Thousands of pro and anti-government protesters took to the streets of Nicaragua’s capital on Saturday, protesting and backing Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s bid to remain in power.
At least 12 people were injured — three policemen and nine protesters — and some vehicles were damaged, political leaders and media said.
Chanting “Democracy yes, dictatorship no!” mainly peaceful Ortega opponents numbered at 50,000 by organizers marched in Managua against his controversial reelection plans, even as thousands of the president’s supporters gathered for their own demonstration.
PHOTO: EPA
Most of the injuries occurred when Ortega opponents, walking on the roads out of the city after their rally, clashed with government supporters who were converging for their own march, the political leaders and local reports said.
Security was heavy in the capital following provocative gestures earlier in the week by both sides, which suggested there could be clashes between the two demonstrating groups when they march in the city.
Addressing pro-government marchers, Ortega made an appeal for calm, telling his opponents: “We don’t expect you to say that you love us, but simply use your head … instability and confrontation is not the way to go.”
Many in the opposition event waved blue-and-white Nicaragua national flags. They included supporters of opposition political parties, thousands of whom flooded into the city from the countryside to protest, as well as business groups and representatives of the powerful Catholic Church.
“We do not want violence,” read one banner held up during the 6km march that culminated at the offices of the Supreme Court. Among the demonstrators were former president Arnoldo Aleman and former world boxing champion Alexis Arguello.
“This is a triumph for democracy,” said Violeta Granera, director of the civil society group Movement for Nicaragua. She accused Ortega of “abuse of power” and of wanting to “dismantle the fragile [public] institutions.”
The two marches originally had been called for the same time on nearly the same route, but the risk of violence prompted the pro-government rally to be moved to the afternoon.
More than 7,000 police, including heavily armed riot police, were deployed in the capital to ensure order.
The opposition demonstration concluded without serious incident in the city’s southeast, but Managua remained tense as several thousand Sandinistas gathered to show their support for Ortega.
At least one homemade mortar was fired into the air at the Sandinista march, and several young men were seen marching with bandanas covering their faces.
The government said it hoped to bring some 300,000 people out into the streets to outshine the opposition march, but local media reported far smaller numbers.
Thousands were seen filing into the city, however, to lend support to Ortega and his bid for more victories against the conservatives, which were voted out of power three years ago.
Ortega led the 1979 Sandinista uprising that ousted the regime of US-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza, after 45 years of oppressive rule.
The leftist Ortega, who served as president from 1985 to 1990, was elected to office again in 2006.
Tension has been building since the ruling Sandinista party’s crushing win in mayoral elections a year ago, which the opposition charged were riddled with fraud, and a Supreme Court ruling last month that cleared the way for Ortega to seek reelection in 2011.
Ortega defended his right to reelection, saying: “only the people can decide with their vote” who will be the next president. He warned that the Sandinista party “will not let itself be shackled ever again.”
Securing the ability to seek reelection has been a key strategy for leftist regional allies like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Bolivian President Evo Morales in Bolivia, among others. President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras was thought to have been developing such plans when an army-backed coup toppled him in June.
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given
RSS