Tensions Mount In Nicaragua
Over Ortega Re-Election
MANAGUA (Reuters) - Supporters of Nicaraguan
President Daniel Ortega have fired up
protests against opposition efforts to block
the leftist's re-election next year,
worrying business leaders and the United
States.
Opposition lawmakers accuse Ortega of
turning Nicaragua into a Cuban-style
dictatorship and say they have enough
support in Congress to overturn a 2009
ruling in the Supreme Court -- where
Ortega's Sandinistas have control -- that
lifted a ban on the former guerrilla leader
and Cold War-era U.S. foe from being able to
run again for president.
Their stance sent Ortega's supporters onto
the streets last week, reigniting last
year's sporadic protests. In the latest
demonstrations, some attacked the National
Assembly building, smashing windows.
Protesters burned two cars belonging to
opposition members and threw rocks and small
firecracker bombs at a hotel where lawmakers
were meeting, wounding a state TV reporter.
Opposition leader and lawmaker Eduardo
Montealegre called on both sides to step
back from the violence.
"I think we have to talk for the good of the
country. The violence is unacceptable," he
said.
An ally of Venezuela's socialist President
Hugo Chavez, Ortega would have been barred
by the constitution from serving two
consecutive five-year terms but he
petitioned the Supreme Court to lift the
ban.
Disagreement over whether the Supreme Court
or Congress has the final say on lifting the
ban on a second term could blow up into a
institutional crisis, analysts warn.
The Washington-based Organization of
American States said it was "deeply
concerned" about the protests and the United
States called on the government to bring
them under control.
"We urge the government of Nicaragua to take
steps to end mob violence, and we urge the
police to ensure the safety and security of
all Nicaraguans," said U.S. State Department
spokesman P.J. Crowley.
The State Department has warned that
Ortega's re-election push could threaten
democracy in the Central American country.
Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was toppled
in a coup last year after the Supreme Court
and Congress there accused him of pushing
for re-election, which is barred by the
constitution.
RISING TENSIONS, FIST FIGHTS
Ortega, who took power after a 1979
revolution staged by his Sandinista rebels
and then won the presidency in November
2006, has not formally said he wants to run
in the 2011 election but has made moves to
do so.
Opposition lawmakers in Congress have
resisted the Supreme Court ruling and hope
to elect at least two new judges in May as
some Sandinistas retire so they can enforce
the ban.
Seven members of the electoral tribunal that
will oversee the election say they back the
Supreme Court judges' decision. Ortega
issued a decree in January to extend their
terms.
Congress, split between the ruling
Sandinistas and their opponents, is locked
in closed-door meetings to decide if the
sitting electoral authorities will be
replaced or reappointed.
Montealegre, who lost to Ortega in 2006,
says tribunal members failed to investigate
fraud allegations in 2008 municipal
elections when the Sandinistas won big
victories.
"We cannot vote for magistrates who signed
off on electoral fraud," said Montealegre,
of the conservative Liberal Party.
Ortega, whose Sandinista rebels fought
U.S.-backed government forces in a 1980s
civil war, said last July that Nicaragua
should lift term limits altogether.
Businessmen are worried the rising tensions
will scare away investors and aid agencies
that are badly needed in Nicaragua, one of
the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries
and a coffee and textile exporter to the
United States.
Sandinista demonstrators threw rocks and
firecrackers at the U.S. Embassy in Managua
in October after the ambassador criticized
Ortega's re-election plans. Last week some
started fist fights with opposition
supporters.
A failure of current talks on reappointments
of court and electoral officials could spark
further violence. |
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