Dorothy Granada and the Mulukukú
Women’s Clinic Under Attack Again
In the waning days of their six year stint in power, top officials of the Nicaraguan government are once again training their fire on Dorothy Granada. As reported in the August 9th edition of El Nuevo Diario, Minister of Internal Affairs (Gobernación) José Marenco Cardenal has ordered the suspension of Dorothy's residency permit. Minister Marenco has served as the right-hand man of President Arnoldo Alemán in the persecution of Granada and the attempts to close down the Women's Clinic in Mulukukú she has directed for 11 years.
| “Even after losing their battle against Dorothy in the Nicaraguan courts and with the Nicaraguan people, Alemán and Marenco have made it clear they would not renew her residency when it expires on September 9th of this year.” |
In some ways, this renewed attempt to expel Dorothy is not surprising. Even after losing their battle against Dorothy in the Nicaraguan courts and with the Nicaraguan people, Alemán and Marenco have made it clear they would not renew her residency when it expires on September 9th of this year. But Marenco has moved precipitously to declare her residency suspended even before her application for renewal could be processed.
Human rights leaders in Nicaragua, who consider the attack against Dorothy to be an attack against Nicaraguan civil society, are concerned there may be an attempt to deport Granada before her current residency permit is due to expire. Even the Human Rights Commission of Nicaragua’s National Assembly is strongly defending Dorothy Granada at this moment. According to its president, Dr. Nelson Artola, the Human Rights Commission is filing complaints with the National Assembly and also with the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights, which is attached to the Organization of American States (OAS). According to Artola, the complaints will denounce the abuse of the human rights “of a person who has sufficient merits that the National Assembly, in accord with the Constitution, should honorably award her Nicaraguan nationality and not treat her like a common criminal.”
In El Nuevo Diario’s report, Dr. Artola quotes Dorothy as saying, “What I have done is to serve 30,000 campesinos from Mulukukœ with medical assistance during the 13 years that I have worked in Nicaragua. My crime has been to combat malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea and malnutrition from which the campesinos of Mulukukú suffer, and they are not treated in any way by the government.”
Dorothy’s asks for your support: “Thank and encourage the Human Rights folks for continuing their efforts to secure my right to remain in the country based on my record of service. All accusations against me have been disproved by the investigating groups. All cases in the courts have been decided in my favor. Campesinas are abandoned, and are suffering ill health, hunger and violence. Continuing our Women’s Center will provide continued accompaniment with those who are among the poorest. This work is an important people-to-people project. If I am not allowed to be in Nicaragua, the program will suffer.”
– Excerpted from www.peacehost.net/Dorothy. See web site for more information.
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Dorothy Granada Under Attack Again
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