Independent Publishes Statement from Leading Venezuela Solidarity Voices in Britain

[Peace Patriot]

Independent Publishes Statement from Leading Venezuela Solidarity Voices in Britain

By VENEZUELA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN, April 9th 2010
SPECIAL VSC UPDATE

The Independent on Sunday (LINK) has published the launch statement of the VSC’s Venezuela Under Threat campaign initiative. The statement has been endorsed by a wide range of leading figures from across British society including over 25 parliamentarians from six parties plus Ken Livingstone and Tony Benn, filmmakers and writers such as John Pilger, Ken Loach, Hugo O’Shaugnessy and Ernesto Laclau, musicians Lowkey and Jon McClure, leading figures in the anti-war and peace movements, nine trade union general secretaries and others.

Noting that “progressive government policies have transformed the lives of millions for the better“ in Venezuela in recent years, the statement opposes the “increasing US militarization of the region that is threatening to destabilise Latin America” and urges that “national sovereignty is respected and the tragic mistakes of US-backed bloody military coups and interventions in the 20th Century are not repeated.”

Leading voices from Venezuela including an MP, trade union leader and student leader have also spoken here on the importance of the new initiative – click here to read more. (LINK) Photos and reports of the packed Venezuela Under Threat launch event can be found here (LINK).

(MORE)

(my emphasis)

http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/5262

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The article also contains Action Information and the following:

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FULL STATEMENT & LIST OF SIGNATORIES:

We stand opposed to the increasing US militarization of the region that is threatening to destabilise Latin America. This militarization - including plans by the US to build new bases in Colombia and Panama - is especially concerning given the context of the recent right-wing coup in Honduras and the discovery of similar plots in Ecuador and Paraguay.

Concern over these developments is particularly grave in Venezuela, where in recent years progressive government policies have transformed the lives of millions for the better. Having already experienced a coup attempt in 2002, the country is now surrounded by 13 US military bases.

We are therefore supporting the 'Venezuela Under Threat' initiative to urge that national sovereignty is respected and the tragic mistakes of US-backed bloody military coups and interventions in the 20th Century are not repeated.

Yours,

Diane Abbott MP

Dave Anderson MP

Tony Benn

Colin Burgon MP, Chair, Labour Friends of Venezuela

Michael Connarty MP

Frank Cook MP

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Ian Davidson MP

Jeff Ennis MP

Paul Flynn MP

George Galloway MP

Neil Gerrard MP

Baroness Anne Gibson, Chair, APPG on Latin America

Dai Havard MP

Jamie Hepburn MSP

Sir Gerald Kaufman MP

Jean Lambert MEP

David Lepper MP

Ken Livingstone

Angus Macneil MP

Doug Naysmith MP

Adam Price MP

Lord Nick Rea

Terry Rooney MP

Elaine Smith MSP

Emily Thornberry MP

Bill Wilson MSP

Richard Younger-Ross MP

Cllr Salma Yaqoob

Iain Bruce, Former BBC Correspondent in Caracas

Professor Mike Cole

Dr Ken Cole, Metropolitan University of London

Professor Mary Davis

Michael Derham , University of Northumbria

Dr Francisco Dominguez, Head of Latin American & Brazilian Studies, Middlesex University

Keith Ewing, Kings College London

Ernesto Laclau

Ken Loach

Lowkey

Dr Steve Ludlam

Hazel Marsh, University of East Anglia

Jon McClure, Musician, Reverend and the Makers

Hugh O'Shaughnessy

John Pilger

Diana Raby

Jonathan Rosenhead, Emeritus Professor. LSE

Derek Simpson, Joint General Secretary, Unite the Union

Tony Woodley, Joint General Secretary, Unite the Union

Biily Hayes, General Secretary, CWU

Bob Crow, General Secretary, RMT

Matt Wrack, General Secretary, FBU

Joe Marino, General Secretary, BFAWU

Keith Norman, General Secretary, ASLEF

Jonathan Ledger, General Secretary, NAPO

Chris Kitchen, General Secretary, National Union of Mineworkers

Bill Adams, Regional Secretary, Yorkshire & the Humber TUC

Dave Auger, Regional International Officer, West Midlands UNISON

Andy Bain, President, TSSA

Sue Bigg, NUT

Maggie Bowden, General Secretary, Liberation

Jennie Bremner, Chair, Venezuela Solidarity Campaign

Steve Cottingham. Partner, OH Parsons

Luke Crawley, Assistant General Secretary, BECTU

John Duffy, Regional Secretary. FBU Scotland

Lindsey German, Convenor Stop the War Coalition

Moz Greenshields, NEC UNISON

Bill Greenshields, Ex President, NUT

John Haylett, Political Editor, Morning Star

John Hilary, Executive Director, War on Want

Kate Hudson, Chair CND

Stephen Kavalier, Chief Executive, Thompsons Solicitors

Bruce Kent

Mike Kirby, Convenor, UNISON Scotland

Ian Lavery, President NUM

Phil McGarry, RMT Scotland

Karen Mitchell, Thompsons Solicitors

Fidel Narvaez, Ecuadorean Human Rights Activist in Britain

Doug Nicholls, National Officer, Community, Youth & Not For Profit Sector, Unite

Bellavia Ribeiro-Addy, Black Students’ Officer, National Union of Students

Mick Shaw, President, FBU

Cat Smith, Vice Chair, London Young Labour

Cath Speight, Labour Party NEC

Sam Tarry, Chair, Young Labour

Derek Wall, Former Principle Male Speaker, Green Party

Chris Weldon, Labour Party NEC

The Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign

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I haven't heard anything recently about similar U.S. supported, rightwing coup plots in Ecuador and Paraguay. That is news to me. Anybody else have info?

A couple of years ago, around the time that the U.S./Colombia bombed/raided a border area of Ecuador and the U.S. funded/organized white separatist insurrection unfolded in Bolivia (March to September-2008), Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, publicly spoke of a coordinated rightwing plot in three countries--Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador--to instigate secessionist coup plots. And I recall reading that Paraguay's president, Fernando Lugo, fired some top officers in the Paraguayan military, I believe for plotting against the government. But, given the signatory list above, in a letter warning of such plots in Ecuador and Paraguay, I presume that there is more recent information and evidence.

Also, I want to point out that I am not the only person on earth concerned about the U.S. surrounding Venezuela--most especially its oil coast and northern oil provinces (where rightwing politicians have openly talked of secession)--with U.S. military war assets. U.S. citizens, voters and taxpayers are not privy to the Pentagon's war plans, so I can't know for sure if this rampant U.S. militarization of the region around Venezuela is merely for bullying purposes or for war. Anti-Chavez DUers--Chevron-Texaco apologists, racists, supporters of every rightwing cause--treat me as loony-toons for suggesting that the U.S. might perpetrate a second oil war. They seem to forget that the U.S. government thought nothing of slaughtering a million innocent Iraqis to steal their oil. It is not an outlandish suggestion, based on RECENT history, and on the U.S. military buildup in the region.

So, hey, some other people agree with me that this is very worrisome. And are the American people going to be caught by surprise, once again, and find themselves funding yet another oil war, and sending U.S. soldiers to die in yet another region of the world, with no clue as to how unjust it is, how wrong it is, how horrible it is, because the corpo-fascist press and the U.S. State Department have been lying through their teeth about the Chavez government of Venezuela?

I DON'T KNOW the time-frame for this war--if a war is intended by all this militarization. And I furthermore don't know what Obama may think of it, or if he has the power to stop it, should he be so inclined, if the Pentagon arranges another "Gulf of Tonkin" on his watch--or whether this may be prep for the next Bushwhack Diebolded* into the White House. ALL I CAN SAY IS: Be warned!

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(*ES&S just bought out Diebold, and now has an 85% monopoly of U.S. voting machines. ES&S is even scarier than Diebold as to far rightwing connections. All these electronic voting machines, throughout the U.S., are run on 'TRADE SECRET,' proprietary programming code--code that the public is not permitted to review--with virtually no audit/recount controls. So, if Exxon Mobil needs a Bushwhack in the White House for its next oil war, that can easily--EASILY!--be arranged.)

[Judi Lynn]

1. Same here, have not heard anything on those two countries, but I suspect the big group

of solidarity people in the U.K. probably has access to all kinds of information which somehow doesn't make it past our own corporate news filters.

Will really be watching and listening for more on this.

The solidarity groups in the U.K. are excellent. Completely well informed.

[protocol rv]

2. Venezuela is now surrounded by 13 US military bases.

This is true, I checked with Google earth. These damn yankees got bases all over the planet, so of course they got us surrounded.

We should take all the available cash and use it to buy Russian weapons, we need to defend ourselves to the last chavista.

First we should purchase 200 T90 tanks, not those puny tanks we've been getting. The T90 is the mother of all tanks.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/t-90.htm

I would also recommend we purchase 10 nuclear subs. I prefer the Akula II Class.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akula_class_submarine

And for the Air Force, of course, we could use about 100 long range bombers, such as the Tu160.

http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/tu160/