NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY lion dollars.
But in spite of all the outrages and aggression, the people of Nicaragua and the Sandinista front are determined to hold the first free election in the history of our country. And we are prepared to
Danish peace movement defends Nicaragua support all the efforts for peace made by the so-called Contadora group. Likewise, we are determined to continue our program of democratization in Nicaragua. [Applause.]
The problem in Central America does not lie in El Salvador or Nicaragua but in the United States, where an aggressive
The first in Western Europe to stop the new nuclear missiles, the Danis peace movement has also taken the lead in defense of Nicaragua. position can have an important impact on the antimissiles movement in
It was in the B-and-W shipyard can-
The entire hall was alive with exchairs, and a roar of applause greeted the dark man in a striped suit who had just gone to the podium. He had not yet said anything, and anyway it could not have been heard. The crowd's sympathy for him, or more precisely for the cause and the country he represented, was simply so overwhelming that they had to express it by clapping in unison.
And the sympathy was returned. For a moment, his face lost its gravity and it shone with happiness and appreciation. From the speakers stand, he clapped back at his unknown friends in the chairs below.
His name was Jorge Jenkins. He was the ambassador to Stockholm of the Nicaraguan workers and peasants, and the day was the midpoint of the biggest conference of the peace movement yet held in Denmark. His presence in itself in the B-and-W canteen that Sunday afternoon where over 900 peace activists, mainly from the unions, were gathered showed the development that has taken place in the Danish peace movement.
The peace movement is no longer only concerned about the stepup in the nuclear arms race. It has also begun to take the anti-imperialist struggle seriously, in particular the fight that the Nicaraguan workers and peasants are waging.
Jorge Jenkins had no doubts about it. After a two-minute standing ovation, he went to the microphone, and all around the room you could hear people calling for quiet. Suddenly, the canteen fell silent.
* * *
"Companeros! Kammerater!
On behalf of my people and of the Sandinista revolution, I thank you for your expression of solidarity. It is a great pleasure for me to be able to be with you today to share with you our concern for peace in the world.
Many of you may ask what connection there is between the danger of a nuclear war in Europe and the war in Central America.
The answer is that both dangers have the same source. It is the aggressive Reagan administration in Washington that flicts everywhere in the world.
The government that is now installing deadly first-strike weapons in Western Europe is the same Grenada and is waging war in the Middle East and in Central America, right now in El Salvador and Nicaragua.
In this same aggressive attitude, the administration in Washington is taking the liberty of using violence against independent nations such as Nicaragua, whose harbors it has mined. The Reagan administration in fact has become so insolent that - even though it has an ambassador in Nicaragua and we have one in Washington - it is openly discussing how many million dollars it should give to support the contras who are terrorizing the people of Nicaragua.
Now, I ask you. fidence can you have in such people? Adventurist, greedy, grasping people that they are, they have thrown everything into regaining the military prestige that they lost in Vietnam.
In the last year alone, about twelve hundred people were killed in Nicaragua in armed clashes with the contras. material losses mounted up to 300 milregime has flatly rejected all peace proposals in favor of a military solution.
In Nicaragua, a revolution is underway that is changing the society from top to bottom. This process is an example for many other peoples who would like to be in a similar situation. So, Nicaragua is not alone. A concrete example is the group of Danes who have come to Nicaragua to mount a peace watch on our border with Honduras. I would like you to clap for these people who are risking their lives to show solidarity with Nicaragua. [Applause.]
By their example they are showing that Nicaragua does not stand alone. They are helping Nicaragua preserve the peace in our region. This is an example that will always be remembered in Nicaragua and in Denmark.
We are a small country that has been forced to defend ourselves and our revolution. And let it be clear. We are prepared to defend our revolution for as long as need be. But it should be stressed that our arming is for defense. The war we are waging now is one that has been forced on us.
The Nicaraguan people are a peaceful people. They have fought for forty years to get where we are today. We will not give that up. We will fight to keep what we have gained. How can we do otherwise when more than 50,000 Nicaraguans lost their lives in the last phase of our struggle for liberation:
The best kind of war is one that does not happen. Civilized nations are trying to solve conflicts in the world through
Nicaragua is trying to follow the peaceful road.
Patria o Muerte! Our country or
Then the crowd exploded again. The 900 participants in the conference rose spontaneously and clapped in unison. There was no doubt about their sympathy. The Danish peace movement supports the Nicaraguan people's struggle against imperialism, for social justice and human dignity.
The participants in the conference adopted a resolution of support for Nicaragua. They demanded that Denmark immediately increase its aid to the coun try. And they voted to turn over the surplus in the conference funds, 5,500 Crowns [about 500 US dollars] to the Peace Watch Initiative.