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Nica Elections
November 06, 2006 ( politics )
Not content to muddle with our own elections, the US is trying to continue its policy of choosing the winner in Nicaragua's elections:
Rep. Dan Rohrabacher (R-CA), in a letter asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff "to prepare in accordance with U.S. law, contingency plans to block any further money remittances from being sent to Nicaragua in the event that the FSLN enters government." Many Nicaraguan families rely on money sent home from relatives working in the United States. Even though Rohrabacher's statement is total "muscle flexing" according to an expert on remittances at the InterAmerican Dialogue, who pointed out that the US hasn't even cut off remittances to Cuba, some Nicaraguans may cast their vote out of fear. Congressmen Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Ed Royce (R-CA) and Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) wrote variously to Nicaragua's US Ambassador and Condoleezza Rice threatening actions if Nicaraguans vote wrong. All their threats, of course, reverberate in Nicaragua where US Ambassador Paul Trivelli has intervened so loudly that even the usually quiescent Organization of American States has condemned US interference.
OK, I mean, cutting off aid is bad, ask Lebanon. But remittances? That's cruel. That's below the belt, even for the US. Now, this is just some war-mongering congresscritter, but the reality is that we have and continue to muck with their electoral process:
The most public example of this campaign of manipulation is the US Ambassador to Nicaragua, Paul Trivelli. His statements are a constant reminder of the US government’s true agenda in Nicaragua. For example, he has stated many times, the US “will establish cordial relationships with any administration that is elected democratically . . . that has a reasonable economic policy and is ready to cooperate with us.”The Bush administration has made clear that a government “ready to cooperate with the US” is one that will do the following: (1) support CAFTA and other free trade policies, (2) participate in all the US requests concerning the war on terrorism, (3) ensure that the Nicaraguan national police receive training that blurs the time-honored distinction between civilian policing and military action, and (4) not maintain friendly diplomatic relationships with either Cuba or Venezuela.
Ambassador Trivelli has also made it clear that the election of the candidate for the PLC party cannot be former President Aleman, nor anyone he selects, and that the election of the FSLN party candidate, Daniel Ortega, will not be accepted by the present US government.
Now, José Serrano has spoken out against this:
“It is simply unacceptable for American officials to pretend our government will take punitive measures if Daniel Ortega is elected president in Nicaragua,” Serrano said. “Our position should be clear: we support free and fair elections and will work with the winner as we would any other elected head of state in the world. Perhaps some in the executive branch and elsewhere have forgotten that the U.S. does not have the right to intervene in other nations’ affairs. They would better serve our nation’s interests in democracy and rule of law by avoiding partisan commentary about other nation’s elections and candidates. To do otherwise is unseemly and counterproductive.”...“I am particularly troubled by the statements of Embassy spokesperson Kristin Stewart. She publicly linked Ortega with terrorist groups and said that the U.S. would revise its policy toward the Nicaraguan government should he win. I believe her words were unfortunate and wrong, and merit a withdrawal. Electioneering is not the proper role of an Embassy or its spokesperson.”
Stewart told the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa that “If a foreign government has a relationship with terrorist organizations, like the Sandinistas did in the past; U.S. law permits us to apply sanctions. [...] Again, it will be necessary to revise our policies if Ortega wins.”...
“I pledge that I will do everything in my power to make sure that the government of the United States will respect the wishes of the Nicaraguan people regardless of who wins their presidential election,” Serrano concluded. “Our nation desires nothing more than a flourishing democracy in Nicaragua.”
U.S.: It seems that you do not understand the concept of democracy. It means a people choosing their leaders through election processes. Some are more direct, some are, like yours, done via representation. It is expressly not having your leader picked by foreign nations based on economic alliances. Please check your work and definitions, and please revise. D-
Posted by griffjon at November 6, 2006 11:21 AM
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