Several NGOs criticized the Ortega government have been outlawed in Nicaragua

Managua, 17 Mar 2022 (AFP) - The Nicaraguan parliament, controlled by the government, banned 25 NGOs on Thursday, several of them criticizing Daniel Ortega's government, but also a humanitarian organization that performs free surgeries on children with cleft palates. of the Oenegés was approved with the vote of 74 of the 91 deputies of the National Assembly (AN, parliament), where the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN, left) is a majority.According to a report submitted by the Ministry of the Interior, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) affected by the measure “did not report their states according to the law against money laundering and terrorist financing.” For the government, many of these entities are used for foreign funding of plans to destabilize Ortega, a former guerrilla in power since 2007 and re-elected for a fourth consecutive term last year, in disputed elections Nor did they “promote a policy of transparency in the execution of funds,” argued the ministry, which supervises these entities.Among the NGOs that lost their legal personality are centers that defend human rights, freedom of the press, care for the environment and women's rights. were inactive, including the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation (FVBCH), created in 1997 to promote freedom of the press, which closed in February 2021.The FVBCH was named after former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (1990-1997) and was led by the daughter of the former president, the former opponent of the Christian presidency Chamorro.She is under house arrest and was recently convicted of money laundering during her tenure in that entity.Chamorro, one of more than 40 opponents arrested last year before the November elections, rejects the charges and assures that the government's goal was to remove her from the contest because her The Humboldt Center, which reported several cases of environmental pollution and deforestation; the Association of Journalists of Nicaragua (APN), which brought together journalists critical of the government; and even the humanitarian Operation Smile, were also closed. -Defenselessness- The deputy of the indigenous party Yatama (mother earth, in the Miskito language) Broklyn Rivera, declared himself “surprised” by the cancellation of the legal status of these civil society entities and considered that it “leaves vulnerable sectors of the population who benefited from their services defenseless.Johana Aguilar, mother of a girl operated on of cleft palate and cleft lip through the Operación Sonrisa program, declared his uncertainty to continue the treatment of his daughter.” We don't have money to buy the devices they give us for free, or to pay a dentist,” Aguilar told the AFP.With the closure of this NGO, “many parents are going to have to look for other ways to follow up therapy and care for children” attended by Operación Sonrisa, said Angelica Lezama, another mother with a child. operated. -Collection of accounts- “In the background there are clear signs that they are taking the toll on those agencies, because at some point they criticized the government's leadership and supported the popular uprising of 2018,” lawmaker Rivera said.The legislator mentioned the case of the Humboldt Center, which for years worked with indigenous communities in the department of Jinotega (north) in issues of environment and defense of their natural resources, critical of government action in those territories.About 140 NGOs and institutions have been outlawed to date since 2018, when anti-government protests broke out, the repression of which left at least 355 dead, according to humanitarian groups. about twenty private universities stand out, such as the Polytechnic University of Nicaragua (UPOLI), which was a symbol of the anti-government student protests of 2018.bm/mav/llu/cjc