COSTA
RICA -
NICARAGUA
CONFLICT
Nicaraguans
Demonstrate
Their
Support
For
Ortega's
Position
On
Border
Dispute
To show
their
support
for
Daniel
Ortega
and his
firm
stand on
keeping
the
troops
in place
on the
Isla
Calero,
thousands
of
Nicaraguans
hit the
streets
on
Tuesday.
Demonstrators
travelled
more
than 4
kilometres
on foot
and
vehicles
to
Managua
to
Nicaragua's
foreign
ministry
office
of
Samuel
Santos
in
Managua.
Waving
flags
and
shouting
slogans
supporting
president
Ortega's
stand on
the San
Juan
river
dispute
with
Costa
Rica,
the show
of
support
confirmed
Ortega's
growth
in
popularity
over the
past
week.
"The San
Juan is
100%
Nica",
was the
common
phrase
heard
over and
over.
President
Ortega,
who some
say the
dispute
is the
start of
regaining
his
popularity
in his
re-election
bid, has
rallied
Nicaraguans
against
Costa
Rica's
claim of
the San
Juan
river.
A fact
that
most
Nicaraguans
on the
streets
yesterday
missed
is that
the
dispute
is not
over
ownership
of the
river,
but
rather
Nicaragua's
occupation
of the
island
by armed
forces
and its
refusal
to
remove
them,
defying
an order
be the
Permanent
Council
of the
Organization
of the
American
States
(OAS).
The
dispute
between
Nicaragua
and
Costa
Rica
began
the last
week in
October
when
Nicaraguan
troops
took
part in
a
dredging
operation
of the
San Juan
river
near the
Caribbean
coast.
The
troops
were
seen
making
camp and
raising
their
flag on
the Isla
Calero,
a piece
of land
claimed
by Costa
Rica.
Nicaragua
says it
belongs
to them.
Follwoing
a visit
by the
Secretary
General
of the
OAS, it
was
ordered
that
Nicaragua
remove
its
troops
and
Costa
Rica
does not
install
its
police
in the
disputed
territory
and that
the two
countries
return
to
dialogue,
a
condition
that
Nicaragua
is
refusing.
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