed by the political parties and the Electoral Council to register, certify and publish the names of candidates.

- Are you afraid that the presidential elections in November will not be recognized by other countries, as happened with some countries with the presidential elections in Venezuela in 2018?

- We are carrying out the processes that the Nicaraguan institutions mandate, what the Constitution and the laws mandate. As I was saying, it does not depend on whether someone says they recognize or do not recognize that the elections are clear and transparent and that whoever has the most votes wins. But well, let's not anticipate hypothetical situations, we better hope that the elections are celebrated, that the results are published and later, if the situation occurs, it will be better to talk about it.

- What does the Nicaraguan government expect from the Alba countries and from other allies such as Russia or China?

- Relations with Alba are very good, excellent." On 24 June, the nineteenth Alba-TCP Summit of Heads of State and Government was held in Caracas. There was a Political Declaration by the Presidents and in one of the paragraphs the unconditional support for the Sandinista Government, President Daniel Ortega and the People of Nicaragua in their decision to continue defending sovereignty, peace and notable social and economic advances is ratified, as well as the security, and national unity that has been achieved during these years.

We also have excellent relations with Russia. We are very grateful for the support of Russia with the Sputnik V vaccines. Anyway, we have very good relations and communications.

We also have good communications with the other countries, regardless of the fact that in some forums there may be different positions, because we say that they must adhere to the UN Charter and the Principles of International Law, including the principle of non- interference in internal affairs.