Nicaragua

Statement of the Moravian Church

Envío team

On February 20, 1982, members of the Moravian Church participated in a panel presentation at the Central American University. We present here excerpts from the statement read at that time by Moravian Bishop John Wilson.

The present moment is extremely difficult at both a national and international level. The problems of the Atlantic Coast have been manipulated and misunderstood…

Cultural conflict, with its sufferings and tensions, means a step forward in the history of our people toward the creation of a new Nicaragua. These tensions are at times provoked by mutual ignorance and errors in actions. We propose a dialogue at all levels:

a. A people-to-people dialogue between the Nicaraguans of the Pacific and Atlantic in order for us to know each other, respect each other and enrich each other with our distinct buy complimentary cultures.

b. A dialogue among the churches. The Atlantic Coast has a different Christian tradition from the Pacific in that the majority of Atlantic Coast Christians are evangelicals, while on the Pacific the majority are Catholics. A new ecumenism could emerge if an ample and ongoing dialogue were initiated between Christians on the Pacific and the Atlantic Coasts, and if the leaders of the churches consulted each other, collaborated and worked together in the construction of a new Nicaragua…

The Moravian Church, the majority of whose leaders are natives of the Atlantic Coast, requests this ongoing dialogue with the rest of our Christian brothers and sisters in order to have a united front in the face of today’s serious problems and thus avoid unilateral actions which could be insufficient, or even manipulated, thus provoking greater disorientation…

c. A Government–Church dialogue. The Sandinista Revolution has provided the opportunity for the Coastal people and especially the indigenous people to experience the liberation of their spirits after having been oppressed for years by exploitation so that the cultural conflict and this spiritual liberation be channeled in positive ways for all the people of our country. The Moravian Church has to publicly recognize its deficiencies and errors, admitting that some of our brothers have carried out actions against the Sandinista Revolution and against the deep interests of our own people.

We propose to analyze, along with all our brothers and sisters, the most positive form of collaboration in the area of economic and social development of the Coast. We ask the authorities, on their part, to keep us informed of such plans and to inform the people of those plans. We also ask state security officers and government personnel to learn about the special idiosyncrasies and characteristics of the Atlantic Coast. We offer our collaboration in helping the coastal problems to be understood in order to help diminish deficiencies and errors, products not of ill-will but rather of a lack of knowledge of this part of the country.

d. An international dialogue. The united churches of Nicaragua could be an important vehicle in presenting the reality of the life of our people to the world, in the face of campaigns of economic, political and even military distortion, defamation and threats. The small Moravian Church of Nicaragua calls the “Christian people of the world”, especially our brothers and sisters of the United States, to maintain direct channels of communication and not let themselves be manipulated by interests that, although they evoke the defense of our rights and of the indigenous peoples, have never been concerned about our fate nor our human rights.

The Moravian Church, a predominantly indigenous church, calls the indigenous peoples of America to be in solidarity with us and help us to construct a new society that can be a sign of the great march of liberation of the rest of the indigenous peoples of Latin America and North America.

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