Sandinistas Split Over Revolution Hymn (Associated Press) CBS News

Revolutionary Singer Asks Nicaragua's Ortega To Stop Using His Music

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Jun. 14, 2008

(AP) A famous Nicaraguan revolutionary singer-songwriter has asked the government to stop using his music.

Carlos Mejia Godoy, who penned the hymn of the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front, said in a letter published Saturday that President Daniel Ortega and his staff are not authorized to use his songs during government events.

He did not dispute the use of the party hymn he wrote, but he gave government-supported television and radio outlets a week to stop using a version he recorded.

Mejia Godoy is among several Sandinistas who formed a new party after breaking with Ortega, who also served as Sandinista leader in the 1980s and fought U.S.-backed Contra rebels.

"I cannot allow songs inspired by the sacrifice of thousands of Nicaraguan people to serve as a musical backdrop for ... the most embarrassing tragicomedy in recent years," said Mejia Godoy, who ran unsuccessfully for vice president in 2006 when Ortega won the presidency.

Mejia Godoy says his songs are copywrited in Spain, and that he has notified officials of the unauthorized use.

In the letter published in two Nicaraguan newspapers, Mejia Godoy says he will file an international lawsuit if the government continues to use his music without permission.

The government did not publicly respond to the letter or messages seeking comment.

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