LAND SCAM AT POPOYO BEACH ENDANGERS INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY

AND POTENTIAL INVESTORS

The following is a synopsis by members of the Indigenous Community

of Las Salinas de Nahaulapa, historic owner of Popoyo Beach and a
large contiguous area.

In an area popularly known as Popoyo Beach on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua,

a legal battle, with underlying currents of violence and corruption, is taking
place over a stretch of prime, beach-front real estate. As the part of Nicaragua
most highly sought by foreign investors for its natural beauty and excellent
conditions for surfing, the Popoyo Beach area has been over-run in the last few
years by real estate speculators and investors. Like other speculators, investors
and developers who have often bought land for next to nothing in the Rivas
area south of Popoyo Beach only to turn it around at huge profits, a company
known as Flor de Mayo, SA, has set its eyes on a more than one kilometer
stretch of pristine beach north of Popoyo Beach called Playa Sardinas.
The Las Salinas de Nahualapa indigenous community, with a legal title to the
land that dates back to 1877, says that no one has sold, rented or loaned any
of the beach front property in that section of Popoyo Beach to Flor de Mayo, SA,
or its representative, Philip Christopher.

In fact, indigenous customs and laws prohibit land from being sold at all, but
have been known to extend permits for use of the land. The Nahaulapa
indigenous community has, in fact, extended such permits to other investors in
the Popoyo Beach area who have come to them on friendly and respectful
terms, paying them a yearly canon they use for improvements in the
community.

Such is not the case with Mr. Philip Christopher and Flor de Mayo, SA.
Flor de Mayo, represented by Mr. Christopher, purchased an 80 acre (47
manzanas) section of land north of Popoyo Beach without beach front.
However, they are claiming 20 acres more, including the much more valuable
beach front stretch due to the high land value, name recognition of Popoyo
Beach in tourist and real estate circles, and access to the beach. When
indigenous community representative Geovanny Loasiga refused bribes and
pressure to extend a document granting Flor de Mayo that piece of Popoyo
Beach, Flor de Mayo then took the indigenous community to court. This 20
acre (12 manzanas) piece has never been sold, rented or leased since the
Indigenous Community received legal title in 1877. The 80 acre piece that Flor
de Mayo purchased from Fernando Valladares, who had purchased it from
Francisco Castillo Castro was taken behind the backs of the Indigenous
community in the late 40’s by means of a substitute or replacement title. In
other words, it is also part of the historic Indigenous land.

In December 2006, the indigenous community of Nahualapa won the case in a

Rivas civil district courtroom on the basis of their undisputedly clear land title
which dates back to 1877, more than a hundred and thirty years before Popoyo
Beach was of interest to anyone but its indigenous inhabitants.
Furthermore, in July 2007, the courts reaffirmed that sentence and put the land
in question physically back into the hands of the indigenous community.

According to many people, there has been a lot of violence related to this land
scam on the part of Philip Christopher and another Flor de Mayo representative,
Mark Wolfe, who refuse to accept that this area north of Popoyo Beach belongs
in fact to its indigenous inhabitants. On February 14, 2008 twenty members of
the Indigenous Community, including women and children, say they were taken
by force by Christopher and Wolfe’s thugs onto the Flor de Mayo property and
kept there all day. When they were finally released Christopher photographed
them running away and claimed they were “invading” his land. The two US
investors have also been known to shoot at the people, creating fear and terror
in the populace (see pictures of Christopher with gun).

Likewise, Geovanny Loaisiga, as community representative for the indigenous,

has been especially targeted by the Flor de Mayo people. His house was
ransacked by a large group of Rivas police in February of this year. Without any
arrest warrant, Giovanny Loasiga was effectively kidnapped and put in jail for
eight days without the right to call or notify his lawyer or family. Because his
“arrest” was never registered in the police logbook, this falls more under the
category of kidnapping and has been denounced to human rights organizations
in the country.

After having won the case with a firm sentence in December 2006, a new
judge was appointed who has been more willing to participate in an illegal
eviction of the indigenous people from their own land. On April 11, 2008, a judge
appeared making an attempt to evict community residents from the disputed 20 acres.
When asked for her authority, she would only respond that she was just following orders.
She and the police were filmed by US church workers as they tried to carry out the eviction.
Because of the possibility of a “bloodbath” the judge and police retreated.

The indigenous community of Las Salinas de Nahualapa is not about to give up

their struggle to retain the land which has belonged to them for hundreds, if
not thousands, of years. With the moral support of US church people in
Nicaragua, who are concerned about this unjust and illegal land grabbing
reminiscent of the Wild West in the United States, Geovanny Loasiga and other
members of the Popoyo Beach inhabitants are denouncing these abuses in
many forums.

The group has met with the Human Rights Ombudsman, the Commission of
Ethnic Affairs of the National Assembly, the Committee of English-speaking
Religious Personnel in Nicaragua, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights,
among other organizations, and have been interviewed on Radio CEPAD, Radio
La Primerisima, Radio Sandino, Channel 8, Channel 12, www.todonica.com, and
have had articles in the Nicaraguan Press.

They are willing to take their case to the Nicaraguan Supreme Court. The case
which they will present to the Supreme Court is based on the fact that:
• The indigenous community is a recognized indigenous group under the Nicaraguan
constitution.
 • Their land is considered community land, which is one of the five recognized types
of land ownership in the constitution.
• Indigenous land cannot be sold (although it can be leased).
• The ownership of the land is legally clear back to 1877.
• Various Indigenous Boards of Directors over the years have issued valid rental
contracts for parcels of the land within the original parcel that dates back to 1877.
• The current attempts to seize 20 acres of oceanfront land from the community are
totally without legal foundation.
• The community has a legal decision from December 2006 ruling that the contested
land is theirs.
• That the Supreme Court should exercise its powers in overseeing the judicial
authorities in Rivas.

The Salinas de Nahualapa group also intends to mount a massive campaign linking
international groups who work on behalf of the indigenous, social activists,
religious personnel, and human rights, and to do a publicity campaign to
dissuade potential investors from putting their money in a high risk investment
such is Flor de Mayo at Popoyo Beach. The Indigenous Community is not
against investors and has leased land to some ten investors with whom they
have a good relationship of mutual respect.