Note: This letter was written by Nicaraguan political prisoners held at the Esperanza Women’s Prison. Edits for clarity and grammatical consistency are in brackets.
Pg. 1
La Esperanza, Wednesday, February 27, 2019
The political prisoners in resistance, who have been kidnapped and incarcerated unjustly by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship, want to make the following statement public, in the hopes that it reaches all Nicaraguan homes and even beyond the borders, to wherever there is a fellow Nicaraguan or a heart full of solidarity.
We have been illegally kidnapped for months. We live daily with the repression, constant humiliations, [and] cruel and inhuman treatments. However, instead of feeling represented [at the negotiations], we feel like simple pieces on a board that those who have political and economic control use to play games. And we cannot understand how we got to this situation. There is dialogue in place, though are over 500 dead and 700 incarcerated, over one thousand wounded, and thousands of exiles, [and] the government has yet to show the will to resolve the socio political conflict. [It] continues repressing and assassinating with [their] paramilitaries, apprehending and torturing the population with the Orteguista police. [The government] has created a farce, by changing the status of a group of prisoners [from detention in prison to house arrest], instead of releasing everyone. [This has been done] with the acquiescence of the Alianza Civica, which has not shown transparency, neither before, nor during the dialogue, as it has excluded important and impactful sectors, such as the Peasant Movement, the mothers of the assassinated and political prisoners, the feminist movements, and others.
Therefore, and in hopes that this acts as civic protest, the following political prisoners have decided to start an indefinite hunger strike, beginning on February 27, 2019, the moment in which negotiations with the government began.
- Nelly Marilly Roque Ordóñez
- Amaya Coppens Zamora
- Yartitzha Rostrán Mairena
- María Peralta Cerrato
- Jamileth Gutiérrez Moncada
- Solaghe Centeno Peña
- Johana Delgado
- Karla Matus Méndez
Pg. 2
We have not surrendered, nor will we give up. We have lived the repression in our territories, and we suffered the deaths of our brothers in arms, for defending justice and democracy. [We have] even sacrificed our liberty so that Nicaragua can be free. Because of this, we want to encourage the people to join our fight against tyranny, in any way they can. We have decided to sacrifice our health, so that this protest can echo the imperative ned to regain our sovereignty, freedom, our rights, and our dignity. Do not let more time pass, because that is what the dictator needs. We must act, shoulder to shoulder, marching without fear. This regime appears stronger than it really is, but it can strengthen through pacts or because of indifference to their crimes.
We hold the government and the Women’s Correctional System for the negligence that can occur when it comes to health, and we ask the people of Nicaragua, the international community, and the world, not to turn a deaf ear to our pleas for justice.
Free land for living!
The blood that has been shed will never be forgotten.
[signatures follow]
Related Posts
Propaganda Goals Hamper Risk Communication in Nicaragua.- Nicaragua: MINSA’s Muddled Briefings Underplay COVID-19 Impact in Nicaragua.
PAHO Director: “We see Inadequate Prevention and Control” of COVID19 in Nicaragua
#Nicaragua: Bishop Álvarez Announces #COVID19 Project for Diocese of Matagalpa; MINSA Quashes Idea
Nicaragua: COVID-19 Response Marred by Inconsistencies, Recklessness, and an Absentee President- Nicaragua’s COVID-19 Health Communication: An Exercise in Doublespeak.