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More than 150 European Parliamentarians Declare Support for Venez Reforms

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Venezuelanalysis - Nov 30, 2007
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/2930

Over 150 European Parliamentarians Declare Support for Venezuelan Reform

by Venezuelanalysis.com

Over 200 representatives from 13 European countries - including over
150 MPs, MEPs and regional politicians together with representatives of
trade unions, national student bodies, women's organisations, peace
movements, writers and academics - have backed a statement in support
of the Venezuelan government's policies of social progress and
democratic inclusion.

They have called for the outcome of the Venezuelan referendum on
proposed constitutional changes, on 2 December, to be respected.

Signatories to the statement include Ken Livingstone; Fausto
Bertinotti, the Head of the Chamber of Deputies in Italy; Paolo Cento,
Under-secretary of State to the Italian Ministry of Economy; former
German Finance Minister Oskar Lafontaine MP and Lothar Bisky MP, the
co-Chairs of the Die Linke party in Germany, French Senator Jean-Luc
M(c)lenchon and Willy Meyer MEP, Vice-Chair of the Euro-Latin American
Parliamentary Group.

The statement says that 'the lives of millions of Venezuelans have been
transformed by the progressive social and democratic policies of Hugo
Ch!vez's government' and concludes that: 'Venezuela is one of the few
countries in the world where both the constitution, and any revisions
to it, must be approved by a majority of citizens in a national
referendum. We call on the international community to respect the
outcome of the coming referendum and support the sovereign and
democratic right of the Venezuelan people to self-determination'.

The statement has attracted support from Belgium, Britain, the Czech
Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden and Switzerland after being launched at the first Europe-wide
conference in support of Venezuela held on November 10 in London.

Support from across Europe:

In Britain, support for the statement has come from Ken Livingstone,
and 24 MPs and MEPs from four parties, including recent Labour deputy
leadership candidate Jon Cruddas MP and the Chair of Labour Friends of
Venezuela, Colin Burgon MP and Jeremy Corbyn MP, vice-Chair of All
Parliamentary Group on Latin America. Other prominent figures to sign
the statement include Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter; the writers
John Pilger, Tariq Ali, Richard Gott, and Victoria Brittain, film maker
Ken Loach and prominent campaigners Tony Benn and Bruce Kent.

Broad trade union support came from 11 unions representing millions of
workers, including the Deputy General Secretary's of Britain's two
largest unions, UNITE and UNISON, six General Secretaries. Gemma
Tumelty, President of the National Union of Students, with over five
million members, also signed.

Over 80 Italian Parliamentarians, from four separate parties, signed
the statement backing Venezuela's right to self-determination. These
included Fausto Bertinotti, Head of the Chamber of Deputies (PRC
party), Paolo Cento, Under Secretary of State to the Ministry of
Economy (Green Party), Senator Giorgio Mele (Democratic Left for a
Social Europe) and Giuseppe Scobio, Deputy and President of the PdCI
party.

In France, support for the statement came from political figures
including Franoise Castex, Socialist Party MEP; Francis Wurtz MEP,
Chair of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left Group in the
European Parliament; Alain Lipietz, Green Party MEP. Regional leader
Francois Auguste of the Region Rhone-Alps also gave support.

A wide range of representatives of French civil society includes
William Maunier of the SNRT-CGT trade union; Jean-Baptiste Pr(c)vost,
Vice-President of UNEF the National Students Union; Bernard Cassen
Director General of Le Monde Diplomatique and Janette Habel, Professor,
Institut des Hautes Etudes d'Am(c)rique latine;

In Germany, Lothar Bisky and Oskar Lafontaine, the Chairs of the Die
Linke Party, alongside Gregor Gysi, Chairman of Die Linke Parliamentary
Group, Norman Paech Germany a member of Bundestag's Committee on
Foreign Affairs and Sevim Dagdelen MP and Helmuth Markov MEP backed the
statement. They were joined by representatives of civil society
including Reiner Braun, Executive Director, IALANA (International
Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms) and Peter Wahl of the WEED
(World Economy Ecology and Development) NGO.

In Spain: Willy Meyer MEP, Vice-Chair of the Euro-Latin American
Parliamentary Assembly was joined by Mayors and regional
representatives including: Ramn Argelles, Mayor of Lena; Jose Antonio
Barroso, Mayor of Puerto Real, Cadiz; Carmen P(c)rez Carballo, Director,
Club Internacional De Prensa (Xunta de Galicia); Ang(c)lica Carmenate
Portilla, Delegacion De Cultura, Diputacin Provincial de Granada; and
Jorge Pardo Piera, Legal Councillor, General Junta of the Asturias
Principality and former Chief of Staff of the Council of Justice and
Foreign Relations. Prominent writers and journalists to add their
support include Antonio De Cabo of the Centre for European Policy
Studies, Pedro Navarro and Marcos Roitman.

In Portugal signatories included: Ilda Figueiredo and Pedro Guerreiro
MEPs; Jose Oliveira, International Relations Officer of the SNTCT trade
union; Francisco Braz, President of the STAL trade union and Regina
Marques, National Director of the Women's Democratic Movement of
Portugal.

In Belgium, Franois Houtard, Director of the Centre Tricontinental
(CETRI) and Eric Toussaint, President of the Committee for the
Abolition of Third World Debt signed the statement.

In Greece support came from Athanasios Pafilis MEP, the General
Secretary of the World Peace Council; fellow MEPs Georgios Toussas and
Diamanto Manolakou and Nikolaos Farmakis, International Secretary of
OME-OTE trade union (Greek Telecom Employees' Federation)

In Ireland signatories included Ruairi Quinn TD, Labour Party
Spokesperson for Education and Science; Chris Andrews TD of Fianna
F!il, Tony Gregory TD (Independent), Caoimhghn " Caol!in TD: Bairbre
De Brn MEP and Mary Lou McDonald MEP of Sinn Fein; Martina Anderson
MLA for Foyle; Jack O'Connor, General President of Ireland's largest
union SIPTU; and Rod Stoneman, Executive Producer of the seminal film
on Venezuela, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

In Sweden, seven MPs and two MEPs supported the statement, including
Mats Einarsson MP, Jens Holm MEP and Eva-Britt Svensson MP, along with
Eva Bjorklund from the national board of the Left Party.

Swiss society is represented by: Jean-Claude Rennwald MP; Walter Suter,
the former Ambassador to Venezuela; NGO representatives and prominent
trade union leaders from UNIA, Emmental and VPOD, who between them
represent the majority of organised labour in the country. Czech
Republic Ransdorf Miloslav also gave support. MEP
 

                          ***

Statement in support of social progress and democracy in Venezuela

We believe that the lives of millions of Venezuelans have been
transformed by the progressive social and democratic policies of Hugo
Ch!vez's government.

Extreme poverty has been halved, illiteracy nearly eliminated,
participation in education has more than doubled and free basic health
care extended to nearly 20 million people, who had no access before.
Unemployment has fallen to an historic low.

The constitution introduced by President Chavez, approved by
Venezuelans in a popular referendum, is one of the most democratic in
the world and enshrines rights of previously excluded and minority
groups. An emphasis on social inclusion has improved the position of
women and Venezuela's black, mixed-race and indigenous majority.

Venezuela's government has directly promoted participatory democracy
through community councils, urban land committees and other
local bodies.

President Chavez' sweeping social, political and economic agenda, has
been endorsed by Venezuelans in 11 democratic elections that have been
consistently judged free and fair by international observers. On 2
December the Venezuelan people will once again be called on to vote, on
a series of reforms to the 1999 constitution proposed by President
Chavez.

Venezuela is one of the few countries in the world where both the
constitution, and any revisions to it, must be approved by a majority
of citizens in a national referendum. We call on the international
community to respect the outcome of the coming referendum and support
the sovereign and democratic right of the Venezuelan people to
self-determination. 


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