| Oct 1989 |
After the demobilization of the contras, thousands (c.a., 35,000) of Nicaraguan Miskitos returned to the Mosquito Coast after living in refugee camps in Honduras. Even after demobilization, it was reported that over 1,000 Miskito Indians remained armed against the Sandinista government in Honduras and in Nicaragua. |
| 1990 |
YATAMA won an official position in the regional council elections. Although this organization was founded in 1987, this was its first official representation of the Miskitos. |
| Apr 25, 1990 |
Through democratic elections, Violeta Chamorro, from the UNO (Unity of the Nicaraguan Opposition) political party, replaced the Sandinista government, lead by Daniel Ortega. This ended the civil war in Nicaragua and led to the demobilization of Sandinistas and Contra rebels. They began on June 29 under U.N. auspices. In addition, YATAMA party candidates traveled the Atlantic Coast showing firm support for the new leadership organization, which formally replaced MISURASATA. |
| Jun 29, 1990 |
Demobilization of 21,000 Nicaraguan Resistance forces was completed under the supervision of the UN Security Council. |
| Oct 23, 1990 |
A series of looting and rioting by Indians broke out in the Atlantic Coast region. Government troops used force to quell the violence. The riot began due to food shortages in the area. There were no reports of injuries or deaths from this event. |
| Jun 21, 1991 |
The remaining 200, of the 1,700 Yatama fighters, handed in their weapons. However, there was still a strong sense of animosity between the YATAMA and the Sandinistas. Rebel leader, Manuel Cunningham, claimed that if the new government does not fulfill their promises of greater autonomy for the Atlantic region, violence would resume. |
| Jun 22, 1991 |
Miskito Indians attended a conference in Mexico City to discuss means to have their country ratify and sign the International Labor Organization Treaty on indigenous peoples and the Universal Declaration of Indigenous Rights of the United Nations. |
| Jul 7, 1991 |
The Washington Post reported that $5.4 million of the $241 million from the U.S. in 1991 was designated to the reconstruction of the Atlantic Coast for Indian villages and new social programs. |
| Nov 1, 1991 |
$1.5 million was raised to support the environmental protection efforts of MIKUPIA, a Miskito founded NGO. Another $3.5 million was needed for the proposed programs for the 23 coastal communities with which the group works. |
| Dec 1991 |
Former Contras, YATAMA fighters (or"recontras"), seized control of the government offices in the costal town of Puerto Cabezas. They ousted the Mayor and the leaders of the region's semi-autonomous government. The protesters claimed that policies of greater autonomy for the Mosquito region were not being fulfilled and massive corruption was present in the government council. The government and the YATAMA group ended the crisis one day later. |
| Feb 16, 1992 |
Indian protesters seized two towns on the Atlantic coast. In addition, YATAMA rebels again seized government installations in Puerto Cabezas and attacked the police station at Waspam. These attacks were in response to Miskito Indian claims that President Chamorro was ignoring issues of Indian rights and had not implemented autonomy measures for the region. |
| Mar 1992 |
Nicaragua rejected a Taiwanese proposal to log almost one million acres of the Mosquito forest. Based upon ecological and technical concerns voiced by international environmental organizations and the Nicaraguan Institute of Natural Resources and the Environment, the proposal was not accepted. This proposal was aimed at alleviating the 80% unemployment in the Miskito region. |
| Sep 1 - Nov 30, 1992 |
The Miskito Indians and various allies, including the Indian Law Resource Center, the World Wildlife Fund, Caribbean Conservation Council, and Cultural Survival, succeeded in convincing the Atlantic Coast Regional Council to reject a proposal by a U.S.-based company, Tierra Nueva, to build a tire recycling factory, which they claimed would cause environmental destruction of the coastal region. The Indian Law Resource Center reported that many companies arrange business transactions on the Atlantic Coast through the central government and thus, avoid the regional Atlantic Coast councils. This, they argue, has caused environmental decay of the coast and displacement of the Miskitos. |
| Sep 3, 1992 |
The coast of Nicaragua was hit by an earthquake that killed approximately 200 people. Over 16,000 people were left homeless. |
| Nov 1992 |
Paseo Pantera, a plan by the Caribbean Conservation Corporation and the Wildlife Conservation International, was fully funded and was scheduled to be implemented in the Miskito region. The plans called for the enlargement and creation of parks and biospheres and the implementation of educational programs for sustainable development. The Contras regrouped in the highlands because they reported dissatisfaction with the reforms of the Chamorro government. Reports stated that indigenous and non-indigenous people were involved in the re-contra group. |
| Jan 3, 1993 |
The Inter Press News Service reported growing organization and mobilization of YATAMA members in coordination with Moravian priests due to growing discontent with government economic policies and the lack of development with regard to the autonomy plans. |
| Feb 9, 1994 |
The Christian Science Monitor reported that President Chamorro outlined a new economic plan that would help the rural poor including the indigenous population. The Nicaraguan government created these social programs in response to the high unemployment rate of rural poor people. However, the IMF and the World Bank were insisting on economic reforms which would make it difficult to lend money to the rural population. |
| Mar 2, 1994 |
In the regional Atlantic elections, candidates from the Constitutionalist Liberal Party won 35.29% and the Sandinista Party won 27.35% of the vote. These elections were possible predicters for the 1996 elections. |
| Apr 1994 |
One hundred former contras, now known as "recontras" or rearmed Contra rebels, handed in their weapons in return for employment as police officers. A number of contras had done this in the past. |
| Jul 5, 1994 |
Former YATAMA members kidnapped four U.S. fisherman and one Nicaraguan and held them for ransom. The culprits demanded $200,000 to $300,000 for the return of the victims. Soon afterwards, the Nicaraguan army saved the victims and killed one of the kidnappers. |
| Feb 3, 1995 |
Mirna Cunninghan, Miskito Congresswoman and member of the FSLN, resigned. The reasons for this are unclear, but it was speculated that this is a symbol of the growing discontent among the Miskito peoples. |
| Apr 22, 1995 |
A cholera epidemic swept over the Miskito population and at least 22 people died. The nature of the disease (poverty and poor health and sanitation facilities) illustrates the bleak economic and health situation in the area. |
| Dec 4, 1995 |
The 650-member Mayagna Indian community of Awas Tingni petitioned Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an arm of the Organization of American States, to prevent the logging of 150,000 which they claimed as theirs. The Nicaraguan government said they had no title to the land. (Des Moines Register 12/4/95) |
| May 28 - Jun 7, 1996 |
Former Contra rebels kidnapped eight Miskito people and held them for ten days before releasing them through the mediation of the Organization of American States. The group had demanded the withdrawal of the army from the Somotigni region along the Honduran border, and the disarmament of the local Moskitos. (Reuters 6/7/96) |
| Jun 25, 1996 |
"Semillas de la Luna" ("Seeds of the Moon"), a book about the Spanish colonization of Nicaragua and its effects on the indigenous people, was banned from a local supermarket chain because it portrayed religious leaders in a bad light. (Inter Press Service 6/25/96) |
| Jul 18, 1996 |
Alarmed by an incident in June, in which a group of former contras kidnapped 30 election officials in a town near the border and held them in Honduras for several days, the central government sent the army into the forest to protect the indigenous population. The residents of the towns often resented the army, saying the government had not lived up to its other promises. (Times-Picayune 7/18/96) |
| Oct 24, 1996 |
Encouraged by a decision by the United States to make payments to the victims of the Vietnam war, maimed contras demanded that the US pay for the injuries they sustained fighting a war in which the American CIA was involved. (New York Times 10/24/96) |
| Jun 1997 |
Crack cocaine addiction spread through the Miskito Coast, fueled by its proximity to Colombian drug havens, the high level of local unemployment, and the relative neglect of the Managua government. About 110 crack houses operated in Bluefields, which had about 50,000 residents. A recent survey by drug prevention groups found that 37 percent of adolescents used crack regularly and another 17 percent used it occasionally. Managua had allotted no funds to rehabilitation facilities or increased police interdiction. (Washington Post 6/6/97) |
| Oct 9, 1997 |
Environmental groups accused the Nicaraguan government of illegally allowing an Asian corporation to plunder Central America's largest rainforest, which stretched across land owned by indigenous communities. The company, Solcarsa, was promised permission to clear 62,000 hectares of rainforest on Awas Tingni land, in return for a $20 million investment in the area. The government also failed to enforce a 1997 Nicaraguan Supreme Court ruling that the concessions are illegal. (Inter Press Service 10/9/97) |
| Mar 1, 1998 |
Low turnout by indigenous voters in regional elections was blamed on the high perception of the governments as corrupt and useless. However, because the central government expected violence, 3,000 troops were deployed to the autonomous coastal areas a week before the elections. (Inter Press Service 2/26/98) |
| May 10, 1998 |
A group of Moskitos, believed to affiliated with Yatama, attacked a military post at Bismuna, killing three soldiers and abducting six others. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur 5/10/98) |
| Aug 1998 |
After Yatama rearmed in May to protest the government’s failure to live up to previous agreements, the Guatemalan government signed a new agreement with them to cease hostilities and disarm,. (EcoCentral 9/10/98) |
| Oct 1998 |
Hurricane Mitch stalled over Central America, killing hundreds and wiping out villages and mountainsides in flooding. Though the casualty rates for Nicaragua were relatively low, the flooding stranded thousands for over a month. The hurricane caused land movements, which displaced land mines buried years ago in the Miskito indigenous regions during the war. ([London] Financial Times 8/4/00) |
| Jun 1, 1999 |
The Mayagna indigenous people sued the Nicaraguan government in the Inter-American Human Rights Court (IHRC) in Costa Rica, alleging infringement of ancestral lands in relation to the logging rights given a Korean company in indigenous territory. According to the Mayagna's charges, the Nicaraguan state violated Articles 1, 2 and 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights. The Mayagna requested economic compensation in addition to land titles. (Inter Press Service 6/1/99) |
| Sep 5, 1999 |
An invasion of rats in northern Nicaragua ate 95% of the country’s corn, bean and rice crops, putting 5,000 people in danger of starvation. Aid workers who helped indigenous peoples blamed the government for not doing enough to combat the problem and find cheap substitute food supplies. (Agence France Presse 9/5/99) |
| Dec 24, 1999 |
The Inter-American Development Bank approved an $8.33 million loan to Nicaragua to be invested in indigenous health and education programs in the Mayagna, Sumo, and Miskito communities along the Atlantic coast. (Xinhua News Agency 12/24/99) |
| Aug 1 - Nov 5, 2000 |
In August the Supreme Electoral Council ruled against the Yatama political party participating in November municipal elections. Yatama leader Brooklyn Rivera led protests against the ruling and clashes between police and the indigenous broke out in late October, resulting in scores of arrests and several injuries. One person was reported killed but circumstances around the death remain undetermined. |
| Aug 1 - Sep 30, 2004 |
Indigenous staged a strike that shut down an Atlantic coastal province in Nicaragua for six days after complaints that authorities had failed to adequately consult the group on issues concerning their lands. (US Department of State. 2/28/2005. "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004: Nicaragua". Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.) |
| 2005 |
After a rat plague destroys crops in Nicaragua and leaves about 50,000 indigenous without food, international donors such as the World Food Programme distributed food supplies. (The Christchurch Press, 12/7/2005, "Food aid drops to Nicaraguan communities"; Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 10/22/2005, "Rat plague in Nicaragua leads to crop loss, starvation") |
| Jun 2005 |
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a decision in which it found in favor of the indigenous Yatama political party citing that the government had violated the party’s rights in preventing it from running in 2000 elections. The decision included an $80,000 payment for damages. (Minority Rights Group. 06/03/2008. "Nicaragua Overview." World Directory of Minorities.) |
| Mar 2006 |
In elections in the RAAN and RAAS, Yatama, a Miskito political party, won 13 seats, but were only awarded 12 seats. Consequently, Yatama supporters carried out a roadblock and took over the airport and the Regional Electoral Council's office. (US Department of State. 03/06/2007. "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006: Nicaragua." The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.) |
