| News and opinions on situation in Venezuela | |
| 26/07/04 | US citizens' mis-information, arrogance sorely portrays us around the globe by Lourdes Vela |
VHeadline.com Venezuela Venezuela's Electronic News — www.vheadline.com www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=22167 Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:19:50 EDT Senator George Allen Dear Mr. Allen, As a US citizen I am deeply concerned about www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=22033 your comments that appeared on VHeadline.com regarding Venezuela. I was taken aback at your one-sidedness as a representative of the US, especially during these critical times internationally. Can you please tell me why your response totally disregarded the Senate Hearings that took place on June 25? As a taxpayer, can you please inform me, why you made the following statements: First, that President Chavez “resigned.” In the State hearings, when discussions on Venezuela occurred, the issue of whether this occurrence was a coup or not was never even questioned, and instead the word coup was used by several members of congress and Mr. Weisbrot when he referred to “the US governments ongoing support of an anti-democratic opposition movement that led a coup d'etat in 2002.” Mr. Weisbrot also went on to say “it must be recalled that the Bush administration, alone in this hemisphere, initially endorsed the military coup in April 2002.” I was shocked that you would question a fact that has been documented and filmed. Also, regarding the strike, where you say some 35,000 workers (less than 1% of the workforce according the June 25 State hearings) walked out of the State oil monopoly PDVSA … these workers were not striking for better wages or benefits (as stated on the Senate floor) thus not a strike. What these workers did was to participate in an illegal lockout in order to overthrow the democratically-elected President, as reiterated at the Senate hearings. How can you try and give any validity to these actions when in the US this would be, in its entirety, illegal? What would happen in the US if a major company came together and had a “strike” in order to force President Bush out of office? How legal would this be? The relationship that the US State Department accuses President Chavez of supposedly having with the FARC has never been proven. Also, Senator Dodd called into question Mr. Noriega's (State department employee and an adamant critic of President Chavez) actions because of the published opinion article that he wrote and which appeared in several US and Latin American newspapers just one day BEFORE the repair process began. This article stated that the signatures had already been obtained for the recall referendum and that the Chavez administration would face dire consequences if it didn't respect this conclusion. How can you as an honest democratically-elected Senator give validity to such information? Regarding President Chavez' close ties to Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein … at the hearings Mr. Weisbrot also discussed the fact that the US accepts President Lula da Silva's close ties with Fidel; therefore, they cannot question Mr. Chavez' — you completely overlook this. Furthermore, let's not forget that under Saddam Hussein's leadership the Turkish people were being slaughtered by gas, dying by the hundreds, while Mr. Donald Rumsfeld continued to hold close ties with Mr. Hussein and his government. Also, our current administration still does business with China and Vietnam, despite the fact that they are communist. Mr. Allen, especially as a Senator from the south, where many blacks suffered some of their worst plight, you should be very familiar with accusations of “communism” — must I remind you how the FBI constantly tried to accuse Dr. Martin Luther King of being a “communist” (documented fact). And when they could not find evidence they made it up (documented fact), all in hopes of defaming him. All Dr. King wanted was equality for all — exactly what President Chavez is trying to bring about in a country that has been plagued with inequality, racism and NO economic justice for 80% of its people. Paradoxically, you too are trying to help low-income families through a grant that funds the Early Head Start program you initiated. In your July 7 release you said “a quality education is the foundation for our children's future success. Early Head Start affords children … so they can better compete and succeed in life.” Are you trying to take this right away from children in another country? When you say “our” children, are you saying that only US children are entitled to a quality education, and to compete and succeed in life? Also, can you please clarify what kind of “open-ended” promises President Chavez could be making to the people of Venezuela? Have you ever questioned any of the politicians here in the US regarding their “open-ended” promises, and has this determined if they should be “closely monitored” or whether they would be considered communist or terrorist, or a threat to democracy? Your statements making a call to “resurrecting Venezuela's prosperity of the past” is comparable to making a call for reviving slavery, racism, and the economic inequality that plagued the Africans in the US in the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. I am stunned that you would propose such repulsion on the African-Venezuelans, Indigenous, and poor of Venezuela — these are the people who have been directly affected by “Venezuela's prosperity of the past.” The Venezuelan “prosperity” that you boast about was one of the worst times in Venezuela's history. Are you aware of the massacres that occurred during these “prosperous” years? When thousands of people disappeared or were murdered, or simply left dead from the atrocities? This prosperity only reached 10-15% of the population? The only people that benefited were the tiny elite and the small middle class that left the country with little infrastructure to show for all the “wealth.” Mr. Allen, if those years were so “prosperous” and the governments so “democratic,” why were 80% of the Venezuelan people living below the poverty level: in shacks, poorly educated, with no health care? Ironically, your campaign emphasized that you have made the creation of quality and good paying jobs your focus — do you not think that governments of other countries owe this to their people too? The bad information you pompously recite is frightening. Have you listened to the news lately? Have you heard that there was a MISCALCULATION. That someone dropped the ball and made a HUGE mistake: the CIA, the FBI, or the White House: there were NO weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Can you comprehend what this means? Do you realize that not only did innocent young kids die in an unnecessary war, but that innocent woman, children, and men have been assassinated, murdered, tortured, and mutilated wrongfully in another country in our name? Lives have been devastated, ruined? By us! DO YOU NOT SEE THE SEVERITY OF BAD INFORMATION? I would have understood if you had concerns about President Chavez' economic policy. I would have comprehended if you did not agree with his politics, but still respected him as an elected official. I could even empathize if you had valid questions as to how Mr. Chavez is going to help a country whose people (80%) have been deprived of good education, health care, and basic needs like running water; while a few reaped the rewards, leaving a major workforce behind. I would respect our Senators asking questions like: how can the mindset of people that have been raised with servants at their beck and call be changed? How can we make the educated middle class and elite population understand that democracy is not the ability for a few to gorge while others starve? I could understand all these questions from my government representatives∑ But what I cannot fathom, nor accept as an American tax-paying citizen, is your total disregard for an elected official. How you adamantly hold one viewpoint throughout your letter, making very serious accusations, instead of analyzing information given at the Senate hearings or via other communication channels — this would have been acceptable and responsible. Instead your attitude is alarming, a threat to democracy, repulsive, and brings doubt to your ability as a State Senator. Lastly, one of the key “advantages” that you claim, is supposedly your ability to secure America from foreign threats due to your knowledge of Virginia's defense industry and key military assets. US citizens also desperately hope that you are also working on an initiative to improve your information channels, even if that means you personally going to countries to see what is really going on, especially if the news you rely on comes from a few select (questionable) sources, or sound like the nightly news on television, because to do otherwise is only to perpetuate the terror that we now live in as US citizens, due to our constant mis-information, arrogance, and one-sidedness that sorely portrays us around the globe. Sincerely, Our editorial statement reads: Please give your support to our continuing efforts if you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe click on www.vheadline.com/subscriber/member_details.asp Subscriber Member Details SUBSCRIBERS ARE ADVISED THAT THEY, AND THEY ALONE, HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MAINTAINING THEIR FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO VHEADLINE.COM VENEZUELA AND THAT OUR EDITORIAL STAFF DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE ANY READER. PLEASE NOTE: |
|
|
|
|