October 2003
To Those Concerned:As US citizens and human rights activists, we are particularly concerned and express our strong objection to the US government's interference with the electoral process in countries where Doctors for Global Health accompanies local partner non-governmental organizations. Nicaragua and El Salvador are now preparing for up-coming municipal and presidential elections, and what appears to be our government's improper and unwise policy of interference is our source of concern.
We wish to express our objections to a recent visit to Nicaragua by US Congressmen Cass Ballinger and Jerry Selle, and US Ambassador to Nicaragua Barbara Moore, where they urged the disputing political opposition parties to unite to defeat the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). We object to warnings by outgoing US Ambassador to El Salvador Rose Likins to the people of El Salvador regarding the 2004 presidential elections. Salvadorans were told they must consider the "reality" that the US government would have to "reconsider" its relationship with El Salvador if the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) were to win.
The US government should promote democracy abroad. One of the pillars of democracy is for people of a sovereign nation to be able to choose their own leaders through free, fair and transparent elections, without interference or undue influence of foreign governments. US intervention, whether by direct or indirect means, taints the elections and violates the sovereignty of that nation. The US government and its citizens would never tolerate interference by another government in our elections. Yet the US government has used and continues to use threats and intimidation to influence foreign elections to maximize the chance of winning for the candidate most favorable to some special US interests.
The US government may decide the kind of relationship it wants to have with another country's government once that new government has been put in place by the legitimate election of the people. However, the US government does not have the right to sway, directly or indirectly, who will be the victor in those elections. Our government should live up to what it claims to be its own standards by providing an example for other countries of the world, and by practicing non-interference in the free, fair and transparent elections in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
In the spirit of true democracy, national sovereignty and human rights,
Jennifer Kasper, MD, MPH, President
