NICARAGUA: RAAS PROTEST REVEAL REGIONAL RIFT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 001353 SIPDIS DEPT FOR KRAAIMORE E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2018 TAGS: PGOV NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: RAAS PROTEST REVEAL REGIONAL RIFT REGARDING REFORMS REF: A. MANAGUA 1149 ¶B. MANAGUA 953 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Robert J. Callahan for reasons 1.4 (B) & (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On October 29, 2008 in Rama, within Nicaragua's South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS),a crowd of over three hundred people, led by regional government leaders, publicly rejected plans for demarcation reform for the Autonomous region proposed by National Assembly Deputies Brooklyn Rivera and Francisco Sacasa. The proposed assembly reforms would carve out four of the 12 RAAS municipalities to form a new department or Autonomous region (see REFs A and B). The non-violent protest, directed at Rivera and Sacasa, took place during the 21st year anniversary of Law 28 that established Nicaragua,s autonomous regions. END SUMMARY. A Private Meeting... - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (C) On October 29, National Assembly Deputies Brooklyn Rivera, from the Yatama indigenous party currently aligned with the Sandinista (FSLN),and Francisco Sacasa, from the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC),went to Rama to participate in a private forum organized by the Commission of Ethnic Affairs, Autonomous Regimes and Indigenous Communities in the Kingston Hotel. Both Rivera and Sacasa represent the Atlantic Coast in the National Assembly and support proposed demarcation reforms to Nicaragua,s Autonomous Law (see REF A) that would form a new Autonomous region or department, called Zelaya Central, from the RAAS by stripping out four of the RAAS,s western municipalities, Muelle de los Bueyes, El Rama, El Ayote and Nueva Guinea. Rivera and Sacasa met with four FSLN regional council members, and three municipal election candidates, a mayor, and thirty other invitees in their private forum to pre-cook the plans for approval of the reforms. A Public Confrontation... - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (C) At the same hour as the Rivera meeting, RAAS Regional Government President Lourdes Aguilar, RAAS Governor Yadira Flores and representatives from the twelve RAAS municipalities, who oppose the demarcation reforms, held a separate public forum in the Rama municipal gymnasium. When Rama Mayor Roger Canales decried the private Rivera meeting, the crowd of over three hundred costenos (people from the Nicaragua,s Atlantic Coast) rose to their feet and marched three blocks to the Kingston Hotel to protest. The crowd surrounded the hotel for over an hour, chanting against Rivera and Sacasa, calling them "cowards, thieves, shameless violators of human rights and the laws of the Constitution." Aguilar and Flores called the deputies to come out to the people who elected them and talk with them "under the light of the sun." When Sacasa and Rivera finally emerged, they defended their plans to form a new department in the RAAS and told the crowd to listen to their proposal first, before they would be willing to listen to the crowd,s demands. In the end, the deputies told the crowd that they already had their work to do and that they would not abandon it to go to the gymnasium to listen to complaints. Aguilar and Flores then led the group back to the gymnasium to continue their public meeting, in which they declared it was clear that the National Assembly deputies were not interested in listening to the people except during elections. The public meeting continued with presentations by mayors from Muelle de los Bueyes, El Rama, El Ayote and Nueva Guinea, who each called for more integration with the RAAS regional government. ¶4. (C) On October 30, 2008 Aguilar held a press conference in which she reiterated the regional government,s firm opposition to any efforts to carve up the RAAS into new territories. Aguilar stated that "we are not going to permit that they (National Assembly deputies) destroy our region, nor are we going to allow them to impose a new department on us or carve up our territory." Aguilar called on the 630,000 costenos to unite in order to demonstrate to the central government that it needs to "respect our territory and our rights." She accused the government of robbing the region,s resources, from lumber to lobsters, through resolutions and licenses originating in Managua. She promised that "we are the owners of our natural resources and we are going to defend them today more united than before." The mayor of Rama, Roger Araica, remarked that the embarrassing and humiliating attitude of the deputies was unfortunate, but reminded the press that Sacasa was inappropriately elected to represent the costenos. (NOTE: Sacasa is mestizo, from Rivas on the Pacific coast and was not directly elected by costenos to his deputy position. Ex-president Arnoldo Aleman appointed Sacasa "por dedaso" (by finger) to be a PLC deputy for the RAAS. Sacasa's connection to the RAAS involves his family's large land holdings, which are currently subject to several lawsuits. It is widely believed that proposed reforms to Law 28 would directly benefit Sacasa in preserving his family's land holdings and ending the lawsuits. END NOTE) Other opinion leaders in the RAAS shared these same views, including the influential Reverend Rayfield Hodgson and Vice Rectors Claribel Castillo and Zarifet Bolanos from Uraccan University in Bluefields and Nueva Guinea. Unfulfilled Laws... - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (C) The RAAS regional leaders and National Assembly deputies had gathered in Rama, one of the larger municipalities in the RAAS to participate in celebrations for the 21st anniversary of Law 28, known as the law of autonomy that established Nicaragua,s two autonomous regions. In addition to the meetings in Rama, our contacts tell us that FSLN Atlantic Coast Secretary Lumberto Campbell was in Bluefields on October 29 holding private meetings regarding demarcation reform. ¶6. (C) Rivera,s proposal to reform Law 28 (see Ref A and B) and form two new departments from RAAS and North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) municipalities is widely unpopular among coastal people who understand its implications. Many coastal leaders believe that Sacasa, Rivera and Campbell are following instructions from their party leaders to divide the RAAS and RAAN before completing the demarcation and land titling process required under Law 445. Demarcation expert Lottie Cunningham told us that only a fraction of the 235 indigenous communities within 3 of the 23 RAAN territories have received land titles in the last five years, despite millions of dollars of financing from the World Bank and other donor nations to carry out the task. Moreover, Cunningham believes that the government,s administration of the demarcation process is technically flawed because workers do not spend sufficient time to complete a thorough diagnostic study; often they spend less than a day in a community conducting surveys. In Rama communities where the diagnostic study is complete, the GON will not approve it because of the influx of Spanish-speaking Pacific migrants, who would normally have second preferences for land claims behind indigenous groups. Cunningham claimed that during his 2006 campaign President Daniel Ortega had promised the mestizo migrants that they would get title to the land ahead of the Indians. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: The public confrontation over Rivera,s plans to reform Law 28 and carve out new departments from the RAAS and RAAN was no accident. The reforms are not sought by the Costenos, but are being imposed on the Atlantic Coast by political leaders in Managua in order to consolidate political power and doubtless, to benefit from the money to be made from exploiting the region's natural resources and avoid obligations to complete the demarcation process by ¶2009. CALLAHAN