NICARAGUA: Suspension of Ortega’s Immunity, an Acid Test

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Roberto Fonseca

MANAGUA, May 28 1998 (IPS) - The main obstacle standing in the way of the rape charges against former Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega will be the legislature, which must consider whether to suspend the immunity he enjoys as a parliamentary deputy, say activists who support Zoilamerica Narvaez.

Narvaez, Ortega’s stepdaughter, filed a lawsuit against the leader of the opposition Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and former president (1984-90) Wednesday on charges of abuse, sexual harassment and rape. The case has deeply shaken and divided Nicaraguan society.

Narvaez also went to a civilian court to seek annulment of her legal adoption by Ortega, in order to sever the last link to her stepfather.

The 31-year-old Narvaez was accompanied on her visit to the courts by representatives of human rights groups and the Women’s Network against Sexual Violence, which expressed their support for the charges.

A group of sympathisers demonstrated in the courtroom building with placards reading “Ortega, rapist!”, while another group confronted her with shouts of “liar” and “tramp.”

Narvaez provided the organisations backing her with a 40-page document containing detailed accounts of 18 years of supposed sexual harassment and abuse at the hands of Ortega.

“We will closely follow the lawsuit and make sure justice is not obstructed, either by the courts or the legislature,” Lino Hernandez, executive director of the Permanent Human Rights Commission (CPDH), told IPS. “If there is any obstruction, we will turn to international forums of justice.”

In Hernandez’ view, the National Assembly (parliament) could become the main obstacle standing in the way of the lawsuit, because Ortega, as a parliamentary deputy, enjoys immunity and can neither be arrested or sued.

“No one’s immunity has been suspended up to now, in spite of around 30 requests that have piled up since 1997. There is a kind of tacit understanding among the deputies to block these cases, because they are afraid they will backfire against them,” said Hernandez.

According to parliamentary procedures, the request for suspension of immunity must be submitted in writing to the Secretariat of the National Assembly, which then reports on the case to a six-member board controlled by the governing Liberal Alliance. If the board decides that the request is well-founded, it sets up a Special Commission to draw up the ruling, after a month in which evidence is provided and the legislators in question put forth their defence.

But it is the plenary session of the National Assembly which ultimately decides whether to suspend the lawmakers, with 47 votes needed to approve or reject the decision.

Former legislative aide Angela Rosa Acevedo said the request for the suspension of Ortega’s immunity would be an “acid test” for the National Assembly before society as a whole.

“The legislative plenary session is sovereign. It can reject the request for suspension of immunity, arguing that it was not well-founded, but that would be the last straw,” Acevedo remarked. “Publicly…it would be counterproductive.”

But she said “a political accord” could be reached by the ruling party legislators and the opposition, as has already occurred in the past. However, that would feed into the negative image that opinion polls indicate the public holds of parliament.

In a survey sponsored in 1997 by the Swedish Agency for International Development, the Institute of Nicaraguan Studies found that 58.7 percent of those interviewed considered parliament “absolutely useless,” while 31.2 percent described it as “slightly” useful.

Narvaez claimed she feared for her life and those of her supporters. The Network of Women against Sexual Violence came out on her behalf after hearing her testimony, in which she describes Ortega as a sadist.

“I cried when I heard the testimony, and I have worked with abused children for five years,” Lorna Norori, a Network psychologist, told IPS. “It is a heartrending story. It is the cry of a girl who was abused from a tender age, and who still reflects the sequelae.”

“In 1986, at age 19, after eight years of abuse, I was adopted as Daniel Ortega’s daughter with my mother’s consent,” said Narvaez.

“A few days later, he told me that act signified a bond similar to that of marriage. We had become entwined. It was a kind of marriage. In other words, I bore his surname not because I was his daughter, but because I was his sex object,” she added.

The leftist FSLN has rejected Narvaez’ testimony. And Rafael Ortega, the plaintiff’s brother, accused her of being “mentally unbalanced”, a pathological liar and even an “extraterrestrial.”

“All of this is a political campaign, a publicity stunt to destroy the FSLN’s top leader. My sister is a pathological liar and likes to present herself as a victim. That is the truth,” Ortega, who for years formed part of his stepfather’s bodyguard, told a press conference.