Thousands March for
Nicaragua's Ortega After
Protest
MANAGUA (Reuters) - Tens
of thousands of people
filled Nicaragua's
capital on Saturday to
celebrate the country's
1979 leftist revolution,
giving a lift to
President Daniel Ortega
as his government faces
simmering protests.
Waving red and black
flags and cheering under
exploding fireworks, the
crowd heard a barrage of
speeches by the region's
leftist leaders,
including Venezuela's
President Hugo Chavez.
Ortega, a former Marxist
guerrilla and Cold
War-era foe of the
United States, was
elected for a second
stint in power in 2006.
But opposition groups
have organized large
marches against him in
recent weeks for banning
two small political
parties from local
elections and failing to
keep down rising food
and energy prices,
hitting poverty stricken
Nicaragua hard.
Chavez, a vocal critic
of President George W.
Bush, said any internal
opposition came from
U.S. "lackeys."
Wearing his signature
red shirt, Chavez was
flanked by Paraguayan
President-elect Fernando
Lugo.
This week an alliance of
conservatives and
center-leftists
disillusioned with
Ortega's leadership
organized the biggest
protest he has faced
since returning to
power.
But the anniversary
rally drew thousands
more people and Chavez
brushed off Ortega's
detractors.
"The march staged
against you recently was
repeated 100 times in
the media and
overblown," said Chavez.
"Here today are the
people of Nicaragua, the
people are united."
Ortega, who fought
U.S.-backed Contra
rebels in the 1980s
after his Sandinista
revolution ousted the
Anastasio Somoza
dictatorship, said his
movement had passed
through "difficult
moments" before and
triumphed.
The Nicaraguan leader
has irked U.S.-ally
Colombia with a recent
offer to negotiate with
that country's guerrilla
force, the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC.
Ortega, whose government
has an ongoing
territorial dispute with
Colombia over some small
islands, said the armed
group was open to talks.
Some political analysts
say the FARC is on the
brink of defeat, having
been weakened by the
Colombian military's
jungle rescue of their
most high-profile
hostages this month. |
