Latin American Social Movements Map Solidarity with ALBA Alliance

Latin American Social Movements Map Solidarity with ALBA Alliance

By Federico Fuentes - Green Left Weekly, May 30th 2013

An important summit of global significance, held in Brazil May 16-20, has largely passed below the radar of most media outlets, including many left and progressive sources.

This summit was not the usual type, involving heads of states and business leaders.

Instead, it was a gathering of social movement representatives from across Latin America and the Caribbean -- the site of some of the most intense struggles and popular rebellions of the past few decades.

This region also remains the only one where an alternative to neoliberal capitalism has emerged. Pushing this alternative is the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA). Spearheaded by the radical governments of Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Cuba, it has eight member states, but seeks to relate to people's movements, not just governments.

The purpose of the Brazilian gathering, the First Continental Assembly of Social Movements Towards ALBA, was to go beyond a simple talk shop. It aimed to set up a region-wide coalition that could, as its final declaration states, “build continental integration of social movements from below and from the left, promoting ALBA and peoples’ solidarity against imperialism’s project”.

The document defines ALBA as “essentially a political, anti-neoliberal and anti-imperialist project. It is based on the principles of cooperation, complementarity and solidarity, that seeks to accumulate popular and institutional forces for a new declaration of Latin American independence.

"It is a movement of peoples and for peoples, for peoples’ integration, for life, justice, peace, sovereignty, identity, equality, for the liberation of Latin America, through an authentic emancipation that envisions Indo-Afro-American socialism.”

The assembly also adopted the name “Hugo Chavez” in honour of the recently deceased Venezuelan president, who together with Cuban leader Fidel Castro first proposed ALBA.

It was no coincidence that the assembly was held in the state of Sao Paulo at the national education school of Brazil’s Movement of Landless Workers’ (MST), not only the largest and best-known social movement in the region but also a key proponent of this initiative.

Speaking to Green Left Weekly in November 2011, the coordinator of the ALBA social movement’s council, Ruben Pereira said: “At the ninth ALBA summit in Caracas in April (2010), the social movement council was proposed as a space to propose social and economic polices for ALBA, rather than to simply raise sectorial concerns.”

However, it quickly became clear that many social movements from non-ALBA countries, in particular Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement (MST), which had met with Chavez to discuss the initiative, wanted to be part of a coalition of all social movements supporting the ALBA project.

Addressing the assembly, MST leader Joao Pedro Stedile said the gathering represented a third phase in the struggle of Latin America’s social movements.

According to a May 16 Comunicacion ALBA-Movimientos report, Stedile said the first phase, from 1990 to 1998, represented “a moment of resistance, in which we were able to halt the advance of neoliberalism and imperialism, and when networks, organisations and continental forums began to emerge, and which had as its culminating point the overwhelming victory of Chavez” in 1998, when he was first elected president.

The second phase involved a series of debates and gatherings that led to the creation of the Assembly of Social Movements, a broad anti-neoliberal alliance, but one that did not have socialism as its explicit goal. This period also involved the election of other progressive governments and the creation of government-based regional integration organisations.

However, the third phase now required social movements to “create a proposal for integration independent of the governments, although united behind the same project,” said Stedile. Social movements needed “an autonomous space, with the moral obligation to criticise and support these governments when needed.”

An example of this stance of critical support was the assembly’s call to end the United Nations occupation of Haiti, which involves troops from a number of Latin American countries, including ALBA member Bolivia.

However, the newly formed Continental Coalition of Social Movements towards ALBA was clear in identifying its main enemy: US imperialism.

The final document notes that since the onset of the global economic crisis, the US has unleashed “an even greater imperialist counteroffensive across the continent, expressed through an increased presence of transnationals in our territories; the plundering of our natural resources and the privatization of social rights; the militarization of the continent, the criminalization and repression of popular protest; US involvement in coups in Honduras and Paraguay; the permanent destabilization of progressive Latin American governments; the attempt to recover political and economic influence through initiatives such as the Pacific Alliance and other international agreements.

“Within this context marked by an imperialist offensive on the one hand, but also by the opening up of new possibilities in the direction of the project outlined by the ALBA governments, coordination among social movements across the continent is more necessary than ever.”

A number of proposals were adopted including the creation of a publishing house, establishment of a network of ALBA movement media outlets, and continent-wide days of action against the occupation of Haiti, in support of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and the Bolivarian revolution, against militarisation, and in defence of the environment.

An organisational sectariat was formed, comprised of delegates from Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Venezuela and Colombia. It aims to help consolidate local based chapters of the coalition.

A coordinating commission made up of two representatives from each country and a number of working groups -- media, education, mobilisation and solidarity -- were established

Below is printed a translation of the final declaration of the Assembly.

* * *

From the 16th to the 20th of May, at the Florestan Fernandes National School, in the municipality of Guararema, state of São Paulo, Brazil, we – more than 200 delegates representing women’s, peasant, urban, indigenous, student, youth, worker’s and agro-ecological movements and organisations from 22 countries – made up the First Continental Assembly of Social Movements towards ALBA (The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas).

We came here as part of a historic process that has seen us unite in forums, campaigns, international networks, sectorial organisations and diverse struggles within our countries, raising the same banners of struggle and sharing the same dreams for real social transformation.

We are living through a new epoch in Our Americas, which over the last few years has expressed itself in diverse mobilisations and popular rebellions, attempts to overcome neoliberalism and in the construction of an alternative society which is just and inclusive, something that is now both possible and necessary.

The defeat of the FTAA (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas) in 2005 was evidence of the existence of social movement resistance and a new continental geopolitical configuration, characterized by the emergence of popular governments that have dared to confront the empire. Its most advanced element in this regard, launched in 2004 by Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, is today called the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA).

ALBA is essentially a political, anti-neoliberal and anti-imperialist project, it is based on the principles of cooperation, complementarity and solidarity, that seeks to accumulate popular and institutional forces for a new declaration of Latin American independence, a movement of peoples and for peoples, for people's integration, for life, justice, peace, sovereignty, identity, equality, for the liberation of Latin America, through an authentic emancipation that envisions Indo-Afro-American socialism.

However, the empire continues to mobilise against the reorganization of popular forces and the emergence of new autonomous projects for the integration of the Great Homeland. In the wake of the first anti-neoliberal rebellions, the US has begun to reorient its foreign policy, seeking to recover its hegemony over the continental process across various spheres: economic, military, legal, cultural, media, political and territorial.

The explosion of the capitalist crisis in the heart of Wall Street in 2008 reinforced these plans. Since then, we have seen an even greater imperialist counteroffensive across the continent, expressed through an increased presence of transnationals in our territories, the plundering of our natural resources and the privatization of social rights; the militarization of the continent, the criminalization and repression of popular protest; US involvement in coups in Honduras and Paraguay; the permanent destabilization of progressive Latin American governments; the attempt to recover political and economic influence through initiatives such as the Pacific Alliance and other international agreements.

Within this context marked by an imperialist offensive on the one hand, but also by the opening up of new possibilities in the direction of the project outlined by the ALBA governments, coordination among social movements across the continent is more necessary than ever.

We have to assume the historic challenge of coordinating our resistances and go on the offensive with an original ideology and new proposals for models of civilisation, that build upon the best traditions of our peoples.

We ratify the principles, guidelines and objectives set out in our first Charter of Social Movements of the Americas to build continental integration of social movements from below and from the left, promoting ALBA and peoples solidarity against imperialism’s project.

We affirm our commitment to the project of Latin American integration, to continue the anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist and anti-patriarchal struggles, based on the principle of permanent and active solidarity between the peoples, via concrete actions against all forms of power that oppress and dominate.

We reaffirm our commitment to achieving the self-determination of our peoples, and popular sovereignty in all spheres: territorial, food, energy, economic, political, cultural and social.

We will defend the sovereignty of our peoples to decide what happens in their territories, to their natural resources and we commit ourselves to defending the rights of Mother Earth.

The social movements of Our Americas call for:

- The promotion of regional unity and integration cantered on an alternative, sustainable, durable and solidarity-based model, where the modes of production and reproduction are in the service of the peoples.

- The re-launching of the struggles of the masses and the class struggle at the national, regional and continental level, in order to halt and dismantle neoliberal capitalist programs and projects.

- The creation of effective networks and coordination between popular media outlets, that can allow us to carry out a battle of ideas, and put a halt to the manipulation of information by media corporations.

- Deepen our processes of political and ideological education in order to strengthen our organisations, as well as advance in processes of unity that are consistent and consciously in accord with needed transformations.

- We declare our support and solidarity with the Colombian people during this crucial moment in the process of dialogue and negotiation towards the signing of a peace agreement based on social justice, and that truly resolves the problems that gave rise to the armed conflict. We are attentive to the development of this process, and willing to collaborate and accompany it in any manner the Colombian people see fit.

- We declare our support for the Bolivarian government of Venezuela, headed by comrade President Nicolas Maduro, who represents the unmistakable popular will of the Venezuelan people as reflected in the elections of April 14, in the face of continuous attempts at destabilization by the right that seek to ignore the sovereign decision of the people and lead the country towards a political, institutional and economic crisis.

Kerry to lead US delegation to OAS Assembly in Guatemala

Venezuela’s Globovision Seeks to Moderate Coverage

Venezuela’s Globovision Seeks to Moderate Coverage

By Ewan Robertson

Mérida, 30th May 2013 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan private news channel Globovision is attempting to develop a more moderate image, however recent changes have been criticised by the conservative opposition.

The television station, known for its strident anti-government line, was bought over by a group of businessmen led by investor Juan Domingo Cordero earlier this month. Holding only a 4.3% audience share according to one study, a shift in editorial policy “toward the centre” was predicted by several media commentators at the time.

However recent changes at Globovision, in particular the dismissal of two opinion show hosts and the likely end of one current affairs program, have proved unpopular with some opposition supporters.

Last week Globovision’s management asked Ismael Garcia, the host of Sunday talk show Hello Venezuela, to discontinue his role on the program. Garcia is an opposition lawmaker who hit headlines recently when he released an audio recording which potentially implicates some government officials in acts of corruption.

Then, on Monday the dismissal of the host of current affairs show Good Night was confirmed. The reason given by Globovision’s management was that the host, Francisco “Kiko” Bautista, had undermined management by publicly complaining on twitter about Garcia’s dismissal.

Bautista argued that his exit was also because he had broadcast a live speech by opposition leader Henrique Capriles, after the channel had taken the decision to no longer broadcast Capriles’ speeches live. Capriles narrowly lost to Nicolas Maduro in April’s presidential election, and still refuses to recognise Maduro’s win.

Bautista’s co-hosts on Good Night also left the channel in solidarity with their colleague, effectively ending the show in its current form.

Globovision’s conduct since the new owners took charge will come as a blow to the opposition, whose strategy since the presidential election has been to question the Maduro government’s legitimacy and capacity to govern.

As with other private stations, Globovision’s new owners met with Maduro last week, an act which was seen as lending legitimacy to the government and a distancing from the opposition’s position.

On Sunday Henrique Capriles attacked Globovision’s owners over the apparent decision to end live coverage of his activities, accusing them of being allied to the government and of being enchufados (those with political connections).

Globovision’s management defended its actions, explaining in a statement on Monday that the channel’s editorial policy is “to broaden its line of opinion and information to all voices in the country, without any discrimination”.

“No journalist at this channel has been told or ordered how to make their programs. Not one,” the statement read.

Other reports have placed doubt over the idea that Globovision’s new owners are allied to the government. A recent article in newspaper Ciudad CCS cites that Raul Antonio Gorrin, one of the new buyers and a majority stakeholder in Globovision, is known to have signed a document against late President Hugo Chavez to provoke the 2004 recall referendum.

The president of Venezuela’s National College of Journalists (CNP), Tinedo Guía, further clarified Globovision’s editorial position following a meeting with owner Juan Cordero on Monday afternoon.

Guía reported that Capriles had not been “banned” from Globovision’s coverage, as some had claimed, but rather that the channel was set to scale back coverage of the opposition leader, “because it’s not an electoral campaign anymore”.

The CNP president added that Globovision’s owners “guaranteed to us that the channel’s editorial line isn’t going to go down, (however) there will be changes to maintain a balanced line”.

Maryclen Stelling, a media analyst with the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), thinks the shift in Globovision’s editorial line shows their “social responsibility with the present and future of Venezuela”.

She said that her investigations had shown that many media outlets in the country “behave more like political parties” than informative media, and that Globovision’s new owners “appear to have reflected and assumed their responsibility” as a news channel.

Nevertheless, the attempt to set a “balanced” editorial policy is proving unpopular with the channel’s core audience, and over 300,000 people have stopped following Globovision on Twitter in protest.

Changes in late-night scheduling have occurred on both sides of the political spectrum recently, with state channel VTV confirming this week that political talk-show The Razorblade has been pulled, after its host Mario Silva was heavily featured in the potentially incriminating audio recording released last week.

The majority of print, radio and television in Venezuela is privately owned, and is considered either neutral or critical of the government. VTV, the main pro-government television channel, holds a 6% audience share, according to official figures.

Published on May 30th 2013 at 7.31pm

This work is licensed under a Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives Creative Commons license

http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/9624

Child prostitution: The scourge of Colombia’s mines

Child prostitution: The scourge of Colombia’s mines

By: JINETH BEDOYA LIMA | 25 de Mayo del 2013


These girls are sexually exploited in the center of Medellin.


Some mines are organized networks of human trafficking.


Her days are filled with (sniffing) glue, inhaling it to forget her hunger, abuse by her clients and long hours with drunk miners and assailants in clandestine camps located on the lower Atrato, between Murindó (Antioquia) and Carmen del Darién (Chocó).

In these ancestral lands of the Embera tribe, copper and gold aren't the only things being exploited. There are young bodies which haven't even reached maturity yet, which are also being traded, by human trafficking networks, into forced prostitution and sexual exploitation. But it is not the only thing. El Tiempo documented how wherever the mines are located, criminals groups mounted a side business that is not limited to extortion and deforestation.

Hidden behind the titles of all the articles about mining that have generated so much controversy in the past year, illegal mining and the use of the armed groups to maintain their funding source, there's a crime that no one has attacked and for many regions this crime is almost part of the landscape. Officials say that where there are many men, there's prostitution, and since that's the world's oldest profession, there's no cause for alarm.

But the truth is that dozens of girls under the age of 16 have been sexually enslaved and today are part of a statistic, an unclear number. This lack of clarity goes hand in hand with the total absence of a government plan to save them from exploitation.

...

After a journey of several days, in the March 2011, Mireya was gathered with 11 other children. Remember that "one of them had just turned nine years old and was still speaking a half tongue", the five who were virgins were separated from the group and on Saturday night were given to four miners. "They were more or less old. First we were given brandy and then ... it began. " No tears. This child's words are full of hopelessness only.

An illicit, suffering

...

http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/explotacion-sexual-de-ninas-en-zonas-mineras_12824463-4 (Spanish)


Mobile brothels. Children. Forced at gunpoint to perform any number of aberrant acts. Their "wages" stolen to pay for their "room and board". No help from the state. "in recent months has affected a number of indigenous communities, as their girls are over exploited".
"coltan extraction has also unleashed a wave of sexual exploitation". The police says it's the army's responsibility, the army says they're not competent to manage children and pass the ball (where?).

An illicit, suffering

Here's an unrelated picture of a pretty Embera girls

Venezuela Opposition to Maduro calls on Mexico & International Community

Opposition calls on Mexico and the international community to show solidarity with the economic and political crisis facing the country

International - Thursday, May 30, 2013 15:38



...

In the framework of a meeting of members of the National Assembly of Venezuela with the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Mexican Senate, opposition and independent lawmakers, they exposed Mexican senators to the situation in Venezuela.

...

At the invitation of the Foreign Relations Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean, chaired by Senator Mariana Gomez del Campo, Opposition deputies Julio Cesar Montoya and Miguel Angel Rodriguez Vega announced that they will go to international bodies to challenge the results of the April's Venezuelan presidential election.

They noted that in the 14 years the government of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela suffered economic and social decline creating shortages of commodities, so this week Venezuela's National Assembly approved a loan to import toilet paper, soap and toothpaste before a shortage (occurs).

In that sense, the deputy Julio Cesar Montoya said that "if a country has to approve a loan to buy commodities for domestic shortage means that this face of serious problems, since ended its operations, employment and the progress in Venezuela ".

In turn, the deputy Miguel Angel Rodriguez, said the opposition does not want a repeat of the "Caracazo" over the serious deterioration of purchasing power and the shortage of commodities, so they are calling on the international community to show their understanding and solidarity to avoid a major crisis.

http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/component/content/article/49/16660.html

Opposition Governor Capriles Meets with Colombia’s Santos, Venezuelan Government Concerned

Opposition Governor Capriles Meets with Colombia’s Santos, Venezuelan Government Concerned

By Tamara Pearson



Merida, May 30th 2013 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Yesterday afternoon, Miranda state governor and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles met with Colombian president Juan Santos in Bogota.

After Capriles first announced the visit yesterday, Venezuelan foreign minister, Elias Jaua, accused Capriles of going to Colombia to put together “economic sabotage plans in Venezuela”.

Jaua said the meeting between Capriles and Santos was a “step towards derailing” relations between Colombia and Venezuela, and denounced that a “conspiratorial process” against Venezuela was underway in Colombia.

“We didn’t want to believe that this conspiracy had reached the highest powers of the Colombian state,” he said, warning that it was a “bad sign” that the Colombian government “received the person who convoked violence [after 14 April elections]”.

Further, Jaua warned that the Venezuelan government will “re-evaluate” its role in accompanying the peace process between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Santos government and the FARC have been in a process of dialogue since October last year, with Norway and Cuba facilitating the process, and Venezuela and Chile accompanying it.

“It’s difficult to work for the peace of a brother people when its highest institutions are encouraging and feeding into destabilisation in Venezuela,” Jaua said.

Jaua also criticised Capriles’ for “abandoning” Miranda state and his tasks there, “He should explain to the [state] legislative council and the people of Miranda how this trip benefits his state,” he said.

This afternoon, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro also commented on the meeting, calling on the armed forces and Venezuelan people to be “alert” in the face of the “psychological operation [organised] from Bogota to weaken Venezuelan democracy”

Head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Diosdado Cabello, said yesterday that the meeting with Santos was “an aggression and not a courtesy visit”. He asked how Santos would react if the Venezuelan government met with “violent agents who affect peace in Colombia”. Cabello requested that the Colombian government clarify if its “with the golpista (Capriles) or the constitutional government of Nicolas Maduro”.

According to Telesur journalist in Colombia, Vladimir Carillo, the meeting between Santos and Capriles has created “a very unpleasant atmosphere” there, and after the meeting both men “avoided” any statements to the press.

Carillo said the meeting was held on Wednesday morning, lasted around 30 minutes, and that it “could affect commercial and political relations” between Venezuela and Colombia . He also reported that “Capriles wanted to speak in the senate, but they denied him that, and he only got to meet with the president of the chamber”.

Today Capriles’ only comments have been to criticise the government’s re-evaluation of its role in the peace process. Capriles said it was “unacceptable” because “peace can never be an object of bribery”. According to El Nacional, Capriles is visiting some Latin American countries to garner support for his challenge of the 14 April presidential election results.

Former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, via his Twitter account also reacted today to the Venezuelan government’s concerns, saying the meeting “wasn’t clandestine” like the alleged meetings between “the Venezuelan government and the terrorist FARC”.

Capriles’ meeting with Santos yesterday was his second one. They first formally met last September during Capriles’ campaign to win the October presidential elections.

This work is licensed under a Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives Creative Commons license

http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/9623

Guatemalan Constitutional Court Considers Whether Rios Montt Should Benefit from 1986 Amnesty

May 30, 2013

One Week After Overturning Former Dictator’s Genocide Conviction, Guatemalan Constitutional Court Considers Whether Rios Montt Should Benefit from 1986 Amnesty

by Emi MacLean

In a tense political climate, Guatemala’s Constitutional Court last week overturned the historic conviction of former Guatemalan strongman Efrain Rios Montt, who ruled Guatemala for 17 months in what Guatemala’s truth commission recognized as the most brutal period of Guatemala’s 36-year internal armed conflict.

Now the Constitutional Court has resuscitated long-dormant defense claims that a historic amnesty prevents any prosecution of Rios Montt or his co-accused, Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez.

Constitutional Court Ruling Creates a Legal “Labyrinth”

On May 10, a Guatemalan trial court convicted Rios Montt of genocide and crimes against humanity for killings, forced displacement, rapes and torture committed under his rule. The trial court acquitted Rodriguez Sanchez, Rios Montt’s head of military intelligence, on the same day. One week later, the trial court issued a 718-page sentence in the case.

Then, on May 20, a divided Constitutional Court annulled the verdict and sent the trial backward. In its 3-2 judgment, the Constitutional Court rejected the outcome of the trial and left the entire future of the process uncertain—essentially on a technicality.

A representative of the civil party CALDH, working alongside the prosecutors to bring the case against Rios Montt, described the current situation as at an impasse. The civil party insists that, without further clarity from the Constitutional Court, it is impossible for a new trial to begin.

The Constitutional Court ordered the trial to pick up from the middle of the process. However, as the trial court had already issued its voluminous and reasoned sentence, all of the judges in that tribunal stepped aside, requiring the case to be transferred to a new court.

A new court might find it impossible to begin at a stage where it would have to rely on evidence already heard by another court. Yet, the new trial court would lack the authority to invalidate the earlier trial court’s proceedings. A new trial court would also lack the authority to begin afresh without clear guidance from the Constitutional Court, as initiating a brand new trial would contradict the Constitutional Court’s order that the case pick up from the middle.

There are only two so-called “high-risk” trial courts in Guatemala, so many anticipate that the case will be transferred to the other high-risk trial court (“B”). However, to make matters even more complicated, a three-judge high-risk appeals court must assign a new tribunal. Yet, two of the three judges from this appeals court are unavailable—one recused herself and the other is out of the country.

So the genocide case, with the trial phase deemed completed only weeks ago, now exists in a legal limbo—with the prior trial court having disqualified itself as a result of the Constitutional Court’s decision; no new trial court assigned; no appellate court that is composed that would even be able to order the case to be re-assigned; no clear deadline for when the case will be transferred; and no clarity about what will happen if and when the case is transferred to a new trial court.

Francisco Garcia Gudiel, Rios Montt’s defense attorney, insists that the Constitutional Court judgment is appropriate, and that he will be ready to defend Rios Montt whenever a new tribunal convenes to hear the case.

Constitutional Court Hears Amnesty Challenge

Now, in the midst of this tremendous uncertainty, the Constitutional Court is opening again the question of whether Rios Montt should be entitled to amnesty for crimes committed during his 1982-83 rule.

On Wednesday, May 29, the Constitutional Court held a public hearing on whether a 1986 amnesty should prevent Rios Montt’s prosecution. This hearing was in response to legal challenges filed long ago, but left unresolved by the Court.

In 1986, Rios Montt’s successor, General Humberto Mejia Victores, who had himself taken over rule of Guatemala in a military coup, issued a general amnesty for all crimes committed between March 1982 and January 1986, including the entire period of Rios Montt’s rule. However, during the peace accords, Guatemala enacted a law repealing all prior amnesty laws (Decree 133-97) and a National Reconciliation Law (Decree 145-96) which provided a limited amnesty, but excluded explicitly from any amnesty the crimes of genocide, torture, forced disappearance, and other international crimes.

The defense argues that the National Reconciliation Law may not apply retroactively. Both lower courts rejected the defense arguments and insisted that no amnesty could prevent the prosecution of these two former generals on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. The Constitutional Court is due to issue a judgment within five days in response to the legal challenge just heard.

But there are other unresolved amnesty challenges. The Constitutional Court scheduled another public hearing next week, on Thursday, June 6, in response to a separate amnesty challenge lodged by Rios Montt’s defense attorneys. Francisco Garcia Gudiel, one of Rios Montt’s defense attorneys, says that on June 22 the Constitutional Court is due to hear yet another defense assertion that an amnesty prevents any prosecution.

Wednesday’s Constitutional Court hearing comes only weeks after Guatemala's Secretary of Peace, Antonio Arenales Forno, represented to a skeptical United Nations Committee Against Torture that an amnesty prevents the prosecution of historic crimes in Guatemala. Claudio Grossman, President of the UN Committee Against Torture, and a former head of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, challenged Arenales Forno, recalling Guatemala’s long history of impunity concerning crimes committed during Guatemala’s armed conflict. “Guatemala is a signatory to the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights, and the Inter-American Court has recognized the incompatibility of amnesty laws with certain war crimes,” he said.

Head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala Slated for Early Departure

Meanwhile, Guatemalan media reported on Wednesday (and the United Nations later confirmed) that Francisco Dall’Anese, the Commissioner of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (or CICIG, for its initials in Spanish), will step down in September. He had been expected to carry the post until September 2015, but will not renew his contract.

Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Fernando Carrera remarked that the Guatemalan government complained to the United Nations, which appoints the CICIG Commissioner, about public statements CICIG made during the course of the Rios Montt genocide trial. Carrera, however, expressed continued support for the institution of the CICIG. (”Hemos dicho a la ONU que nos parece importante que el Comisionado sea siempre una persona que guarde equidad en los procesos. Lo importante es que continúe el fortalecimiento de la CICIG.”) Dall’Anese insists that his early departure is because he wants to spend more time with his family

content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative License.

http://www.riosmontt-trial.org/2013/05/one-week-after-overturning-former-dictators-genocide-conviction-guatemalan-constitutional-court-hears-claim-that-rios-montt-should-benefit-from-1986-amnesty/

Sales drop at Coca-Cola Femsa Venezuela as strike hits day 9

"Murderer" - Protests in Bogota against Capriles. Venezuela to recall peace envoy

Wednesday, 29/05/2013 7:56 PM | Printable version






...

With placards accusing Capriles of being a murderer, many people, including Venezuelans living in New Granada expressed dissatisfaction with the visit of the former presidential candidate.

Capriles, who in the words of Julio Borges, "walked like a king" down the Bogota streets, went to Colombia and, in an act that has drawn protests and controversy, was received by President Santos.

It can't have escaped Santos and his advisers that they're receiving a common citizen, legally speaking, but a citizen who caused deaths and losses in Venezuela.

The protests continued even after the Santos-Capriles meeting.

http://www.aporrea.org/internacionales/n229838.html

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Qpi068p5jrLNJG8dsJ4uqQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MzAwO2NyPTE7Y3c9NDUwO2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0zMDA7cT04NTt3PTQ1MA--/
Reuters/Reuters - Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (R) shakes hands with Venezuela's opposition leader Henrique Capriles during a visit at the Narino presidential house in Bogota May 29, 2013.

....

"Colombia must clarify if the government is with Capriles' coup intentions, or with the people of Venezuela and with the legitimate, sovereign and constitutional government of comrade Nicolas Maduro," Cabello told state media.

"President Santos is putting a bomb in the good relations that President Chavez urged so much ... He is receiving a murderer, a fascist right there in his palace."

Colombia is a major U.S. ally and the government before Santos had dire relations with Chavez's administration.

....

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua echoed Cabello's criticisms and said the country's envoy to Colombia's peace talks in Cuba, Roy Chaderton, would be recalled in protest.

"I deeply regret that President Santos has taken a step that is going to lead, in a painful way, to the derailment of the good relations we had," he told reporters.

http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-colombias-meeting-opposition-leader-hurt-ties-232553693.html

Henrique Capriles, governor of Miranda abandons his duties in Miranda to travel to Colombia

Wednesday May 29, 2013, 1:09 a.m.
Henrique Capriles, governor of Miranda abandons his duties in Miranda to travel to Colombia

Miranda state residents demand dismissal of governor Capriles and the declaration of "falta absoluta" (absolute failure/constitutional dismissal for dereliction of duties) in Miranda state, fearing that he is using state resources to fund his travel, meetings and destabilizing activities inside and outside the country.


The antiChavista politician announced he would meet with the president of Colombia (Photo: File)


The governor of the Venezuelan state of Miranda (north) and opposition leader Henrique Capriles, announced Wednesday he will travel to Colombia to allegedly hold a private meeting with the country's president, Juan Manuel Santos, abandoning his duties as governor and arousing discontent among his constituents in Miranda state.

The former presidential candidate, defeated in the last two elections, justified his absence by saying the world "wants change and progress of Venezuela", refusing to acknowledge the support, assistance and international credibility that the constitutional and legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro, has received.

After Capriles' announcement, Venezuela's foreign minister, Elias Jaua, reported that the governor "will meet Wednesday in Bogotá, with a dark character (Uribe), a sworn enemy of our country" to fine tune their "plans for the economic sabotage of Venezuela".

...

While Capriles devotes his time and dedication to convening press conferences, rallies and travel throughout Venezuela- and now abroad- to whip up international discrediting of the country's democratic system, Miranda state residents have started demanding his removal from office and a declaration of "falta absoluta" (absolute failure/constitutional dismissal for dereliction of duties) in the state.

...

http://www.telesurtv.net/articulos/2013/05/29/gobernador-henrique-capriles-abandona-estado-miranda-para-viajar-a-colombia-1840.html


In a brief statement to reporters who were waiting for him at Eldorado Airport in Bogotá, opposition leader Henrique Capriles, the governor of Miranda state, said on Thursday that he will meet with Venezuelan residents in the Colombia capital and will hold a press conference in which he will answer "any questions"


"I am here for a meeting with Colombia's (public) powers, not only with the Presidency," he stated

...

When asked if his agenda in Colombia included a meeting with Santos, the former presidential candidate of Venezuela said "yes."

In a brief statement to reporters who were waiting for him at Eldorado Airport in Bogotá, Capriles declared, "I am here for a meeting, as I said, with the (public) powers of Colombia, not only with the Presidency, but with Congress," as well, Efe reported.

He added that on Thursday he will meet with Venezuelans living in Bogotá and will hold a press conference in which he will answer "any questions."

Before departing for Bogotá, Capriles said that he would travel to Colombia to have the voice of the Venezuelans who support him heard and to complete a number of activities included in a "transparent agenda."

http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/130529/henrique-capriles-in-bogota-for-meeting-with-president-santos