Nicaragua prez call Gaddafi to expresses support

[cali]

Tuesday, February 22, 2011; 10:58 AM

MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- Nicaragua's leftist President Daniel Ortega says he has telephoned Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to express his solidarity.

Ortega says he has called several times this week because Gadhafi "is again waging a great battle" to defend the unity of his nation.

Human rights groups say more than 200 people have died as Libyan security forces crack down on protesters.

Ortega has long been an ally of the Libyan leader, based in part on a shared distrust of the United States.

Ortega says that "it's at difficult times that loyalty and resolve are put to the test."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/22/AR2011022203086.html

[autorank]

1. Fake man of the people... n/t

[maddezmom]

2. Ortega is going to be on the wrong side of history I think

[cali]

4. He already is. He supported Nicaraqua's draconian abortion laws.

[joshcryer]

5. We'll see his head on a spit soon enough.

[leveymg]

3. Gadhafi is loyal to no one but himself.

He hasn't earned respect and solidarity. Bad move by Ortega.

[joshcryer]

6. As I said in another thread, "loyalty and resolve was put to the test" when he had to hire mercs.

No doubt he had to blow his yearly festivity money on them.

[pampango]

7. "Gaddafi Latin American allies show solidarity, caution"

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_637995.html

THE bloody upheaval in Libya is creating an uncomfortable challenge for Muammar Gaddafi's leftist Latin American allies, with some keeping their distance and others rushing to the defence of a leader they have long embraced as a fellow fighter against US influence in the world.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday that the unrest may be a pretext for a Nato invasion of Libya, while Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega offered support for Gaddafi, saying he had telephoned to express solidarity. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, on the other hand, has stayed mute.

Bolivia came closest to criticising the government in Tripoli, issuing a statement expressing concern over 'the regrettable loss of many lives' and urging both sides to find a peaceful solution.

Latin America's leftist leaders have found common cause with Gaddafi over his opposition to US foreign policy and sympathised with his revolutionary rhetoric. Gaddafi has responded over the years by awarding the Muammar Gaddafi International Human Rights Prize to Castro, Ortega, Chavez and Evo Morales of Bolivia. Now those ties are being tested as Libya's security forces repress protesters emboldened by the fall of pro-Western strongmen in Egypt and Tunisia. Human rights groups say more than 200 people have died.