Thousands of Nicaraguans staged peaceful rallies on Saturday, demanding justice for 43 people who were killed in a wave of protests that were suppressed by the authorities. There was a sea of blue and white flags as the crowds massed outside the citys cathedral, among them young people, the elderly and farmers protesting against plans to construct a canal linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. The rally took place just hours after university students at the forefront of anti-government unrest issued conditions for talks with the government of embattled President Daniel Ortega. Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, the citys archbishop, said he would act as a witness and mediator in the dialogue called for by Ortega, adding he would impose a deadline of one month to see "if a real commitment exists" to carry out the agreements reached. "If we see that they are not taking these steps, we will call a halt and we will tell the people of God that we cannot carry on," he said to widespread applause and chants of "Make them go!" in reference to Ortega and his wife, vice-president Rosario Murillo. "We are no longer afraid, we want a free Nicaragua," a demonstrator called Rosa Herrera, 65, told AFP. "Nicaragua wants peace so that there is no more bloodshed," said Maria Flores, a 40-year-old lawyer, while insisting: "There has to be justice for the dead and the disappeared." "I came because the young people who died deserve a tribute, that we march for the peace in the country, for justice and for the return of the democracy that has been kidnapped by this government," said Marlene Alvarez, 26, who works in a laboratory in the capital. Although Ortega has agreed to hold talks, the framework has yet to be defined, with the students on Saturday laying down their conditions for the dialogue to take place. Their demands included the dismissal of police involved in the repression, the establishment of an independent UN-backed body to investigate the violence, that the talks be held in public and that the relatives of those killed be involved. Any commission investigating the violence must be "independent and credible" and have international backing to carry out its work, which would involve "investigating, condemning and sanctioning all those responsible for both approving and committing" the violence, they said. The call came a day after Human Rights Watch called for pressure to be put on Ortegas government to allow a visit by Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, the main rights body in the Americas, to investigate the allegations of abuse. The students also demanded that a "Truth Commission" created by the government be disbanded, on grounds that "we dont accept that the murderers investigate themselves." The countrys powerful private business lobby, which distanced itself from Ortega over the violence, has also signaled it is ready to join the talks. The protests that erupted on April 18 were the worst faced by Ortega in his last 11 years in power, badly shaking his tight grip on power over the country, one of the poorest in Latin America. The spark was reforms to the deficit-stricken social security system, but the unrest quickly swelled on the back of widespread resentment of Ortegas perceived authoritarianism. On Monday, Nicaraguas private business sector organized a march calling social peace and an end to repression that drew tens of thousands of participants, marking the largest demonstration seen against Ortegas government. The president, a former Sandinista rebel who has ruled Nicaragua for 22 of the past 39 years, made a series of concessions after sharp domestic and international criticism over the use of security forces to put down the protests, and curbs on independent media to report them. The concessions included abandoning the social security reforms, freeing dozens of arrested protesters, lifting broadcast bans on private TV channels, and offering dialogue. Many Nicaraguans, though -- especially emboldened university students -- want Ortega to step down. On Thursday, the Permanent Commission on Human Rights confirmed that 63 people died during days of anti-government protests. At least 15 other people are missing and over 160 have been wounded by gunfire. "What took place is a massacre," said Marcos Carmona, the groups director. Authorities did not immediately respond to the announcement. The last official death toll provided by the government, 12, came Monday.