Activists paint graffiti on riot police shields during a demonstration in Managua, Nicaragua, on Sept. 23 against President Daniel Ortega's government. (Inti Ovon/AFP/Getty Images) (INTI OCON/AFP/Getty Images)
Over the past six months, the Nicaraguan government has been accused of human rights abuses and violations of international law for its handling of widespread protests calling for the president to step down.
Now, top Nicaraguan officials are sharing their side of the story internationally. In interviews and public appearances in the United States, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Valdrack L. Jaentschke has painted the protesters as violent extremists seeking to topple the democratically elected government of President Daniel Ortega.
In an interview on Tuesday with The Washington Post, Jaentschke described the protests, which began in April, as part of a “coup” attempt. The demonstrations, he said, were part of a “violent effort to overthrow the constitutionally elected government” by political radicals unable to win widespread support through the ballot box. He did not identify those people or describe their political allegiances.
The turmoil began with protests against Ortega’s effort to raise social security taxes and cut pensions. The police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas, then live ammunition. Much of the early violence is captured on cellphone videos.
[‘They took my humanity’: Pro-government paramilitaries terrorize Nicaraguan protesters]
In the ensuing days and weeks, what began as marches in the capital turned into a nationwide uprising against the government. Activists criticized the four-term president as an autocrat who had undermined Nicaragua’s democratic institutions and bent security forces to his will. They called for his resignation and early elections.
Activists, some of whom carried weapons, barricaded neighborhoods and university campuses in various cities to prevent security forces from entering. In response, the government increased the pressure, backed by informal pro-government fighters widely described as paramilitaries. In one particularly brutal incident, masked gunmen stormed the campus of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, firing on students who had seized control of the school. They then besieged a church compound where young demonstrators had sought refuge. Two students were killed in the fighting.
Jaentschke called the concern over the social security measure an “excuse” by radicals to foment “terror” and “violence.” He also took issue with the death toll reported by human rights groups, which have said that more than 300 people had died in the unrest, the majority at the hands of government forces.
The minister disputed the allegations, saying that about 200 people have been killed in the violence and that more than half of them were government supporters and security forces trying to keep the peace. “Social media operators” were “promoting widespread violence,” he said. “We blame them for every single one of the deaths that occurred.”
Jaentschke also said that the government stepped in only when the security of the nation was at stake. “Our first concern was to avoid a civil war,” he said.
Ortega, who won fame in the 1970s as one of the leaders of the left-wing Sandinista revolution that ousted a conservative dictator, has made similar claims in television interviews.
Rights groups paint a different picture. They say the government has imprisoned political opponents, engaged in torture and used unnecessary and lethal force against demonstrators. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has said that the Nicaraguan government must “immediately end the repression” by, among other things, dismantling paramilitary groups. In a recent report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the country’s treatment of protesters was in “violation of international human rights law.”
“Although some demonstrations turned violent, the majority of protesters were peaceful,” it said. “In cases where protesters were violent, the use of lethal force by authorities against nonlethal threats and the reliance on pro-Government armed elements, also violated international human rights law. This response systematically repressed dissent against the Government.”
After the report was issued, Ortega expelled the U.N. investigators from the country.
The United States, too, has called on Ortega to step aside. “Every additional victim of this violence and intimidation campaign further undermines Ortega’s legitimacy,” Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in July. “Early free, fair and transparent elections are the best path back to democracy and respect for human rights in Nicaragua.”
In his interview with The Post, Jaentschke cautioned against foreign intervention, or “meddling,” in Nicaraguan affairs. “Since the 15th of July, we have been able to restore peace,” he said. “If you protest violently, you will be confronted by the police. That’s the situation.”
Though demonstrations have quieted, violence continues to roil the country. Last weekend, hundreds of demonstrators marched in Managua, calling for the release of imprisoned protesters. They were met by police officers and Ortega supporters, who allegedly opened fire on the crowd, killing one.
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