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Nicaragua Network Hotline--Nov 6, 2007 & Special Aboetion Action Alert
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
Nicaragua Network Hotline
httptwww.nicanet.org - November 6, 2007
Topics covered in this Hotline include:
1. California jury awards US3.3 million to Nicaraguan banana workers
2. 80,000 health workers take part in national brigade against
epidemics
3. Violent protests in Puerto Cabezas but authorities say situation
is under control
4. National Assembly approves Ortega's proposal to suspend 2008
CENIS payments
5. Civil society organizations say cost of living increase is
"unbearable"
1: California jury awards US3.3 million to Nicaraguan banana
workers
On Nov. 5 a jury in Los Angeles awarded US$3.3 million to six
Nicaraguan workers who had said they were sterile as a result of
pesticide used on a banana plantation operated by Dole Fresh Fruit
Co. The suit accused Dole and Standard Fruit Co., now part of Dole,
of acting negligently and of attempting to hide its use of the
pesticide DBCP (known as Nemagon or Fumazone) and of hiding the
consequences of its use during the 1970s. The pesticide was used
to kill a microscopic worm which can damage the roots of the banana
trees.
Dow Chemical and Amvac Chemical Corp., producers of the pesticide
were also accused of "actively withholding information about the
toxicity of DBCP to the reproductive system." Amvac arrived at an
agreement before the case went to court to pay the workers US$300,000,
according to spokesperson Kelly Kozuma. The six workers, who will
receive between US$311,200 and US$834,000, were part of a group of
12 workers who had sued Dole and Dow.
The jury found that both companies contributed to the damage caused
to the workers.
2: 80,000 health workers take part in national brigade against
epidemics
A national brigade of 80,600 professionals, including public sector
and military health workers, final year medical students and members
of the National Police, fanned out in areas affected by Hurricane
Felix and flooding on Nov. 3 and 4 with the aim of combating the
current outbreak of leptospirosis and to prevent further outbreaks
of this and other diseases.
The brigade educated 120,000 families, community leaders and community
health representatives about the necessary measures to take in order
to avoid infection as well as what to do in the event of suspected
infection. The members of the brigade also distributed 150,000
liters of chlorine to ensure the quality of drinking water, fumigated
homes in an attempt to significantly reduce the mosquito and rat
populations, and collected 7,000 cubic meters of solid waste. The
efforts of the brigade were concentrated in the areas most affected
by the rains of the last two months. The government response is a
qualitative improvement over the responses to natural disasters and
health crises of the right-wing governments of the preceding 16
years.
3: Violent protests in Puerto Cabezas but authorities say
situation is under control
Despite the government and international response to the destruction
of Hurricane Felix on the Caribbean Coast, there continue to be
unmet needs and some Coasteqos are angry. There were a number of
violent outbursts in the city of Bilwi/Puerto Cabezas, capital of
the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN), between Oct. 30 and
Nov. 1 caused by a group of inhabitants led by alternate deputy for
the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN) Jaime Chow. Chow has organized
a group of over 1,000 families called "Christmas without a Roof"
to demand that central government give them US$2.1 million to buy
100,000 sheets of corrugated iron. The group also demands more food
and more medicines from the authorities in charge of distributing
aid to those affected by the passing of Hurricane Felix on Sept.
4. Hundreds of protesters belonging to the Christmas without a Roof
movement forced their way into the local government building in
Bilwi on Oct. 31 and, according to Mayor Elizabeth Enriquez, caused
extensive damage to furniture, windows and computers. The protesters
then broke into a warehouse where food and other aid materials are
stored. A number of sup****ters of the indigenous political party
YATAMA (to which Enriquez belongs) confronted the protesters and
violence broke out. As a result at least eight people were injured.
After thirty minutes members of the National Police were able to
control the situation and two people were arrested.
Protesters also forced their way onto the runway at Puerto Cabezas
air****t disrupting commercial and official flights to and from
Managua on Oct. 30 and 31.
A number of other minor incidents were re****ted to have taken place
in other locations of the city. Mayor Enriquez accused ALN president
Eduardo Montealegre of funding and coordinating this civil unrest
through Chow. Chow denied this to be true saying that the protests
were not of a political nature but reflect the legitimate demands
of the population.
Head of the Nicaraguan Army Omar Halleslevens said he was not worried
that the recent violence in Bilwi would spiral out of control.
According to Halleslevens there has been generalized dissatisfaction
among the population since the distribution of food aid began because
people are not used to losing their ability to provide their own
food.
Meanwhile international aid continues to arrive for the RAAN where
over 200,000 people have been directly affected by the devastation
and the World Food Program (WFP) has warned of imminent famine. On
Nov. 1 the US government donated US$2.9 million worth of food
including 2,800 tons or rice and 600 tons of grain. Also on Nov. 1
a ****pment of 1,000 tons of food as well as water, medicine, clothing,
blankets, diesel and construction materials arrived from Venezuela.
This ****pment is the first of three which the Venezuelan government
plans to send this year as part of its collaboration with the
emergency relief effort led by the Nicaraguan government.
On Nov. 2 the French government made a donation of US$425,000 to
the World Food Program (WFP), which is working together with the
Nicaraguan Ministry of Agriculture to distribute food to 88,000
people in the municipalities of Bilwi, Waspam, Rosita and Bonanza.
The WFP said in a statement that the money will be used to buy 356
tons of rice on the Nicaragua market.
Topic 4: National Assembly approves Ortega's proposal to suspend
2008 CENIS payments
After an intense five hour session in the National Assembly, 71 of
the 91 deputies voted in favor of President Daniel Ortega's proposal
to amend the 2007 and 2008 budgets to provide funds for the immediate
reconstruction of 371 kilometers of over 3,000 kilometers of roads
destroyed by Hurricane Felix and the 55 days of intense rains that
followed.
Last week Ortega proposed the budget amendments in order to liberate
US$2.8 million for urgent repairs.
He also proposed that US$48 million payment allocated in the 2008
budget to service the internal debt created by the Negotiated
Investment Certificates (CENIS) be suspended to allow for further
repairs to the national road network. The CENIS were sold to cover
losses several years ago when several banks closed due to fraud.
Members of the Ortega administration have been negotiating a long
term restructuring of the CENIS debt with the private bankers,
although so far no concrete agreement has been reached.
Ortega was accompanied by Minister of Trans****tation and Infrastructure
Fernando Martinez who explained the urgency with which these roads
must be repaired. Among other things it is essential the roads are
ready to carry the coffee and other harvests to market, to reestablish
access to the numerous communities which have been cut off as a
result of the recent natural disasters, and to ensure an end to the
leptospirosis outbreak.
5: Civil society organizations say cost of living increase
is "unbearable"
The leaders of the Nicaraguan Community Movement, Enrique Picado,
and the National Consumer Defense Network, Gonzalo Salgado, announced
a series of grassroots actions protesting the government's inability
to resolve the spiraling cost of basic products and services.
According to Salgado the cost of many basic products has increased
by as much as 100% during 2007 while each month workers salaries
are worth less. Salgado said that the Sandinista government "is not
fulfilling its promise to protect the poor" and must "implement
public policies which stabilize the cost of living index."
"Gas is expensive, food is expensive, trans****tation is expensive
and, to make things worse, the Nicaraguan Energy Institute (INE)
has authorized further increases in the price of cooking gas and
the electricity rate." At the beginning of October a 100 pound tank
of cooking (propane) gas cost US$52.88, by Nov. 3 the price had
risen to US$58.40, more than a 10% increase.
Meanwhile on Oct. 30 the INE authorized a 9.06% increase in the
electricity rate over the next three months for the top 30% of
users.
Salgado said the National Consumer Defense Network is preparing a
proposal which will be presented to President Daniel Ortega of
policies which should be implemented in order to stop the increases
in the price of basic products and services.
Salgado said the government looks "ridiculous favoring big companies
over consumers." Leader of the Nicaraguan Community Movement Enrique
Picado said that in neighborhoods across the country his organization
has been forming groups to analyze the problem of the "unbearable"
increases in the cost of living and the incapacity of the government
to resolve the problem.
Meanwhile a group of 100 bakers from Managua met on Oct. 29 to
discuss the government's pressure on bakeries to maintain the price
of bread at US$0.54 a pound despite the constant rises in the price
of ingredients, gas and electricity. (Two weeks ago a 50% increase
in the price of bread had been announced, a decision the government
tried to block by putting pressure on the national bakeries.) After
the meeting a statement was issued suggesting that, instead of
putting pressure on bakeries to lower the cost of their produce,
the government should pressure Union Fenosa to charge less to their
customers, or Agricorp (the biggest distributor of flour in Nicaragua)
to lower the price of its product.
**********
This hotline is prepared from the Nicaragua News Service
and other sources. To receive a more extensive weekly summary of
the news from Nicaragua by e-mail or postal service, send a check
for $60.00 to Nicaragua Network, 1247 E St., SE, Wa****ngton, DC
20003. We can be reached by phone at 202-544-9355. Our web site
is: www.nicanet.org. To subscribe to the Hotline, send an e-mail
to nicanet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Alert: Oppose Ban on Therapeutic Abortion!
Write to Nicaraguan government! November 8, 2007
*For over 100 years Nicaraguan law allowed a woman to have what is
called a therapeutic abortion if her life or health was in danger.
*In October 2006 the National Assembly banned therapeutic abortions
under pressure from the Catholic and Evangelical Churches. The ban
was retained in a September 2007 vote.
*All major medical associations in Nicaragua have opposed the ban
on therapeutic abortions.
*Women's and human rights groups have united to demand a repeal of
the measure.
*Human Rights Watch has do***ented cases where women have died
because doctors were afraid to give them the proper treatment.
*Sign on to a letter to:
1) The president of Nicaragua's National Assembly asking for a
repeal of the ban;
2) The Minister of Health asking her to require doctors to comply
with the protocol for emergency obstetric care which would allow
some grave cases to be treated;
3) And the head of the Supreme Court asking the Court to rule
promptly so more women's lives will not be lost.
See letter below! To sign on, send your name, group (if applicable)
and city to nicanet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
for sign-ons: Nov. 22, 2007
Background
By a vote of 66-3, on Sept. 13, 2007, the National Assembly defeated
an amendment to the Penal Code which would have decriminalized
therapeutic abortion (criminalized in 2006 after over 100 years of
legality) if three medical specialists agreed it was necessary to
save the life of the mother. Only the three deputies of the Sandinista
Renovation Movement (MRS) voted in favor of saving the life of the
mother. Twenty-seven Sandinista deputies voted with the right-wing
parties while 11 stayed away from the proceedings.
During the debate, human and women's rights protesters shouted so
loudly that it was difficult to hear the deputies. Constitutional
Liberal Party (PLC) Deputies Wilfredo Navarro and Freddy Torres
described the protesters as lesbians and murderers.
The members of the FSLN bench were completely silent during the
debate. The two voices which led the argument in favor of saving
women's lives were MRS Deputies Monica Baltodano and Victor Hugo
Tinoco.
The vote came as a surprise and great disappointment to women's
rights activists and medical associations which had been consulted
by the National Assembly Justice Committee. A week prior to the
debate in the legislative branch, the Justice Committee issued a
favorable re****t on the amendment. A list of medical cir***stances,
including ectopic pregnancy [where the embryo develops outside the
uterus, usually in the fallopian tubes], under which a therapeutic
abortion would be permitted, was issued by the committee. But the
full Assembly did not listen when it came time to vote.
Ligia Altamirano, a gynecologist and member of the Nicaraguan
Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said that this legislature's
decision will "deepen the chaos within the health service [where]
doctors have doubts about whether to treat" women with complications
relating to their pregnancies. "There are over 20 medical associations
within Nicaragua which have stated opposition to the abortion ban"
said Altamirano, "but [the deputies] didn't listen." Doctor Leonel
Arg|ello, member of one of the medical associations which was
consulted by the Justice Committee said on Sept. 13, "Today, the
death penalty has been reintroduced in Nicaragua." According to
Arg|ello, an average of 1,000 women a year will die as a result of
the abortion ban.
Ana Maria Pizarro, representative of the Autonomous Women's Movement,
said the FSLN deputies have "betrayed the memory of Carlos Fonseca
and Carlos Nuqez Tellez who fought for a secular state and for
women's rights." Over twenty women's rights groups announced plans
to carry out national and international protest campaigns with the
aim of forcing the reintroduction of therapeutic abortion in
Nicaragua.
According to Justice Committee chair Jose Pallais the Catholic
Church hierarchy had approved the committee's list of medical
cir***stances under which a therapeutic abortion should be permitted.
In public, however, no church representative confirmed this approval
while Bishop of Esteli Abelardo Mata had publicly called on the
deputies to maintain the abortion ban.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the issue in a few weeks.
Last year, on October 26, 2006, ten days before the 2006 presidential
elections, the Assembly first approved the measure that would remove
from the country's penal code the article permitting abortion when
the life or health of a woman was in danger.
The action was in answer to demands from the Catholic Church and
some Protestant churches and was sup****ted by three of the four
major candidates for president in the elections that were to be
held on November 5th.
With the elimination of the century-old measure allowing therapeutic
abortion, women who have an abortion can be sentenced to one to two
years in jail and doctors or midwives who perform abortions can be
sentenced to one to three years in jail. Nicaragua joined El
Salvador and Chile as the only countries in the region that made
all abortions illegal.
Passage of the measure was directly related to the presidential
elections where the Sandinista Party (FSLN) candidate Daniel Ortega
(who won the election), the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC)
candidate Jose Rizo, and the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN)
candidate Eduardo Montealegre, all sup****ted the measure to do away
with therapeutic abortion. Only the Sandinista Renovation Movement
(MRS) candidate Edmundo Jarquin opposed it.
In the year that the ban has been in effect, cases of the death of
women denied treatment altogether or denied treatment until it was
too late have been do***ented. Human Rights Watch do***ented the
following case in its recently released Over Their Dead Bodies:
Denial of Access to Emergency Obstetric Care and Therapeutic Abortion
in Nicaragua:
A medical doctor at a large public hospital in Managua, however,
testified to one case:
"Here [at this hospital] we have had women who have died.... For
example, [name withheld] came here and had an ultrasound. It was
clear that she needed a therapeutic abortion. No one wanted to carry
out the abortion because the fetus was still alive. The woman was
here two days without treatment until she expulsed the fetus on her
own. And by then she was already in septic shock and died five days
later. That was in March 2007."
The Nicaraguan Health Ministry in December 2006 issued "Norms and
Protocols for Treatment of Obstetric Emergencies," which included
mandatory protocols for emergency obstetric care. These guidelines
cover obstetric emergencies, including ectopic pregnancy, and if
fully implemented could overcome many negative consequences of the
abortion ban. However, it appears that the guidelines often are not
followed because of fear of prosecution.
Act now:
Sign on (send your name and city to nicanet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
) to the letter
below which will be sent to these members of the Nicaraguan government:
Ing. Reni Nzqez, President of the National Assembly
Dra. Maritza Cuan, Minister of Health
Dr. Manuel Martinez, President of the Supreme Court
Dear __________________
As persons concerned with human rights, we would like to add our
voices to those of Nicaraguan medical associations and international
human rights groups in lamenting the removal from Nicaragua's legal
code of the century-old measure allowing for a therapeutic abortion
in cases where the life or health of the woman is in danger.
On this matter, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights wrote
to Nicaragua's Minister of Foreign Affairs to emphasize that
therapeutic abortion has been internationally recognized as a
specialized and necessary health service for women, its ultimate
purpose being to save the life of the mother when threatened during
pregnancy. Also, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has
recently stated in its decision concerning Karen Noelia Llantoy v.
Peru that a State inflicts physical, moral and psychological suffering
when it denies a woman access to therapeutic abortion, particularly
in the case of a minor.
Given that women have already died in Nicaragua as a result of
doctors' reluctance to perform needed abortions, we urge:
The Honorable President of the National Assembly, Ing. Reni Nzqez,
to do all in his power to achieve repeal by the legislative body
of the ban on therapeutic abortion.
We also urge Dra. Maritza Cuan, Minister of Health of Nicaragua,
to require doctors to comply with the protocol for emergency obstetric
care which would allow some grave cases to be treated.
We also urge the Honorable Dr. Manuel Martinez, President of the
Supreme Court of Justice of Nicaragua, to ensure that the Court
rules promptly on the issue of therapeutic abortion so that more
women's lives will not be lost.
Sincerely,
List of names and cities
(Send your name, group (if applicable) and city to nicanet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
individual and organizational sign-ons are welcome.
Nicaragua Network | 1247 E St. SE | Wa****ngton | DC | 20003
*
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