Friday, April 11, 2008

Patrick J. O'Donoghue's round up of news from Venezuela

Venezuelan embassies and consulates throughout the world have organized events,
commemorating the fifth anniversary of the coup against President Chavez
and his restoration to power in April, 2002.

The Consulate General in Chicago has organized an event titled "Every 11th has its 13th" for Sunday, April 13. A documentary called, "Llaguno: Key to a Massacre" will be shown and representatives of the Venezuelan diplomatic delegation, along with Venezuelan solidarity group activist, Andrea Cristancho, who recently took part in an official visit to Venezuela, will start a series of activities with a few words.

The Consulate General in New York headed by Consul General, Carol Delgado has organized three days of events in conjunction with Bolivarian circles and progressive organizations of the city. Delgado herself will start the activities dictating a conference called, "Venezuela and the peace process in Colombia." Enigmatic Venezuelan Embassy official, Livia Suarez will talk about US Senate resolution 1049 (branding Venezuela as a terrorist-supporting nation) as a new aggression against Venezuela. The Bolivian Ambassador representative to the UN, Hugo Siles Alvarado will elaborate on threats against his country's democratic institutions, while Delgado's husband and editor of Venezuelanalysis, Gregory Wilpert will round off the ambitious 3-day commemorative program with a conference on the coup, counter-coup 2002 and international media. Consulates in Houston and Washington have also organized activities. In Los Angeles, the Simon Bolivar Association has organized a series of activities with local US organizations and solidarity groups.

The Venezuelan diplomatic corps in Germany is also engaged on a full 3-day program, kicking off with a speech by the Consul General of Frankfurt, Cesar Mendez on the current situation in Venezuela. Hands Off Venezuela is participating in the activities with an event in Tubingen.

President Chavez has called on citizens to join in the 11A commemorative activities which kicked off today. The centre of the activities will be around the Llaguno Bridge in Caracas, which became famous after newsreel shots of gunmen supposedly firing on opposition protesters on their way to Miraflores flashed across TV sets throughout the world. It later emerged that the Chavists were returning fire from Metropolitan Police officers shooting at protesters surrounding Miraflores Palace in defense of their President. Chavez insists that the USA failed to dislodge him from power because it stumbled over the rock that is the Venezuelan people. After he was taken prisoner, a dictatorship led by the business sector took over lasting a single day and crumbling before the momentum of the People and soldiers of the Bolivarian Armed Force.

The opposition is also commemorating the coup of April, 2002.

The lawyer of former Caracas security chief, Ivan Simonovis, Igor Hernandez accuses the government of using his client's case as a scalp. The lawyer says his client and the other Metropolitan Police chiefs were denied presidential amnesty at Christmas and their right to freedom. The government needed a trophy, Hernandez states, and even though the eight officials had been assigned public defenders, they proved ineffective and private lawyers had to be hired to defend them Commissioner Simonovis' wife argues that the government has tried to rewrite history without any pretence at seeking the truth. Maria Del Pilar calls on the new Attorney General, Luisa Ortega to investigate the context of the events of April 2002 and charge those responsible ... she slams former Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez as incompetent. The opposition Foro Penal Venezolano will accompany her to the Organisation of American States (OAS) building in Caracas to make a formal denunciation regarding her husband's case and violations against his human rights. There will be a rally in Caracas this afternoon.

National Assembly (AN) deputy, Iris Varela accuses former Defense Minister, General Raul Baduel of receiving $1.2 from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). According to the deputy, drug- trafficking kingpin, Hermagoras Gonzalez also received $2.1 million from a bank in the UK. The money was supposedly sent in November 2007 and September 2007 respectively. The National Assembly interior policy committee is studying the accusation and Varela claims that it has the names of possible people who supposedly received resources from NED via the same bank.

General Baduel calls the accusations a "swindle" and challenges National Assembly deputy, Iris Varela to provide proofs and hand them to the corresponding legal organs. The accusation is nothing but a swindle, the General quips, and product of the cowardice and fear of President Chavez and those surrounding him. " Venezuelans are perfectly aware of my performance in critical moments when the country has required my duty as citizen and soldier." The General reveals that he has already gone to the military attorney general's office requesting a declaration regarding media speculations of his being supposedly summonsed as a witness. However, he states the military attorney general did not receive him and, he insists, there is no way he is going to leave the country because he has complied with all the requisites concerning declarations of patrimony, which have been audited.

As the spotlight returns to Venezuela and its mediation in the humanitarian agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), President Chavez says that to free French-Colombian citizen, Ingrid Betancourt, it is necessary to return to the starting point. The remarks come after the failure of the French government's mission to approach the FARC and negotiate the release of Betancourt. The rebels insist that the Colombian government withdraw its troops from two municipalities before any release. Betancourt's family have been calling on the Colombian government to get Chavez back into negotiations.

President Chavez says he would like to see an agreement between Venezuelan and Mexican state oil companies. Speaking during a visit to the Emiliano Zapata exposition at the Bellas Artes museum in Caracas, the President highlighted the recent joint venture energy agreement with the Indian government and oil agreements between Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and its counterparts in Brazil and Cuba.

According to a report in the El Universal broadsheet, Guyana has objected to a Venezuelan donation of food rations to local farmers without previous consultation. Guyana Minister for Foreign Relations, Caroline Rodrigues-Burkett has asked the Venezuelan Ambassador, Dario Morandy to take into account in the future local sensitivity regarding such acts. The Venezuelan government handed out $500 in flour, rice, oil and onions to 75 farmers in Buxton, 12 miles from the capital Georgetown. Sources say the background and sensitive nature of the incident is the fact that a week before the donation security forces destroyed several plantations in the area after seven persons were assassinated in Lustignan near Buxton.

During the graduation of more than 5,000 adults belonging to the Sucre Mission, President Chavez has confirmed the approval of (Bs.F) 1.1 billion bolivares for the universities. Among the universities, The Bolivarian University of Venezuela will receive 130 million, Francisco de Miranda University 88 million, the Iberian-American University of Sport 25.9 million, Los Llanos National University 289 million, Yaracuy Experimental University 32 million and the Simon Rodriguez National University 108 million. The President says this is just an initial contribution and there are still many things to do to modernize the universities. 108 million will go towards building new universities.

Patrick J. O'Donoghue
patrick.vheadline@gmail.com



1 comment:

  1. Venezuela's ambassador to London, Samuel Moncada is quoted in a MinCI release as having told VTV that there has been "massive" support for Venezuela on the 6th anniversary of the 2002 coup. Sorry but there hasn't been one jot of visible media coverage on Venezuela in the British media over the last few days much less any massive support other than perhaps a love-in at the Bolivar Hall last week organised by the VIC and its innefectual lobbyists who work for Ken LIvingstone anyway. What are they going to do when Boris Johnston takes over and Ken's bounty comes to an abrupt end? As for ambassador Moncada's lack of perception in London, perhaps he sees Sunday's London Marathon as a convenient cover for his delusions of support grandeur! "Massive support" in London - phooey, humbug! Get real Mr. Moncada, the vast majority of British people don't give a damn for Venezuela much less able to pin-point it on a map - but what are YOU doing about it? NOTHING it would appear!

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