[AAWSAT] Thousands of Nicaraguans staged peaceful rallies on Saturday, demanding justice for 43 people who were killed in a wave of protests that were suppressed by the authorities.
There was a sea of blue and white flags as the crowds massed outside the city's cathedral, among them young people, the elderly and farmers protesting against plans to construct a canal linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.
The rally took place just hours after university students at the forefront of anti-government unrest issued conditions for talks with the government of embattled President Daniel Ortega.
Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, the city's archbishop, said he would act as a witness and mediator in the dialogue called for by Ortega, adding he would impose a deadline of one month to see "if a real commitment exists" to carry out the agreements reached.
"If we see that they are not taking these steps, we will call a halt and we will tell the people of God that we cannot carry on," he said to widespread applause and chants of "Make them go!" in reference to Ortega and his wife, vice-president Rosario Murillo.
"We are no longer afraid, we want a free Nicaragua," a demonstrator called Rosa Herrera, 65, told AFP.
"Nicaragua wants peace so that there is no more bloodshed," said Maria Flores, a 40-year-old lawyer, while insisting: "There has to be justice for the dead and the disappeared."
"I came because the young people who died deserve a tribute, that we march for the peace in the country, for justice and for the return of the democracy that has been kidnapped by this government," said Marlene Alvarez, 26, who works in a laboratory in the capital.
Although Ortega has agreed to hold talks, the framework has yet to be defined, with the students on Saturday laying down their conditions for the dialogue to take place.
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