Dokument #1129304
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
The "Juventud Sandinista 19 de Julio" (19th
July Sandinista Youth) in 1980 was led by Bayardo Arce who was also
the President of the Council of State (Christian 1986, 218).
Arce assumed direction of a broad range of activities having to do
with propaganda and ideology. This covered two crucial areas: the
media and the Sandinistas mass support organization, such as the
block committees and the Sandinista Youth (Ibid.).
According to a representative of the
Comisión Permanente de Derechos Humanos de Nicaragua (CPDHN)
(Permanent Commission for Human Rights In Nicaragua), the
Sandinista Youth movement was active in a belligerent fashion
between 1980 and 1987 on both high school and university campuses
by denouncing (and expelling) teaching staff who were not in accord
with Sandinista Government policies (7 Nov. 1991). Furthermore,
when the obligatory military service (Patriotic Military Service)
was instituted in mid-1983, the Sandinista Youth were active in
drawing up lists of students over the age of 16 eligible for
military service (Ibid.). After the literacy crusade ended
in 1980, "Fernando Cardenal became director of the Sandinista
Youth, a part of the [Frente Sandinista para la Liberación
Nacional] FSLN and a more obviously political part than running the
literacy program" (Christian 1986, 250).
According to the CPDHN representative, the
Sandinista Youth were acting under the orders of Sandinista army
officers (7 Nov. 1991).
The problems between the Permanent Commission [for Human Rights] and the Sandinistas worsened after Gonzalez, during a trip to Europe in early 1981, met with Pope John Paul II and told him that Nicaragua
had eight hundred political prisoners ...
When Gonzalez got back to Managua on February 13, several hundred
supporters, including leaders of opposition political parties and
various trade unions, went to the airport to meet him. But several
hundred members of the Sandinista Youth and other pro-Sandinista
elements rode onto the airport grounds in army troop trucks, and a
slugfest resulted (Christian 1986. 327).
Today, according to the CPDHN
representative, the Sandinista Youth is still active on high school
and university campuses but there is no direct relationship between
the Army and the Sandinista Youth (7 Nov. 1991).
The same source added that in 1980-81, the
Sandinista Youth were backed up by the state's security apparatus
and although participation in the movement was theoretically
voluntary, it facilitated access to state-sponsored scholarships
and other benefits (7 Nov. 1991). At that time, withdrawing from
the Sandinista Youth would have been perceived by other members of
the organization as an act of treason (the person would be
considered a traitor by other members) and with the influence of
the security forces, the person could have been subjected to
pressure tactics to resume participation (Ibid.).
Today, the Sandinista Youth is faced with
opposition from other youth organizations and although
participation is voluntary the movement is less active
(Ibid.). The same source added that the situation today is
very complex and that it is possible that someone who in the past
may have rejected the Sandinista Youth may still be seen as an
enemy by active Sandinista Youth members (Ibid.).
In 1980-81, the relationship between the
FSLN and the army was a direct one with the head of the army
(Humberto Ortega) being among one of the top members of the ruling
junta (Ibid.).
Currently, the constitutional head of the
armed forces is the President of the Republic, Violeta Barrios de
Chamorro, although Humberto Ortega still maintains the Defense
Minister's position. When Violeta Barrios de Chamorro assumed the
presidency in April 1990, in exchange for respecting the integrity
of the EPS (Ejército Popular Sandinista) and the Ministry of
the Interior ... Chamorro received three things [one of which
being] ... the security forces would be "depoliticized": no member
of the armed forces would be allowed to hold a leadership position
in a political party and all parties would be free to proselytize
among the rank and file (Norsworthy 1990. 53).
According to the CPDHN representative, it
is still too early to tell whether the two roles have been
differentiated (Ibid.). Following the above-mentioned
agreement, Humberto Ortega resigned from the FSLN but his motives
are questioned as the resignation could signal an attempt to
convert himself into the sole leader of the army
(Ibid.).
Further information on the subject could
not be found among the sources currently available to the
IRBDC.
Bibliography
Christian, Shirley. 1986.
Nicaragua, Revolution in the Family. New York: Vintage
Books.
Comisión Permanente de Derechos
Humanos de Nicaragua (CPDHN), Managua, Nicaragua. 7 November 1991.
Telephone Interview with a Representative.
Norsworthy, Kent. 1990. Nicaragua: A
Country Guide. Albuquerque, New Mexico: The Inter-Hemispheric
Education Resource Center.
Attachments
Angel, William D. 1990. Youth
Movements of the World. Essex: Longman Publishers. Pp.
403-404.
Norsworthy, Kent. 1990. Nicaragua: A
Country Guide. Albuquerque, New Mexico: The Inter-Hemispheric
Education Resource Center. Pp. 50-55.