ATLANTIC COAST - GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO FUMBLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 002325 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CEN FEELEY AND LERSTEN DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID/W, USAID/DCHA AND USAID/OFDA USAID/OFDA FOR KLUU, AFERRERA, ACONVERY, RTHAYER AND SBISWAS NSC FOR ALVARADO AND TSHORTLEY E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2017 TAGS: EAID PGOV KPAO NU SUBJECT: ATLANTIC COAST - GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO FUMBLE REF: MANAGUA 2211 Classified By: Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reasons 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In the aftermath of Hurricane Felix the Nicaraguan government continues to mismanage the situation in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN). In his presentation before the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega failed to ask the international community for post-Felix assistance, despite public promises to do so. Regional religious leaders have sharply criticized regional government officials who falsely claimed that the religious community is "pleased" with the government's response to Felix. Indigenous leaders rejected Ortega-allied YATAMA deputy Brooklyn Rivera's proposal to postpone 2008 municipal elections in the RAAN. Ambiguous legislation to restrict harvesting of downed timber has triggered unrest in communities throughout the RAAN. In response, indigenous leaders are organizing to better control reconstruction efforts. END SUMMARY. Ortega Blows it at the U.N. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) In the wake of Hurricane Felix, the local and international community expected President Ortega to request international assistance when he addressed the U.N. General Assembly on September 25. Instead, he described the evils of "global capitalism" and promoted Iran's right to develop nuclear technology in any way the Iranian government sees fit. Back home, the people were stunned. For the communities in the RAAN -- already angered by the government's response to Felix and deeply suspicious of Ortega for the atrocities committed during the 1980s -- Ortega's speech was seen as yet another insult to Nicaragua's indigenous peoples. Three days after the speech, fifty National Assembly deputies signed a declaration condemning Ortega's address for having "ignored the urgent needs of our coastal peoples in the RAAN." Religious Leaders Critical of Government Response - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (C) Two days before Ortega's U.N. address, national, regional, and local officials from the indigenous YATAMA party declared that the RAAN's various religious leaders were "pleased" with the government's response to the Felix crisis. The next day, leaders from the Catholic, Moravian, and Baptist churches notified us that church leaders did in fact not endorse the government's response. Two days later, they held a press conference to clarify their position and to call for transparency and accountability in aid distribution. Religious leaders continue to criticize the regional government's actions, reflecting deep resentment among the population. Opposition Rejects Proposal to Suspend Elections in RAAN - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (U) Two days after Ortega's speech, Rivera, in his position as a National Assembly deputy, proposed to his Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) colleagues that the 2008 municipal elections be suspended in the RAAN due to Hurricane Felix. The opposition bloc in the Assembly immediately rejected the idea, calling it a ploy by Rivera to buy time for his increasingly unpopular YATAMA party in the RAAN. The reaction among RAAN leaders was similar. There is no indication that the Assembly will take further legislative action on this proposal. Timber Processing Frozen - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (U) On September 21, the National Assembly ratified presidential decree 92-2007, suspending all commercial extraction of timber in the RAAN. The decree prioritizes timber use for housing reconstruction, encourages reforestation, and protects damaged forestland from the encroachment of agriculture and cattle raising. While most agree these protection measure are essential to ensure the long-term recovery of the forests, the decree has angered the dozens of timber processing companies operating in the RAAN because it prohibits them from processing downed timber on their own lands. Further, the decree does not specify who will process the timber for reconstruction or how it will be done, raising doubts among RAAN residents about the decree's effectiveness. There is widespread concern that the government will use the decree as a smokescreen to grant preferential access to party loyalists; however, we have not seen any evidence to support this assertion. Food Aid - Currency of Influence - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (C) Multiple sources have reported that the regional government is not equitably distributing relief supplies to the affected communities, instead diverting it to party loyalists. There are also unverified claims that relief supplies are showing up in local markets. On September 26, the RAAN Council of Elders denounced these irregularities, demanding that the National Assembly mount an investigation into the matter. Separately, Catholic priest Rodolfo French accused the regional government of secretly stockpiling relief supplies and chain saws in the private warehouse of YATAMA president Brooklyn Rivera to influence voters in the 2008 municipal elections. According to former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Williams-Slate, this partisan process has already begun. He reported the regional government is using food aid to recruit 50-100 people in each community to build support for the regional government. Indigenous Community gets Organized - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (C) Believing that the Nicaraguan government, international agencies, and donors are overlooking or ignoring the potential role that indigenous NGOs and community groups can play in the rehabilitation of the RAAN, indigenous leaders are getting better organized. They have formed a seven-person committee called "Unity for the Development of the Children of the Caribbean Coast" to coordinate ideas, planning, and proposals using indigenous groups. The committee includes leaders from the Catholic, Moravian, and Evangelical churches; indigenous NGOs; and other community leaders. To date, we have received five proposals from the committee totaling USD 230,000 for agricultural development programs in some 55 communities in the RAAN. Comment - Funding the Locals to Help Themselves - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (C) The aftermath of Hurricane Felix provides a unique opportunity for us to enable the indigenous population to help themselves. Although there are administrative challenges to working with non-traditional partners, the benefits of doing so are twofold. Indigenous groups understand the needs of the population as well as the challenges and complexities of working in the RAAN's multi-ethnic environment. Although sheer necessity overrides the indigenous communities' suspicion of outsiders, they would prefer assistance and support from their own people. Second, the national and regional governments' numerous blunders in the wake of the hurricane have further weakened the Ortega-allied YATAMA's stranglehold in the RAAN. Financing democratically-oriented indigenous NGOs to carry out rehabilitation efforts (reftel) would exploit this weakness and send a strong message to the peoples of the RAAN that YATAMA and the FSLN have failed them. Although not an inherently political message, when voters go to the polls in November 2008, they will remember who helped them in the time of their greatest need. TRIVELLI