Western Sahara: Venezuela's President Chavez calls for liberation of the Sahrawi people
By the Bolivarian News Agency
September 21, 2009 -- The president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez Frias, expressed his solidarity to the people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic to reach their independence from Morocco.
The statement was issued by President Chavez during his talk with Mohamed Saui, who studies in Cuba and is now visiting Venezuela together with a delegation of young African students who are to take part on the Third Cultural Festival of the People of Africa, from September 20 to 25, on the way to the Summit of Presidents Africa-South America.
“As Fidel [Castro] told you, I tell you on behalf of Venezuela: We support and we will always support the cause of your people, the cause of the freedom of the Sahrawi people”, Chavez expressed.
Moreover, he reaffirmed his commitment of eventually visiting the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and he categorically affirmed that “it is necessary that we have more awareness and solidarity with the Sahrawi people”.
The Venezuelan president expressed as well that the Bolivarian government has travelled up to the country located in the western Sahara. “Minister Ramirez was there; there are some students from here; and we have been modestly cooperating.”
The president stressed that Sahrawi people “live persecuted in the desert; they were caste out from their land, outraged. The United Nations has taken a decision; Morocco refuses. We have to inform more about the Sahrawi cause.”
Furthermore, he took the opportunity to report that there is a documentary titled The Last African Colony, from the Venezuelan filmmaker Carlos Azpurua. He requested that the documentary be broadcast by state-run television VTV and the regional TV channel, Telesur.
“We have to claim to the world solidarity and respect for the Sahrawi independence. We have to help that people so that they can live every day better and that they reach their complete independence'', President Chavez said.
The Sahrawi people are native inhabitants from Western Sahara. Most of them inhabit in the area occupied by Morocco.
When President Chavez can
When President Chavez can support and express solidarity to the people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic to reach their independence from Morocco, why he is not supporting Eelam Tamils to get independence from Srilanka?. We,the members of Latin American Friendship Association, are disappointed by the support of President Chavez for annihilation Tamils by Srilankan President Rajapakse.We strongly condemn his support to President Of Srilanka for killing Tamils in the name of 'War On Terrorism'
Latin American Friendship Association(LAFA)
No.176/10, Vaigai Veedhi, Municipal Colony Salai, Veerappan Chatram Post,
Erode-638004. Contact Phone:, +91-9445125379.,+919445125401, +91-9443307681.
Dated: 24.09.2009.
Maniyarasan
Kurinji
Kochadai
Thiagu
K. Venkataraman
Aranga Gunasekaran
P. Thirunavukkarasu
A.J. Khan
Amarantha
Natarajan
Paamayan
We, from the Latin American Friendship Association in the Tamil Nadu State of India, strongly condemn the statement made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Libya on 4.9.2009 in appreciation of President Rajapakse of Sri Lanka for “defeating the LTTE Terrorism which was deemed impossible by the world at large. It is a glowing example for the other countries best with the same problem”.
We are sad that President Chavez could believe the Imperialist Media and ignore the fact that what Rajapakse has done in Sri Lanka is the greatest crime against the Tamil Minorities of the Island Nation, killing thousands of people and is now holding 3.5. lakh Tamils in open air barbed wire torture camps where there isn’t electricity, water and food, leave alone medicines and basic sanitary facilities. We don’t believe that Chavez is unaware of the worldwide condemnation of the Sri Lankan State Terrorism on Tamil natives, which is worse than the Nazi holocaust. If Chavez could call the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as terrorists, perhaps he has forgotten the path treaded by him before he was voted to power.
This sends alarming signals to us as we look upon Chavez for liberation from the imperialist yoke, not only of the Latin American Countries, but also of the poor in the third world countries. It is dangerous that the Latin American Leadership which aims at the consolidation of the South against the “Monster in the North” with efficient tools like the ALBA and the Banco De Sur is blind to the following facts:
1. The Tamils in Sri Lanka have been fighting for their rights as citizens for the last 60 years. They have tried out all possible democratic means of fighting but the Sinhala Chauvinist State violently suppressed them by killing them in thousands. The LTTE had no other option except to take up arms to fight for their liberation. Denial of just democratic rights as citizens has given birth to armed struggle in Sri Lanka, whereas in Venezuela, failure of military coup against the oppressive state led Chavez to seek power by democratic means.
2. The Sri Lankan state has so far massacred millions of Tamils in the name of “war on Terror” on the LTTE.
3. About 10 lakh Sri Lankan Tamils live across the globe as refugees.
4. It is four months now after the end of the war on terror, but no media persons are allowed to visit the war zones or the open air barbed wire fenced camps where the displaced Tamils are held in an inhuman state, worse than cattle. Genocide of Tamils was executed with impunity without a witness by the Sinhala Government.
5. U.N. officials have not been allowed to visit
6. the war zones or the camps of the Tamils (The entire world reported the plight of the UN Volunteer who left Sri Lanka yesterday after repeated threats to his life).
7. It is no secret now that young women and men are removed from the camps and are abused and tortured by the army; children are separated from parents and couples are separated and dumped in different camps.
We are disgusted that Chavez could support State terrorism unleashed on Tamils by the Sri Lankan Govt. for whatever gain he is aiming at. If anti-imperialistic moves could include support for state terrorism of individual countries, then the aim is not empowerment of the marginalised, but being selfish in the goal while compromising a poor helpless people for no fault of theirs. It is anachronistic that President Chavez who wants to build 21st century socialism could support and praise Rajapakse who has successfully carried out ethnic cleansing of Tamils in the name of 'War on terror’. And what is the morality behind his saying 'wiping out terrorism' ? Chavez would never want to go down in history as a Terrorist and a Dictator as the Imperialist Media projects him.
We, the Friends of Latin America, are also disappointed by the silence of Latin American Left Intellectuals and left parties for not openly condemning the stand taken by Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela in support of President Rajapakse . How can the left parties of Latin America watch in silence the support extended by their progressive Governments to Rajapakse in wiping out the Tamil race ? Are Tamils excluded from the Socialist world of 21st century being built by Left Parties of Latin America?
We respect the role of President Chavez in the western hemisphere because we go by history and not by what the Imperialist Media projects. We are aware that Chavez has the historical commitment to continue his efforts to make Bolivar’s dream a reality; to continue to honour and strengthen the ethical foundations laid by Jose Marti and Che Guevara in forging international solidarity.
Therefore, we appeal that in aligning themselves with the true spirit of Che’s Internationalism, Chavez, Fidel, Eva Morales and other leftist leaders of Latin America do support and stand by the Tamils of Eelam who have been fighting for their National Liberation for more than six decades and snap their diplomatic ties with the Sri Lankan State, as they have done in the case of Israel.
-Amarantha,
Latin American Friendship Association,Tamilnadu,India