After persecuting and censoring the traditional press, Nicaragua is now attacking Catholic radio stations in a campaign against the Church’s presence in the country.
Last month, expulsion of nuns images A member of the Charity Society Missionaries, an order founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, shocked the world when the nuns were escorted by the police to leave the country on foot.
Ignoring the repercussions of the case, Nicaraguan authorities this week shut down media outlets affiliated with the Catholic Church and occupied religious temples to seize broadcast equipment.
Nicaragua priest locks himself in church
The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) condemned on social media the actions of the Nicaraguan police against the Church and Catholic radio stations.
On Monday 1, security forces occupied the Menino Jesus de Praga church and the Divine Mercy church, both located in the city of Sébaco in Matagalpa in the north of the country.
In the chapel, Sébaco’s Catholic Radio, one of the Diocese’s seven stations. matagalpa Hours before the invasion, all these radios were shut down by the Instituto Nicaraguense de Telecomunicações e Correios (Telcor) on the grounds that the vehicles were not licensed to operate.
Affected stations: Radio Hermanos, Radio Santa Lucia in Ciudad Darío, Radio Catolica in Sébaco, Radio Estranges in San Dionísio, Radio San José in Matiguas, Radio Monte Carmelo in Río Blanco and Radio Nuestra Señora de La Dalia Lourdes
In a note, Cenidh denied the authorities’ claims, stating that the required documents were submitted by Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, in charge of the diocese and vehicles, in 2016.
???? In the social networks of the Diocese of Matagalpa, information is circulating about 5 radio stations led by Monsenor Rolando Álvarez, which we consider to be another PROVOCACIÓN action of the Ortega Murillo dynasty against the Catholic Church. pic.twitter.com/6B9ujp8fXj
— Cenidh (@cenidh) August 1, 2022
With the revocation of licenses Telcor went to the Infant Jesus church in Prague to confiscate equipment used in the police press.
However, according to the information received from the Confidencial portal, the believers of the church went to the venue beforehand and removed the materials on the radio.
Despite this, the police occupied the chapel and fired tear gas to disperse the people there. There have been reports of arrests and injuries in the act, although authorities have not confirmed the figures reported by religious and human rights groups.
Friends, loyal vegan, I am being harassed; the police raped candados de ña Capilla to enter where the equipment would take them. The police are attacking the believers inside the school. pic.twitter.com/RdDZ5IdizL
— Pbro Uriel Vallejos (@pbrourielv) August 2, 2022
Father Uriel Vallejos locked himself in one of the rooms and posted on Twitter until Wednesday 3rd that he remained inside the church to prevent the destruction of Catholic Radio.
According to the news published on social media, the police followed the scene and turned off the light to get the priest out.
We’re in the dark, I cut off the curved light of the house. pic.twitter.com/OZQF1upmcJ
— Pbro Uriel Vallejos (@pbrourielv) August 2, 2022
Father Uriel reported on the siege he was in throughout the week, with the presence of the police in the chapel. Once, the police tried to break into the room he was staying in, but failed.
There are a lot of police officers inside and outside the chapel,” he tweeted. There is also a school run by the clergy for the same reason as the church, and classes were interrupted by the intervention of the police.
URGENT! WARNING ???????? pic.twitter.com/7Ou086Mx8m
— Pbro Uriel Vallejos (@pbrourielv) August 2, 2022
Cenidh condemned the police action and urged authorities to “stop using tear gas against the Catholic population, as the duty is to protect Nicaraguans, not attack them.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also said it was aware that Catholic radio stations had been shut down following a “violent police action” and urged the government to “immediately stop” the crackdown on Nicaraguan citizens.
In an interview with Confidencial, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez said he is ready to fight the censorship of radio stations in the diocese.
“All our radios are turned off. But the Word of God will not be silenced.”
“All our radios are turned off to us. Pero la Palabra de Dios, no la callarán”. mgr. Roland José.
— Monsenor Rolando José Alvarez L. (@DiocesisdeMat) August 2, 2022
Religious persecution intensified in 2018
A little more than six months after Daniel Ortega’s re-election, the situation of press freedom in Nicaragua shows no signs of improvement, and the case of Catholic radio stations is just one of many recent examples in the country.
The country ranks 160th in the press freedom rankings of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which lists 180 countries.
According to the RSF, local journalism “continues to face a nightmare of censorship, intimidation and threats” in which journalists are subjected to harassment, arbitrariness, arrest and death threats, so many have gone into exile.
Also Read | Nicaragua’s largest newspaper pulls entire team out of the country as it is harassed by Ortega’s government
The Confidencial website highlights that persecution of the Catholic Church intensified in 2018, when the Catholic Church condemned human rights abuses against the population of Nicaragua.
This year, however, the regime has further increased the pressure on religious people. In July, 18 nuns from the Charity Missionaries were deported from the country and forced to cross the Costa Rican border on foot.
The group has been operating in the country since 1988 and has established a home for needy girls, a home for the elderly, and a home for young children.
That same week, the government ordered the closure of 100 nonprofits. Ortega has shut down more than 900 NGOs in the country since protests demanding his resignation in 2018.
Also Read | Journalism crisis worsens in Nicaragua, under new six-month Ortega government
source: Noticias
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