LETTER TO WW
Nicaragua leader targeted
I recently returned from a Pastors for Peace caravan to
Chiapas, Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua, and would like to
express my sadness and outrage at the brutal murder of
Francisco José García Valle, esteemed professor
at the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean
Coast of Nicaragua (URACCAN) and husband of Dr. María
Luisa Acosta, internationally renowned Indigenous human-rights
lawyer.
Francisco Valle was assassinated in his home on the evening
of April 8 in Bluefields, Nicaragua. At the time of his murder,
his wife Dr. Acosta was meeting with the caravan to brief us on
one of the current land struggles of the coast. Had she not
been away from her home at the time she could have also been
the victim of this brutal murder.
While a police investigation is under way, the police in
Bluefields have said they have no motive for the murder and no
information is available on who is responsible for the crime.
However, Dr. Acosta herself has said, "I believe that the
assassination of my husband is due to the defense that I do of
the Indigenous towns."
The 1987 Nicaraguan Constitution, along with the 1995
reforms, guarantees the collective rights of the Indigenous
communities of Nicaragua. Rights. These include: control of
their natural resources and communal lands; protection against
discrimination; protection of the Indigenous forms of social
and governmental organization; and protection of the Indigenous
traditional languages and cultures.
However, the courts and the wealthy of Nicaragua ignore
these rights, and are working hand in hand with the rich and
the corporations of the United States to privatize and sell the
Indigenous peoples' land in order to exploit the resources.
The Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua has a vast supply of natural
resources, including coastal rainforests which are second only
to those in Brazil in diversity, incredible marine life and
mineral resources and which have the potential to yield $5
billion.
Foreign companies and people are granted concessions by the
central government in Managua to take over the land and extract
vast amounts of these resources without approval or even
consideration of the Indigenous communities that live on the
land. The extraction of the resources has left massive
pollution, erosion, and poverty for the Indigenous people.
In one of Dr. Acosta's current cases she is representing the
Autonomous Region of the South Atlantic Coast (RAAS) against an
American citizen, Peter Tsokos, who has illegally "purchased"
and occupied the Pearl Cays, seven small islands off the
Atlantic Coast--land that the Nicaraguan Constitution and the
1988 Atlantic Coast Autonomy Act guarantee to local Indigenous
communities. And according to the Nicaraguan Constitution,
Indigenous land cannot be "bought, sold, or mortgaged."
Tsokos "bought" the land six years ago for a total of
$30,000 (U.S. dollars). Since the "purchase" he has turned
around and "sold" some of the islands for half a million
dollars each, finding international buyers over the
Internet.
Over 17 communities live, work and survive off of this land.
The Indigenous peoples that live on the coast, those that have
survived the colonial experience, include the Miskitu, Sumu,
Rama, Creole, and Garifuna. One of the islands that was
"purchased" by Tsokos contains the only source of fresh water
for the Miskitu community of Setnet Point, an adjacent island.
Peter Tsokos and his buyers have hired armed guards to keep the
local people from getting to this fresh water source. They have
verbally harassed and physically attacked local Indigenous
people, environmental workers and government officials.
We feel that the reason the Acosta family was targeted is
because Dr. Acosta is the coordinator of the Center for Legal
Assistance to Indigenous Peoples (CALPI) located in Bluefields,
Nicaragua, and is a strong voice on behalf of the Indigenous
communities. The government of Nicaragua has yet to guarantee
the protection of Attorney Acosta and her family.
All of us on the Pastors for Peace caravan urge all Workers
World readers to:
Express your outrage at the senseless murder of Francisco
José García Valle and concern for the security of
Maria Acosta and her family, who have been at the forefront of
the struggle for Indigenous rights in the region.
Demand that the security of Maria Acosta and her family be
ensured by the government of Nicaragua and that a rigorous,
stepped up investigation into the murder begin now.
Demand that the assassins be immediately apprehended and
brought to justice.
Demand that the president and the courts of Nicaragua uphold
the 1987 Constitution, the 1995 reforms, and the 1988 Atlantic
Coast Autonomy Act. Demand an end to the illegal sale of
Indigenous lands of the Atlantic Coast and the control of their
natural resources and communal lands back to the Indigenous
communities.
You can address letters to President Enrique Bolaños
to: The Nicaraguan Ambassador, The Republic of Nicaragua, 1627
New Hampshire Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009. Telephone: (202)
939-6570; fax: (202) 939-6574. You can also email the
President's office: presidente@presidencia.gob.ni. You can
email Pedro Joaquin Rios Castellón, Primer Secretaria,
Asamblea Nacional-Managua, Nicaragua at secreta1@correo.
asamblea.gob.ni. And you can email Judge Anabel Omier, the
judge who presides over the case against Peter Tsokos, at
anabelom@ibw.com.ni.
You can find more information on the land struggles of the
Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua on the Pastors for Peace website:
http://www.ifconews.org/p4p.html and the Nicaragua Network
website: http://environment.nicanet.org/
indigenous_lands_index.htm.
In solidarity,
Kristin Michaels
Oakland, CA
Reprinted from the May 2, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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