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US: Nicaragua's Surrounding of Church Sheltering Protesters Is 'Unacceptable'

Reuters

   WASHINGTON - The United States is deeplyconcerned about protesters on a
   hunger strike in a church inNicaragua who have been unable to access
   water or electricity,a U.S. StateDepartment spokeswoman said Thursday,
   adding that the U.S. woulduse economic and diplomatic means to support
   democracyin the country led by President Daniel Ortega.

   "The Ortega regime's siege of a place of worship isunacceptable, as are
   the arrests of more than a dozenindividuals who were attempting to aid
   the hunger strikers,"MorganOrtagussaid in a statement on the protests
   in the SanMiguel Archangel Church in the city of Masaya.

   "The United States stands ready to use all economic anddiplomatic means
   at our disposal to support the Nicaraguanpeople's calls for a
   restoration of democracy," the statementsaid.

   Both the Organization of American States and the UnitedNations raised
   alarms this week about human rights in CentralAmerica's largest
   country, as protests, including two hungerstrikes by mothers of
   detained activists, have recently rampedup and led to clashes with
   Ortega's government.

   The Nicaraguan police on Monday accused 16 anti-government
   protesters of planning to carry out terrorist attacks.

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