The Nicaraguan dictatorship announced this Thursday (13) that, in coordination with the Legislative Assembly, with a Sandinista majority, it will declare April 19 as the National Day of Peace. The date is symbolic for the opposition, which will commemorate the popular demonstrations that took place five years ago against the dictator Daniel Ortega and his wife and deputy, Rosario Murillo.
In April 2018, thousands of Nicaraguans took to the streets to protest controversial social security reforms. The move later turned into a demand for Ortega’s ouster, after the dictator responded with force. The protests left at least 355 dead, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), although Nicaraguan organizations put that number at 684. Ortega admits that there were “more than 300” and maintains that it was a coup attempt State.
“They wanted to interrupt us, they filled us with blood, with fire, they set fire to hospitals, clinics, study centers, universities, but they couldn’t, and won’t be able to,” Murillo said this Thursday, through the official press. She stated that Parliament will hold a session “in the next few days” to formally declare the National Day of Peace on April 19. Murillo assured that the president of Parliament, Gustavo Porras, from the governing party, has already prepared this initiative.
“An initiative that we all applaud, aware that peace in this homeland of blessing, work and prosperity, with so many victories, is essential for life”, he added. According to Ortega’s wife, the government declared itself a “defender” and “guardian” of peace in Nicaragua.
The opposition in exile, after the protests five years ago, called for demonstrations to celebrate the anniversary where the Nicaraguan diaspora is representative, as in Costa Rica and the United States. Young opponents call April 19 “National Day of Remembrance of Victims”.
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