In a break from traditional non-involvement in handling of affairs by governments abroad, the Abinader administration through its Ministry of Foreign Relations has issued a statement on the election in Nicaragua.
Recently, the Dominican Republic sided with Panama and Costa Rica on the Haitian crisis. The Dominican participation and the future of the System of Central American Integration (SICA) is on the line. The Dominican Republic joined the regional block SICA after Caricom rejected the country after discussions related to Haitian issues and other matters.
The statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Relations reads:
“In line with one of Dominican foreign policy main lines of action, that of defending and promoting democracy and human rights, the government rejects the election simulation carried out by the Nicaraguan government this past Sunday, 7 November.
“This electoral process lacked the minimum guarantees necessary to qualify it as fair, free and competitive; since it was marked by the arrests of numerous important leaders of the opposition and Nicaraguan social movements, the breakdown of institutionalism, as well as unjustified restrictions against the media and civil society.
“According to Article 1 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, democracy is an established right of the peoples of the Americas and an obligation of all states to promote and defend it. As Article 5 states: ‘The strengthening of political parties and other political organizations is a priority for democracy.’
“The Dominican government cannot remain silent in the face of situations that threaten the basic pillars of democracy, whose raison d’être is precisely to ensure that political struggles take place within the framework of respect for the rule of law and the guarantees necessary for the enforcement of fundamental freedoms.
“We urge the Nicaraguan government to release political prisoners and to take appropriate actions to return to the path of democracy. We call on the authorities to put the interests of Nicaragua first and work to guarantee the full enjoyment of human rights.
“The countries of the continent must adopt, within the framework of the rules of the Organization of American States (OAS), all necessary actions to protect Nicaraguan democracy, generating a space for political dialogue that allows the return to democratic constitutionality.”
Listin Diario points out that the Abinader administration had previously taken a stand in the case of Nicaragua. “The Dominican government has taken a surprising turn from its conservative international policy to assume frontal positions towards other countries with which it has traditionally maintained good diplomatic relations,” reports the story in Listín Diario.
Listin Diario recalls the Ministry of Foreign Relations has also made official remarks in the cases of Haiti, Venezuela and China.
Read more in Spanish:
Ministry of Foreign Relations
Listin Diario
10 November 2021