3 9. On February 5, 1996, the Commission began processing the case and sent the relevant parts of the petition to the State, requesting that it provide the corresponding information within 90 days. 10. On March 13, 1996, James Anaya, as legal representative of the Community, submitted two newspaper articles to the Commission, pertaining to the granting of the concession to SOLCARSA, and a letter sent by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources to the President of SOLCARSA, informing him that the “request for a logging concession [was] being processed [,] all that[was] lacking [was] the signature of the concession contract”, and that the Community’s protests were the main obstacle. 11. In a March 28, 1996 brief, the petitioners sent a draft “memorandum of understanding” to the Commission for a friendly settlement of the case, and according to James Anaya, the legal representative of the Community, that document had been submitted to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of the Environment and Natural Resources. 12. On April 17, 1996, as legal representative of the Community, James Anaya submitted a document in which other indigenous communities of the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (hereinafter “the RAAN”) and the Indigenous Movement of the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) expressed their support for the petition brought before the Commission. 13. On May 3, 1996, there was an informal meeting among the petitioners, the State, and the Commission, so as to reach a friendly settlement in this case. On the 6th of that same month and year, the Commission placed itself at the disposal of the parties to attain such a solution, and granted them 30 days to reply on the matter. On May 8 and 20, 1996, the petitioners and the State, respectively, accepted this proposal. 14. On June 20, 1996, there was a second meeting between the petitioners, the State, and the Commission. At that meeting, Nicaragua rejected the draft “memorandum of understanding” submitted by the claimants (supra, para. 11). They, in turn, suggested that a delegation of the Commission visit Nicaragua for a dialogue with the parties. 15. A third meeting took place on October 3, 1996, among the petitioners, the State, and the Commission. At that meeting, the petitioners requested that the State not grant any further concessions in the area, that it begin the process of demarcation of the lands of the Community, and that it differentiate them from State lands. The State, in turn, submitted some documentary evidence, announced the establishment of the National Demarcation Commission, and invited the petitioners to participate in it. 16. On March 5, 1997, the petitioners reiterated to the Commission their request for precautionary measures (supra, paragraphs 6 and 7), given the threat of logging operations starting on indigenous lands, and on the 12th of that same month and year, the Commission granted the State 15 days to submit a report on this matter. On March 20, 1997, Nicaragua requested a 30 day extension to respond to the request, and it was granted. 17. On April 3, 1997, the petitioners informed the Commission about the February 27, 1997 judgment by the Constitutional Court of the Supreme Court of Justice of