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From: ekrell@ucla-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Human rights in Nicaragua
Message-ID: <8895@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 12-Feb-86 00:23:37 EST
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.8895
Posted: Wed Feb 12 00:23:37 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Feb-86 07:33:44 EST
References: <334@gargoyle.UUCP>
Reply-To: ekrell@ucla-cs.UUCP (Eduardo Krell)
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 25
Keywords: Totalitarianism, torture, censorship, repression, terror

In article <334@gargoyle.UUCP> carnes@gargoyle.UUCP (Richard Carnes) writes:
>While prior censorship has been imposed
>by emergency legislation, debate on major social and political
>questions is robust, outspoken, often even strident.

Press censorship in Nicaragua has no other target other than shut off any
attempts by the opposition to speak out. There is no such thing as outspoken
political debate in Nicaragua today. A first signal of such a thing would be
to have some degree of freedom of the press, which is non-existant.

>In "totalitarian" Nicaragua] the Catholic Church and
>several Protestant denominations not only operate independently in
>Nicaragua but express their views freely on both religious matters
>and every conceivable secular issue;

This is the biggest lie I have heard in a long time. Not only have the
Sandinistas shut down the church owned radio station but they now censor
the sunday sermons by the priests.

It is also interesting that the latest report by Amnesty International
on Nicaragua (just off the press) criticizes BOTH the contras AND the
Sandinistas for human rights violations.
--
    Eduardo Krell               UCLA Computer Science Department
    ekrell@ucla-locus.arpa      ..!{sdcrdcf,ihnp4,trwspp,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!ekrell