2023-07-20 15:17:00
Managua, Nicaragua | Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega criticized the European Union (EU) on Wednesday for insisting that Ukraine’s “fascist” and “Nazi” president, Volodomir Zelenski, attend the bloc’s recent summit with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
“In this meeting of the European Union with CELAC they wanted to include the fascist, the Nazi president of Ukraine, who was there” and then to present a declaration without consensus on Ukraine, Ortega said in a speech at the main event celebrating the 44th anniversary of the triumph of the Sandinista revolution.
The Brussels summit between the EU and CELAC concluded on Tuesday with a declaration that expressed “concern” about “the war against Ukraine” but avoided referring to Russia, after arduous negotiations that did not reach a consensus with Nicaragua.
“There is a principle in these meetings, resolutions have to be made by consensus (…), if one opposes, it no longer happens,” Ortega said in a speech lasting more than an hour and a half.
He added that the EU refused to include the cessation of economic sanctions against Venezuela and Nicaragua in the agreement adopted on the cover.
“We proposed that the agreement be drawn up there as well, calling for an end to the policy of aggression, sanctions against Cuba, first of all, Venezuela and Nicaragua. They did not agree to include Venezuela and Nicaragua,” added Ortega.
Thousands of young people dressed in white shirts and dozens of special guests attended the event in Managua’s Plaza de la Dignidad Nacional, where they waved the red and black flag of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).
Praise to Gaddafi
At the ceremony, Ortega praised the murdered Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who “was a support in that region, pushed for the unity of the Arab peoples.”
“We cannot forget Gaddafi (…), he expressed his solidarity with Nicaragua and gave us unconditional solidarity,” he said after pointing out that the United States and its European allies “destroyed Libya.”
Ortega also urged his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, to seek “a way to shape an agreement” on the border after the ruling of the International Court of Justice, which last week rejected a Nicaraguan request to extend its maritime platform.
“In the best spirit of peace and understanding, I send this message to President Petro,” Ortega added after recalling a ruling from The Hague that in 2012 agreed to Nicaragua’s claim to 75,000 square kilometers of territory in the Caribbean Sea.
He also lashed out at the United States several times.
festivities
Thousands of supporters of the Ortega government participated since Tuesday night in a vigil that culminated early Wednesday morning with fireworks, in celebration of the 44th anniversary of the triumph of the Sandinista revolution.
The concentration in Plaza la Fe, in front of Lake Managua, preceded the central act of Ortega, who led the Sandinista government in the 1980s and returned to power in 2007.
“We are celebrating 44 years of revolution, 44 years after the people of Nicaragua continue on the paths of peace, love, progress, education and health, 44 years of revolution,” Sandinista militant Carlos López, 59, told AFP.
Musical groups enlivened the vigil and thousands of people waved the red and black flag of the FSLN.
The events for the anniversary of the revolution began on June 11 throughout the country due to the feat of the then left-wing guerrilla of the FSLN, which overthrew the dictator Anastasio Somoza on July 19, 1979.
“We live in freedom, with great prosperity, and in peace, which is the main thing, we have a lot of progress, many hospitals, many roads, many universities, we can live in peace and freedom,” Verónica García, 60, told AFP.
The Ortega government has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for the heavy hand with which it has acted against opponents since the violent protests of 2018.
Ortega claims that the protests were an attempted coup sponsored by Washington.
Some Sandinista leaders who participated in the revolution accompanied the 2018 protests and received government sanctions, including expatriation, stripping of their nationality, and confiscation of assets.
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