Human Rights Action Alert: Help North American in Nicaragua

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 19:36:11 -0500
From: Barbara Larcom <larcom@bcpl.net>

(Note:  When you read this, you may ask how Nicaraguan President Arnoldo
Aleman could justify his actions.  My answer is that he has a history of
working against NGO programs which work to help poor people.  This is
probably because generally the poor do not vote for candidates of his
party, the Liberal Constitutional Party.)


We have been asked to intervene on behalf of Dorothy Granada, an
American nurse, who has been working in Nicaragua for 11 years.  She has
established and is maintaining a clinic in a rural area of central
Nicaragua, 'The Women's Clinic of Mulukuku,' which serves about 30,000
people without respect to party affiliation.  Without the clinic these
would have no
health care facility.  Now the government of Arnoldo Aleman is trying to
arrest her and deport her.  They claim that the clinic is illegal and
that it only serves Sandinista supporters, which is completely untrue.
As a result of this Dorothy is in hiding in Nicaragua.

Please do three things

1. Call the Nicaraguan Ambassador to the United States at (202) 939
6570.  Tell him that you are a concerned citizen (anda member of a
religious community, if you are) and that you urge his government to
permit Dorothy Granada to continue her work at the clinic.  The
Ambassador's name is Francisco Aguirre, who, we have been told, is
sympathetic to Dorothy's cause but needs to hear from a lot of people in
support of her.  Tell him that you are also contacting your House
Representative and the State Dept. about her case.  Be sure not to
mention anything negative about Nicaragua in your letter to the
Ambassador or he will not be able to use it as documentation to Aleman
about the response of people here.
Address and Fax:
Ambassador  Francisco Aguirre
Embassy of Nicaragua
1627 New Hampshire Ave.
Washington, DC 20009
fax: 202 939-6542

2. Call your Representative in Congress about Dorothy's situation and
urge that the U.S. government take action to discourage Nicaragua from
deporting Dorothy (or CC your letter to the Ambassador to the U.S.
officials.)

A message such as the following would be appropriate: "We would
appreciate your efforts in urging the US Embassy and the US State
Department to intervene on Dorothy's behalf in requesting  information
on the reasons for her deportation order and urge that the order be
lifted, allowing Dorothy to return to work. We also hope that your
message will be transmitted directly
to the President of Nicaragua."

3. And if you have time, call the Nicaragua Desk of the State Department
urging the same thing.


P.S. What follows is extracted from a recent email from the Nicaragua
Network giving background about the situation:

U.S. NURSE FIGHTS DEPORTATION FROM NICARAGUA

President Alemán Shuts Down Only Health Clinic in Rural Area

Dorothy Granada, a U.S. citizen who has been living and working in
Nicaragua for 11 years, is locked in a battle with the President of
Nicaragua over her right to remain in that country and continue
providing health care to impoverished women and children.  The
70-year-old nurse is director of a women's health clinic in Mulukuku, a
rural town in central Nicaragua.  On a recent visit to Mulukuku,
Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Alemán, falsely stated that the clinic
served only supporters of the
Sandinista Party.  He promised an investigation and threatened the
clinic staff with imprisonment.  Alemán, leader of the right wing
Liberal Party, then directed several government agencies to begin
deportation proceedings against Granada, a native of California.

Supporters of Dorothy Granada in the United States and Nicaragua have
mounted a major campaign to defend Granada and the Women's Clinic in
Mulukuku, but thus far the Aleman government seems undeterred.  In
recent days it formally rescinded Granada's residency status and issued
a warrant for her arrest, claiming she was "working against the
government" and was a
"threat to national security."  President Alemán also declared the
Women's Clinic to be "illegal" and ordered it shut down.

Granada is in hiding as pressure against the government grows.  Her
plight has been front page news in Nicaraguan newspapers and on Tuesday
three separate commissions of Nicaragua's National Assembly heard
testimony from her supporters in Mulukuku.  The witnesses included five
former members of the anti-Sandinista "contra" army who declared that
their lives had been saved by Granada and the clinic she manages.  This
belied the government's claim that the clinic serves only Sandinistas.
After the hearings, the Human Rights Commission of the National Assembly
stated that it will begin an investigation into the situation in
Mulukuku.

"Dorothy Granada is a saint, not an enemy of the state," said Dr. Jill
Winegardner, a member of the Women's Empowerment Network, based in Santa
Cruz, California.  "Her only desire is to provide health care for poor
Nicaraguans who desperately need it."  Granada is the only nurse in a
region where there are no doctors and where no government health care
programs exist.

"This is a clear violation of human rights," said Vilma Nuñez, president
of a major human rights group in Nicaragua.  "To expel Granada is to
deny 30,000 people the right to health care."

U.S. supporters of Dorothy Granada's work in Nicaragua have generated
hundreds of  faxes and calls to the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua, which has
stated its support for Granada.  Several U.S. Senators and
Representatives have also intervened on her behalf.

"Public support continues to be crucial," said Dr. Jill Winegardner, who
has been coordinating emergency response efforts in the United States.
"We are encouraging people to call their Congressional representatives
and ask them to make inquiries to the U.S. Embassy in Managua and the
State Department in Washington," stated Winegardner.  "This is not just
a Nicaraguan issue.  This is a violation of international human rights
and should be treated accordingly."