In a new attack on civil society, the regime has already removed the legal status of 229 NGOs in just the last month. Another of the affected organizations is the Enrique Bolaños Foundation, which has one of the most complete virtual libraries in the country
Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega
The Government of Nicaragua, through the Ministry of the Interior, ordered the closure of another 83 local NGOs, including the Nicaraguan Academy of Language and Fundación Enrique Bolaños which has -the latter- one of the most complete virtual libraries in the country, informed the Legislative Branch this Saturday.
With these new 83 associations, the to 229 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) whose ban has been requested by the Executive of President Daniel Ortega so far in May, and 319 since December 2018.
In Nicaragua , with the vote of the Sandinista deputies and their allies, who are the majority in the National Assembly (Parliament), the legal personality of at least 236 NGOs has been canceled since December 2018, eight months after a popular revolt broke out – caused by controversial social security reforms – described as an attempted coup by Ortega.
The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega
According to the Nicaraguan dictatorship, the NGOs have failed to comply with the laws on the matter, including not registering in the register of “foreign agents”, which those affected have rejected.
The Academy of Language has existed since 1928
In the new list, the Ministry of the Interior proposed to Parliament to cancel the legal status of the Nicaraguan Academy of Language Language, whose legal personality was granted on August 8, 1928, that is, almost 94 years ago.
In addition, the Foundation of the late former president Enrique Bolaños (2002-2007), which created the virtual library with the aim of collecting, preserving and disseminating political information, cultural, legally and historically relevant for Nicaraguans.
Furthermore, the Association for the Promotion and Development of Drinking Water and Sanitation Committees (Red CAPS), which has the vital liquid to remote places without access to drinking water.
The university students triggered the massive protests against the Daniel Ortega regime that took place in 2018. (Photo EFE)
According to the decree presented by the Sandinista deputy Filiberto Rodríguez, it is also requested to cancel the legal personality of the Nora Astorga Women’s Association, which bears the name of Nicaragua’s deputy foreign minister and ambassador to the UN during the first Sandinista regime (1979-1990).
According to that Sandinista legislator, the NGOs that have been outlawed so far, more than 200, used resources from the donations they received to “try to overthrow” Ortega during the protests that broke out in April 2018, although he has not presented evidence.
In April 2018, thousands of Nicaraguans took to the streets to protest controversial social security reforms, which later became a demand for Ortega to resign because it responded with force.
The protests, described by the regime as an attempted coup, left at least 355 dead, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), although local organizations raise the figure to 684 and the dictatorship only recognizes 200.
Protests in Nicaragua (REUTERS/Mayela Lopez)
Among the organizations that have been affected are NGOs that defended human rights and medical, feminist, educational, environmental, indigenous and journalistic causes, as well as universities and think tanks.
The regime has also canceled the records and perpetual numbers of nine European NGOs, six US NGOs, and one Costa Rican .
Nicaragua has been going through a political and social crisis since April 2018, which has worsened after the controversial general elections of the last November 7, in which Daniel Ortega was re-elected for a fifth term, fourth consecutive and second along with his wife, Rosario Murillo, as vice president, with their main contenders imprisoned.
With information from EFE
Keep reading: