Bishop scathing of Sandinist ‘oppression’

Press, 26 October 1984, Page 8

Bishop scathing of Sandinist ‘oppression’

NZPA-NYT Managua A leading Nicaraguan Catholic bishop issued a statement yesterday that criticised the Sandinist Government and said that it was not sincerely seeking peace and was imposing “new oppressions.” The Most Rev. Pablo Antonio Vega, of Juigalpa, who heads Nicaragua’s conference of bishops, said that Sandinist ideology “promotes and institutionalises violence” and sought to implant “systems that the people have not accepted or chosen.”

At a news conference he said that the 16-page statement represented his personal views. It did not have the status of a pastoral letter since five of the 10 Nicaraguan bishops were out of the country. An aide to the Primate, Archbishop Miguel Obando y Bravo, of Managua, who is in Rome, said that he had read the statement and supported it.

Six months ago all 10 bishops issued a pastoral letter criticising the Government and urging that talks be opened with the rebels. That statement was denounced by the Sandinists; Some of Bishop Vega’s language in the statement released yesterday

appeared even stronger than that used by the bishops in April. His statement was considered likely to increase friction between the Government and the Church. In July the Government expelled 10 foreignborn priests on the ground that they had engaged in subversion. Another priest, Fr Luis Amado Pena, a Nicaraguan, was held under house arrest for three months on charges of coun-ter-revolutionary activity, but was released last week.

Officials reached yesterday said that they had not read Bishop Vega’s statement. The pro-Govemment press has been urging the bishops to take a stand against the United States for supporting the rebels and to refrain from proposing “illogical ideas such as dialogue with the murderers of the people." The newspaper, “El Nuevo Diario,” said last month: “There are fears among Christians that the coming pastoral letter will not have this content, and that instead it will echo the campaign being waged by small economic, political and business groups.” Bishop Vega’s statement did not condemn the United States. “After five years of euphoric illusions, revolu-

tionary myths, and painful deviations, Nicaragua is now a living lesson for the entire continent,” he said. “Once again, it is proven that ideological dogmatisms and materialistic schemes do not meet human needs. They are mechanisms for domination, plans that disregard the fundamental rights of all people. They see man as nothing more than an ‘instrument of labour,’ one more ‘soldier’ for their goal of world domination.”

The Government portrays itself as dedicated to peace, but Bishop Vega questioned its sincerity in seeking an end to the strife that has killed more than 10,000 people in three years. “At whatever cost and regardless of any holocaust it could cause for our ale, contrary to public irations about ‘peace efforts,’ all alternatives that mean acceptance of a civilian path are closed. Efforts remain only that — ‘efforts,’ signs of good will, ‘possible solutions.’

“If sincerity is lacking, can credibility be expected? If the necessary actions are not taken and life is based on ideological dogmatism, can we really speak of true openings, of alternatives based on human rights? “It is said and repeated

that all these calamities and wars are caused only by ‘foreign aggression,’ of an imperialism that is the enemy of humanity. “The people, for their part, ask: To what imperialism belong those who impose a regime that plunders, jails and issues constant calls to arms? Who has decided this? Who has made the choice to move from one system to another, without regard to true needs or the practical possibilities of implanting one system or another?”

Bishop Vega said that free elections were difficult when people had “lost their sense of freedom.”

“Don’t our people have more than enough experience voting without being able to change any of the situations that afflict them?” he said. At the news conference, he said: “Free expression means being able to say yes or no, not just yes.” Bishop Vega said that he had been unable to obtain statistics on the number of people who have died in prison or have disappeared. He complained about limitations on press freedom and said that people were being placed on trial on the basis of “insulting and degrading accusations.”