U.S. response to Nicaragua's re-election ruling
On Monday, October 19th, the constitutional chamber of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court ruled to lift a ban on re-election by deeming it "unenforceable." The ruling opens the door for President Daniel Ortega to run for re-election in 2011 and was immediately condemned by Sandinista-government's opposition as an illegal political maneuvering intended to avoid having to get the vote for ending term limits approved by the national assembly and passed in a national referendum, both of which appeared unlikely, as indicated by Bloggings by Boz. Confronted with increasing criticism about the ruling, President Ortega announced that the ruling "is unappealable" and "written in stone," and encouraged his critics to relax and prepare to run against him in the 2011 presidential elections. Since the ruling, however, the United States Department of State, U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua, Robert Callahan, and Senator John Kerry (D-MA), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, have joined in expressing concern about the recent ruling. Their statements have led to protests outside the U.S. Embassy in Managua and calls for the U.S. ambassador to be expelled. As the Miami Herald reports, "For Sandinistas here (in Nicaragua), the comments by the U.S. ambassador are part of the United States' legacy of continual interventionist policies toward Nicaragua. During the first Sandinista government of the 1980s, the United States funneled money to the contras, who fought to overthrow the leftist regime." The Nicaraguan government has not indicated that they will expel the U.S. ambassador, though President Ortega quickly blamed Ambassador Callahan and the State Department for instigating the attacks on the U.S. Embassy, stating that "It was not us who started this polemic that led to protests in the country. It was them (the United States) who started it with the statement in Washington and the discourse of the Ambassador in Managua." Below are excerpts of the statements made by the the U.S. Department of State, Ambassador Callahan, and Senator Kerry. On October 22nd, the United States Department of State issued a statement expressing concern about the situation in Nicaragua:
We share the concern of many Nicaraguans that this situation is part of a larger pattern of questionable and irregular governmental actions, beginning before the flawed municipal elections of November 2008, that threatens to undermine the foundations of Nicaraguan democracy and calls into question the Nicaraguan government's commitment to uphold the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The ruling appears to short circuit, through legal maneuverings, the open and transparent consideration by the Nicaraguan people of the possibility for presidential re-election. As we approach the first anniversary of the November 2008 municipal elections, it is important to note that decisions that have such a profound impact on democratic governance should be taken in a manner that fosters a sense of legitimacy and ownership among those who are governed. Attempts to short circuit constitutional authority, regardless of ideology or country, threaten democratic governance and are of concern to all members of the Organization of American States.
The United States' ambassador to Nicaragua, Robert Callahan, told a group of businessmen that "From our point of view, the Supreme Court acted improperly and with unusual speed, in secret, with the participation of judges from only one political movement and without any public debate or discussion." In response to the protests outside the U.S. Embassy, Ambassador Callahan announced that he will not leave Managua, despite calls for him to be expelled. "I am staying here to continue my functions as the U.S. Ambassador," he said. He also noted that "no one has the right to attack an embassy; an embassy is sovereign territory of another country and the protests were violent... Protest yes, but please, peacefully." Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also condemned the recent ruling by the Nicaraguan Supreme Court and compared President Ortega to the leaders of the de facto government in Honduras:
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's manipulation of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court this week to circumvent constitutional limits on his term in office reeks of the authoritarianism of the past. Coming on the heels of universally condemned municipal elections last year, his power grab deepens a crisis that Nicaragua can ill afford. Nicaragua and Honduras are obviously different, but unconstitutional actions are unacceptable anywhere. President Ortega appears to be following the cues of the coup-plotters in Honduras, where the president of the Congress and the military have manipulated the Supreme Court to rationalize a coup d'etat, resist the restoration of democracy, and impose martial law repression.