What Alexa Zamora and Haydée Castillo question about the openness to dialogue advocated by Nicaragua in Madrid

Nicaragua's deputy foreign minister Valdrack Jaentschke defended in Madrid the image of Nicaragua as a country open to dialogue during the XXX Ibero-American Summit. EFE/SARAH YENESEL Nicaragua's deputy foreign minister, Valdrack Jaentschke, defended in Madrid the image of a country open to dialogue during the XXX Ibero-American Summit, held on November 4 and 5, but the opposition figures Alexa Zamora and Haydée Castillo rejected that description and maintained that the State is under the control of a regime that restricts freedoms and distances itself from international organizations. The criticisms were reported by La Prensa following the Nicaraguan official's remarks. Jaentschke said on Tuesday that he had attended the meeting with the mission of defending the principles of sovereignty, non-intervention and interference, as well as peace and Nicaragua's willingness to collaborate. He also presented the Ibero-American Conference as a favorable setting for political dialogue. The political scientist Alexa Zamora, exiled in Spain, described those statements as "totally false and demagogic." In her view, the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo distances itself from international forums that question human rights violations and the legitimacy of its hold on power. Nicaragua withdrew its representation from the Organization of American States, confiscated the organization's headquarters in Managua, announced its withdrawal from the Central American Parliament, and left the Central American Court of Justice. Zamora cited those decisions as examples of the rupture with regional bodies. The political scientist Alexa Zamora stated that the expulsion of ambassadors and international missions contradicts the ruling party's discourse of understanding. (Image taken from La Prensa) The political scientist noted that the claim that the country maintains excellent relations with the rest of the world also contrasts with the expulsion of ambassadors and international missions. "These facts refute any assertion made by the deputy foreign minister," she maintained. For Zamora, the internal situation makes it impossible to present the country as a democratic interlocutor before the international community. "Nicaragua is indeed a State that is hijacked by a dictatorial regime," she said, describing the exclusion from forums where democracy and human rights standards are demanded. The Nicaraguan sociologist and activist Haydée Castillo agreed that the government closed its doors to dialogue proposals made from abroad. According to her, the international community has repeatedly requested conversations with the opposition and measures to advance toward democratization. "This has been a regime that throughout this time has been closed to the proposals of the international community, which has repeatedly asked it to open itself to dialogue with the opposition," Castillo said. The activist added that openness toward other countries and regional organizations has also been demanded. In early October, the foreign ministers gathered at the Organization of American States created a Ministerial Follow-up Group on Nicaragua. The body called for the restoration of fundamental rights, the release of political prisoners, and set a 90-day deadline to attempt a dialogue with the Nicaraguan government. The activist Haydée Castillo maintained that the Nicaraguan regime closed its doors to repeated external requests to dialogue with the opposition. (Courtesy image) Castillo considered that this mechanism represents the "last chance" that the international community is giving the regime. She maintained that the authorities must reflect on a way out that does not entail new costs for the population. The activist identified the OAS as the most immediate stage to demonstrate any eventual willingness toward understanding. "The most immediate forum the regime has to show its openness is the OAS, because it is the closest one in the Western Hemisphere," she emphasized. Jaentschke, on the other hand, stated that "Nicaragua is an open country, at peace and of dialogue, willing to continue collaborating both in this Ibero-American forum and on the world stage." The official also declared that the country views the Ibero-American Conference as "an ideal space for dialogue." The official discourse comes after the experience of the National Dialogue, initiated on May 16, 2018, to try to halt the crisis unleashed by state repression against protesters. the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua acted as mediator, with the participation of the Holy See through nuncio Waldemar Sommertag, the OAS through Luis Ángel Rosadilla, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua has identified Jaentschke as one of the main people responsible for transnational repression. The body denounced attacks against Nicaraguan citizens in other countries, including the deadly attack against retired major of the Nicaraguan Army Roberto Samcam.