[lbo-talk] abuse allegations

Yoshie Furuhashi critical.montages at gmail.com
Fri Oct 27 09:06:26 PDT 2006


On 10/27/06, James Heartfield <Heartfield at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> At the risk of reopening an argument, I wonder if Jesse Lemisch would say
> that Zoilamerica Narvaez Murillo's abuse allegations against her stepfather
> Daniel Ortega should stand?
>
> The last thing I heard was that the courts threw the case out on the grounds
> of the statute of limitations, but I might not be up-to-date.
>
> http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1998/int/980323/latin_america.an_ugly_fa3.html

Dismissed due to the statute of limitations, appealed, and apparently still pending.

<blockquote>In 1999, with the help of the CENIDH, Zoilamerica Narvaez filed a complaint with the IACHR against her stepfather, FSLN leader, National Assembly Deputy, and former President Daniel Ortega (a candidate in the November general election) accusing him of sexual molestation and harassment. The case publicized the problems of incest, rape, and women's rights and also highlighted the issue of immunity from prosecution for parliamentary deputies. In 1999 the IACHR officially opened a case in response to Narvaez's complaint and advised the Government that it would be required to respond to the charges; in September 2000, the Government responded that the claims made by Narvaez were unfounded and merited no further investigation. The Government argued that the State did not violate her constitutional rights because the legislative and judicial branches gave her case due consideration. On October 19, the IACHR decided to accept the Narvaez case and was investigating it at year's end. A formal hearing is scheduled for March 2002. On December 12, Ortega renounced his congressional immunity from prosecution to face Narvaez's charges. However, on December 19, Judge Juana Mendez dropped the rape charges against Ortega on the grounds that the 5-year statute of limitations, which began when Narvaez filed her complaint in 1999, not his December renunciation of immunity, had run out. Narvaez appealed the decision, and the case was pending in the courts at year's end. ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -- 2001," 4 March 2002, <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/wha/8315.htm>)</blockquote>

<blockquote>In May the Appeals Court denied the appeal by Zoilamerica Narvaez of the December 2001 decision of Judge Juana Mendez to drop sexual molestation, harassment, and rape charges against Daniel Ortega on the grounds that the 5-year statute of limitations had expired. The case was before the Supreme Court at year's end. On March 4, the IACHR held a hearing on the Narvaez case, focusing on the issue of whether the Government had denied Narvaez due process. The Government subsequently expressed its willingness to accept an "amicable solution" to the dispute, discussions on which were underway at year's end. ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -- 2002," 31 March 2003, <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18339.htm>)</blockquote>

<blockquote>By year's end the Inter-American Court of Human Rights had not ruled on the 2003 complaint of Zoilamerica Narvaez that the government had denied her due process in 2002 by dropping sexual molestation, harassment, and rape charges against her stepfather, former president Daniel Ortega. ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -- 2005," 8 March 2006)<http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61734.htm></blockquote>

Here's another case. In this case, Canberra is apparently using a child sexual abuse allegation to advance its adventure in the Solomons.

<blockquote><http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/olincoln241006.html> Storms over the Pacific by Tom O'Lincoln

Australian Prime Minister John Howard should get a hostile reception at the Pacific Islands Forum this week. His in-your-face imperialism has provoked conflicts in three island nations.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

On 19 October Sogavare accused Canberra of trying to undermine his Government after the Solomons police commissioner, Australian Shane Castles, ordered the arrest of Immigration Minister Peter Shanel. Sogavare warned that he would "deal with" Castles and his fellow Australian, Solicitor-General Nathan Moshinsky.

Now Canberra's cops have literally kicked down Sogavare's door. Meanwhile Moshinsky, unable to impose his will, has returned to Melbourne.

This neo-colonial shambles has its origins in 2003, when Howard seized on internal disorder to launch the so-called Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). This policing and administrative force is made up overwhelmingly of Australians. When they gave it the happy Pidgin sobriquet Helpem Fren (helping friends), I wrote somewhere that one day this would turn into "Kickem butt" -- and so it proved.

A similar attempt to take a stranglehold on policing in Papua New Guinea (the Enhanced Cooperation Program) broke down when the country's Supreme Court refused to exempt Australian cops from local laws. But Canberra is pressing on with plans to consolidate a regional police network under Canberra's hold. The police commissioner in Fiji is Australian Andrew Hughes, and there are a number of Australian-backed "transnational crime units" around the region.

On 16 September Sogavare expelled Australian High Commissioner Patrick Cole for interfering in local politics, particularly an inquiry into riots last April. The Howard Government says the inquiry is skewed to get two jailed MPs, allies of Sogavare, off charges of inciting the riots. That might be true, Mr Howard, but it's still their country.

Canberra next began moves to extradite Solomons Attorney-General Julian Moti from Papua New Guinea. The Australians say they want Moti on child-sex charges. But these charges go back many years, and are apparently full of holes; they were quashed in Vanuatu in 1999 in proceedings involving a number of distinguished judges.1 The reason for reviving them now is to put political pressure on Sogavare.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 David Marr and Marian Wilkinson, "Holes Appear in Case Against Moti," The Age (Melbourne), 7 October 2006. <http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/holes-appear-in-case-against-moti/2006/10/06/1159641533388.html></blockquote> -- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>



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