Who is responsible for the violence in Nicaragua?

In this week’s UpFront, we ask Nicaraguan Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Valdrack Jaentschke about the ongoing political crisis surrounding President Daniel Ortega.

And in the Arena, we debate wide charges of anti-Semitism against the British Labour party and ask how much those accusations have to do with criticism of Israel. 

Headliner: What happened to Nicaragua’s democracy?

Nicaragua has been in turmoil since the flare-up of protests against Ortega in April.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands more have fled the country. The government, however, describes the protests as an attempted coup.

Jaentschke says the unrest was “perpetrated by a group of very radical and very violent activists”. He added that human rights groups feed off misinformation.

“The information that is coming out of Nicaragua is manipulated and it is based on false premises,” Jaentschke said.

Human rights organisations have alleged abuses but the government denies them and recently expelled United Nations observers. 

So, does the Ortega government take any responsibility for the violence and chaos?

Arena: Jeremy Corbyn and the challenge of anti-Semitism

The Labour party has been hit by various accusations of anti-Semitism, many relating to its leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

Corbyn has been accused of sharing platforms with Holocaust deniers and making offensive remarks about British Zionists.

He also initially expressed concerns about adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism in full. His clarification, which made allowances for the ability to criticise Israel, was rejected by Labour’s ruling body in September.

“His leadership has emboldened a section of the far-left that has always held these really rather extreme views towards British Jews,” said Daniella Peled, a Corbyn critic and contributor to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

While some say a Corbyn government would pose a threat to Jewish life, his supporters regard the criticism of him as a conspiracy.

“Are they interested in eradicating anti-Semitism or are they interested in eradicating Jeremy Corbyn?” asked Michael Rosen, a Corbyn supporter and award-winning novelist. 

Editor’s note: The section of this interview which discusses the controversy regarding Labour’s adoption of the IHRA definition can be watched here.

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