A Letter from Nicaraguan Political Prisoners

“How many more must die? How many more things must happen? How much more must be lost? Will we all suffer?” The political prisoners ask these agonizing questions in a letter addressed to Nicaragua’s private business council, COSEP.

Transcribed from the letter sent by the political prisoners:

Gentlemen of COSEP [Superior Council of Private Enterprise]

Dear brothers and sisters,

We hope that you and your families are enjoying full well-being amid the Christmas festivities.

After the events that began on April 18th for peace, justice, freedom and the democratization of the country, the  repression currently directed at the people, the absence of the Rule of Law and legal security, the deaths of students and other Nicaraguans, has had a harmful impact on the clamor that the people expressed.

Today, from here – abducted, unjustly deprived of our freedom – we suffer the oppressive reaction of Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship. However, even so, we still remain united and strong with our faith in the people’s struggle and the belief that you, gentlemen, hold in your hands the optimal solution, since after the State, you hold the greatest power.

Today, for the welfare of the country, and in the face of the impending sanctions, the Nicaraguan people exhort and demand a more active participation from the private sector. You have a social responsibility, a duty that must be assumed to resolve the crisis we’re going through. You are the last peaceful hope as the people continue struggling and likewise the international community.

We ask you: How many more must die? How many more things must happen? How much more must be lost? Will we all suffer? As fellow Nicaraguans, we ask that our patriotic duty not be ignored – that duty that calls to us and obligates us to offer some response to the vital urgency of the people’s need. Failing to respond to this would condemn us to a great “moral lapse” and a culpability from which we would never find forgiveness.

“The task is large and the responsibility belongs to all of us;” working together, we’ll succeed in setting Nicaragua upright.

From: the “La Modelo” and “La Esperanza” prisons, Tipitapa.