Threat to Democracy in Latin America

[Joanne98]

September 23rd 2008, by Various Authors

On 10 September, the president of Bolivia declared the US ambassador to Bolivia persona non grata. On 11 September (the 35th anniversary of the military overthrow of Salvador Allende in Chile) the president of Venezuela asked the US ambassador to Venezuela to leave the country.

President Hugo Chavez believed he was facing the possibility of an imminent coup d'etat in which he accused the United States administration of being involved. President Evo Morales believed that his government was facing serious destabilisation which was also being fomented by the United States. A third country, Paraguay, announced ten days previously that they had detected a conspiracy involving military officers and opposition politicians.

Latin America now faces its most serious crisis since the re-introduction of democracy at the end of the 20th century.

The plot against democracy in Venezuela centred on a conspiracy, revealed in telephone conversations between senior military officers broadcast on national television, to assassinate the democratically elected head of state, President Chavez.

In Bolivia, the separatist prefects of the five eastern and southern departments, (whose ringleader Ruben Costas, the prefect of Santa Cruz department, recently met with the US Ambassador), have begun a campaign of violence and economic sabotage designed to destabilise the democratic regime.

These events demonstrate unequivocally who defends democracy and who threatens it in Latin America today.

We are appalled by the failure of much of the international media to provide accurate and proportionate coverage of these events.

We call upon democrats throughout the world to rally to defend democracy, social progress and national independence in Latin America and to condemn these conspiracies against democracy and human rights.

We call upon the European Union and European governments to adopt a policy independent of the Bush administration in the US and unequivocally condemn all attempts to overthrow democratically elected governments in Latin America.

Signatories:

Harold Pinter
John Pilger
Bruce Kent
Victoria Brittain
Tony Benn
Ken Loach
Gordon Hutchison, Sect. Venezuela Information Centre
Jean Lambert MEP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Bill Etherington MP
Ian Gibson MP
Harry Cohen MP
Bob Abberley, Assist Gen. Sect. Unison
Gail Cartmail, Unite the Union, Assist. Gen. Sect
Les Bayliss, Unite the Union Assist Gen. Sect.
Bob Crow, Gen. Sect. RMT
Kelvin Hopkins MP
Bill Wilson MSP
Cllr. Salma Yakoob
Prof. Jonathan Rosenhead
Billy Hayes, Gen. Sect. CWU
Keith Norman, Gen Sect. ASLEF
Gerry Morrissey, Gen Sect. BECTU
Bill Greenshields, President, NUT
Andy Bain, President TSSA
Doug Nicholls, Nat.Officer Unite
Geoff Shears
Michael Dereham
Kaveh Mussavi
Diana Raby
Derek Wall
Steve Cottingham
Joni McDougall, Internat Officer GMB

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3824

[Peace Patriot]

1. Damn straight!

I particularly applaud this...

"We are appalled by the failure of much of the international media to provide accurate and proportionate coverage of these events.

"We call upon democrats throughout the world to rally to defend democracy, social progress and national independence in Latin America and to condemn these conspiracies against democracy and human rights."

Corpo rights groups like Human Rights Watch are quick to condemn Hugo Chavez for, um, speaking against the opposition (they apparently think that only fascists should get to do that), and the Corpo media is quick to publish these vague and meaningless allegations, but have a REAL conspiracy against democracy and human progress unfold under their very noses, with the Bushwhacks funding white separatists who just machine-gunned 15 to 30 unarmed peasant farmers including men, women and children, in Pando province in Bolivia, and stone cold silence is the reaction, not to mention deliberate, evil, false reporting about these events, for instance, describing the murders that took place as pro- vs. anti-government "fighting," when it was anti-government thugs mowing down unarmed people!

Or, have not one, not two, but THREE democratically elected, leftist presidents warning of plots to kill them and destroy their countries' legitimate governments--Paraguay, Venezuela, Bolivia--and a fourth saying that the U.S. 4th Fleet is a threat to his country's oil fields--Brazil--and a fifth saying that the Bushwhacks are plotting civil war in three countries (Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela)--Ecuador's president--and Human Rights Watch couldn't give a fuck, and neither can the Corpo media, and the Bushwhacks just keep calling them all "dictators" and hoping that spit will stick to the wall, if they can make it particularly gummy with words like "terrorism" and "cocaine."

The defenders of democracy really do need to stand up and be counted. We, the people of the U.S., are prostrate before a fascist junta, with our democracy barely breathing. We can do nothing about the outrages committed by our lawless government. The South Americans, in my estimation, are capable of handling this Bushite oil grab themselves. They are not strong militarily, but they are very strong as to democratic institutions, widespread support of their democratically elected governments, and cooperation and unity among these many new leftist leaders. However, it is a question of the IMMORALITY of Corpo 'news' disinformation, and the IMMORALITY of doing nothing when you do, in fact, have economic and political clout to wield to get the Bushwhacks (and any Democratic power playing colluders) to back off.

A good letter! Very heartening! I hope it gets through to the folks they are trying to move.