{"code":"26202","sect":"Central America","sect_slug":"central-america","hits":"214","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202205\/centroamerica\/26202","link_edit":"","name":"Nicaraguan Exilees Remember Mother's Day Massacre","slug":"nicaraguan-exilees-remember-mothers-day-massacre","info":"","mtag":"Impunity","noun":{"html":"Confidencial Nicaragua","data":{"confidencial-nicaragua":{"sort":"","slug":"confidencial-nicaragua","path":"confidencial_nicaragua","name":"Confidencial Nicaragua","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"214","pict":{"cms-image-000037564-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"37564","name":"cms-image-000037564.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037564.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037564.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037564-jpg","text":"<p>The aunt of Marcos Samorio holds up a photo of her nephew. Samorio, a 30-year-old employee of an agricultural business, was shot by Nicaraguan government riot squads on his way home from work on\u00a0Apr. 20, 2018. He succumbed to his wounds in the hospital shortly after, and that night Nicaraguans gathered at Managua's Jean Paul Genie roundabout to mourn those killed by government forces during the mass 2018 protests that began that month. Photo: Fred Ramos\/El Faro<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EThe aunt of Marcos Samorio holds up a photo of her nephew. Samorio, a 30-year-old employee of an agricultural business, was shot by Nicaraguan government riot squads on his way home from work on\u00a0Apr. 20, 2018. He succumbed to his wounds in the hospital shortly after, and that night Nicaraguans gathered at Managua's Jean Paul Genie roundabout to mourn those killed by government forces during the mass 2018 protests that began that month. Photo: Fred Ramos\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000037565-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"37565","name":"cms-image-000037565.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037565.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037565.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037565-jpg","text":"<p>A tribute to the victims of state repression of anti-government protests in Managua's Jean Paul Genie roundabout. Apr. 20, 2018. Photo: Fred Ramos\/El Faro<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EA tribute to the victims of state repression of anti-government protests in Managua's Jean Paul Genie roundabout. Apr. 20, 2018. Photo: Fred Ramos\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":37564,"date":{"live":"2022\/05\/30"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2022","data_post_dateLive_MM":"05","data_post_dateLive_DD":"30","text":"\u003Cp\u003ERelatives of the victims killed amid Nicaragua's 2018 mass anti-government protests reiterated their demand for \u201cjustice without impunity\u201d for the 355 people who died because of the Ortega-Murillo regime\u2019s repression, as reported by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe demand was presented during the tribute \u201cTraces of the Rebellion\u201d, held on Saturday, May 28, in San Jose, Costa Rica. The group, \u201cFriends of the Mothers of April\u201d, organized the event in support of the joint day of action announced by relatives of the victims, in commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the May 30, 2018, Mother\u2019s Day massacre, in which 19 people were killed amid the violence unleashed by the regime.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome of the victims\u2019 relatives who participated in the tribute were: Susana Lopez, mother of Gerald V\u00e1squez; Sof\u00eda Mayorga, grandmother of Noel Calder\u00f3n and mother-in-law of Humberto Parrales; Azucena L\u00f3pez, mother of \u00c9rick Jim\u00e9nez L\u00f3pez; and Martha Lira, mother of Ezequiel Mendoza.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey are not going to silence us. We will continue to struggle to end the Ortega-Murillo regime,\"\u00a0Mayorga, a relative of two of the victims of the 2018 protests, said during the tribute. \"We continue to petition and raise our voices to demand justice without impunity.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\t\t\u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=\"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=2000&ImageHeight=1333&ImageId=37564\" class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"The aunt of Marcos Samorio holds up a photo of her nephew. Samorio, a 30-year-old employee of an agricultural business, was shot by Nicaraguan government riot squads on his way home from work on\u00a0Apr. 20, 2018. He succumbed to his wounds in the hospital shortly after, and that night Nicaraguans gathered at Managua's Jean Paul Genie roundabout to mourn those killed by government forces during the mass 2018 protests that began that month. Photo: Fred Ramos\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"pict__line block edge--ss_lax edge--ss_rax padd--ss_l0x padd--ss_r0x line--ss_s0b lineh rule--ss_c\"\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"block-inline full-width align-middle lineh__rect tint-back--nake\"\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u00a0\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003EThe aunt of Marcos Samorio holds up a photo of her nephew. Samorio, a 30-year-old employee of an agricultural business, was shot by Nicaraguan government riot squads on his way home from work on\u00a0Apr. 20, 2018. He succumbed to his wounds in the hospital shortly after, and that night Nicaraguans gathered at Managua's Jean Paul Genie roundabout to mourn those killed by government forces during the mass 2018 protests that began that month. Photo: Fred Ramos\/El Faro\u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn times of impunity, to remember the victims is to keep the call for justice alive,\u201d emphasized Martha Lira, mother of Ezequiel Mendoza, murdered on June 14, 2018.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn each activity we will pay tribute to our children. Keeping their memory alive is a form of resistance. When he was dying my son said: 'Don\u2019t forget me!' As a mother I\u2019m going to be present at every activity, as a way of remembering,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the tribute, more than 40 pairs of shoes representing the victims who can no longer walk as a result of the Ortega-Murillo regime's repression were on display. There were also photographs and lists with the names of the more than 300 people killed in the 2018 protests.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther victims' relatives joined the tribute via Zoom and reiterated the demand for justice without impunity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\t\t\u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=\"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=2000&ImageHeight=1333&ImageId=37565\" class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"A tribute to the victims of state repression of anti-government protests in Managua's Jean Paul Genie roundabout. Apr. 20, 2018. Photo: Fred Ramos\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"pict__line block edge--ss_lax edge--ss_rax padd--ss_l0x padd--ss_r0x line--ss_s0b lineh rule--ss_c\"\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"block-inline full-width align-middle lineh__rect tint-back--nake\"\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u00a0\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003EA tribute to the victims of state repression of anti-government protests in Managua's Jean Paul Genie roundabout. Apr. 20, 2018. Photo: Fred Ramos\/El Faro\u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESara L\u00f3pez, mother of victim Cruz Alberto Obregon, recalled that her son was murdered on May 30, 2018, and said that every year on that date, Mother's Day in Nicaragua, \u201cthere is nothing to celebrate.\u201d Instead of celebrating, she added, the victims' families are denouncing that \u201cfour years have already passed without getting justice\u201d.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is not a party. It is a date of national mourning for the bloodshed that day when the dictator murdered 19 people,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition, she stressed that as relatives they continue resisting and that the Ortega regime needs to know that \u201cour children were the seeds that will soon bear fruit, and mothers will not be silent until we have a free, democratic Nicaragua, where there is no repression and where justice reigns.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u201cNicaragua Is in Mourning\u201d\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn May 16, the Association of Mothers of April (AMA) called for May 30, Nicaraguan Mother's Day, to be declared a day of national mourning. It was on this day four years ago that the Ortega-Murillo regime attacked what was known as the \u201cMothers\u2019 March\" for victims of state repression.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAMA\u2019s proposal was made in response to the initiative promoted by the head of the National Assembly, government-aligned deputy Gustavo Porras, to declare Nicaraguan Mother\u2019s Day a national holiday. On May 18, the\u00a0Sandinista-aligned deputies approved his initiative.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn the face of the dictatorship declaring May 30 a national holiday, let\u2019s declare it a Day of National Mourning,\u201d the organization proposed in a statement published via Twitter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOrganizations of Nicaraguans who are in exile in Costa Rica and the United States have announced activities for this weekend in support of the call for \u201cnational mourning\u201d made by the relatives of the murdered victims of 2018.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EEditor's Note: This article was originally published \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.confidencial.com.ni\/nacion\/jornada-de-luto-nacional-familiares-de-las-victimas-exigen-justicia-sin-impunidad\/\"\u003Ein Spanish in Confidencial\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/havanatimes.org\/news\/nicaraguan-mothers-day-proclaimed-day-of-national-mourning\/\"\u003Etranslated by Havana Times\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"}