Trade unionists in the United Kingdom are angry over remarks made by Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Kim Howells after a visit to Colombia and meeting with Army General Mario Montoya. The unions are incensed over Howells' attack on the Colombian NGO, Justice for Colombia. Speaking on his return to the Western Mail newspaper, Howells is quoted as stating that Justice for Colombia supports the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC", "a band of gangsters and drug smugglers ... thirty years ago, it (FARC) used to be a revolutionary organization, but now it's the biggest drugs cartel in Colombia." The Labor MP for Pontypridd has been shown in a photograph surrounded by Colombian army troops and General Montoya. Unite Union has called on Gordon Brown to sack Howells unless the latter apologizes, pointing out that the Colombian NGO has highlighted the fact that more than 550 trade unionists have been assassinated over the last six years by army and paramilitary death squads. The NGO has also criticized the UK for its military support to the Colombian army, despite the latter's abysmal human rights record and the fact that former UK military personnel are operating in the country as mercenaries. Unite dubs Howells' accusations "dangerous and completely unfounded," adding that he has endangered the life of trade unionists in Colombia. The British trade union funds Justice for Colombia and trade unions and has been a firm supporter of the humanitarian exchange agreement headed by President Hugo Chavez.
The National Anti-Drugs Office (ONA) has issued a report on its activities 2007-2008. The ONA says it has seized 7.32 tonnes of drugs so far this year and arrested 1,422 persons, among whom are 65 foreigners, including 36 Colombians and six Spaniards. More than 70% of the drugs haul consists of slabs of cocaine. The report highlights the fact that Venezuela does not produce drugs nor is a big consumer but it admits that the country has been affected by use of its territory as a transshipment area from Colombia to the United States and Europe. One of the biggest successes of the organization is the seizure in one operation of 2,947 kg of high quality cocaine on March 14 in an industrial zone of Carabobo State. Summarizing last year's activities, the report indicates that drug seizures totaled 57.5 tonnes which was 12.5 tonnes less than what was seized in 2006, which was around 70 tonnes. However, ONA chief, Colonel Nester Reverol points out that 13 laboratories situated in the border areas near Colombia were dismantled in 2007 ... 10 in Tachira and the other 3 in Zulia State where coca leaves imported from Colombia were being processed and treated with chemicals stolen from Venezuelan companies. However, what the report has not dealt with is accusations launched last Sunday by former Executive Vice President, Jose Vicente Rangel that the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) continues to operate in Venezuela in connivance with Venezuelan and British anti-drugs agencies.
In a surprise declaration, former Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) president and eminent anti-government critic, Luis Giusti has welcomed a British High Court decision to suspend the injunction freezing PDVSA assets. According to Luis Giusti, who acts as an oil consultant to the White House, ExxonMobil demands were excessive. While he accepts that the transnational had the right to do what it did, Giusti insists that the company should have gone through the arbitration process. "We should celebrate the ruling," Giusti maintains, because in any legal process the numbers put things in perspective ... " in the order of patrimony ExxonMobil figure is around $800,000 to 1.5 million and in my view, freezing $12 billion was madness." The ruling has restored Venezuela's patrimonial impact, Giusti continues, and it shows that the international justice system and process, as well as arbitration as such are not in the hands of any imperialism or any company like Exxon. Furthermore, he adds, Venezuela has won innumerable arbitrage processes in the past without any mention of conspiracy theories emanating from the White House and the US government. President Chavez signed the 1999 Constitution, Giusti argues, in which the emission of bonds and papers has built- in arbitrage clauses and tankers included in the Mariscal Sucre project have arbitrage dispositions. The former PDVSA president accuses the government of entering into contracts and processes with companies like Conoco, Total and ExxonMobil in any clumsy manner.
Tourism Minister, Olga Azuaje has launched an ambitious government vacation project called the International Social Plan promoting vacations abroad for poorer families. Azuaje was at the Simon Bolivar international airport in Maiquetia on Tuesday seeing off a the first bunch of Venezuelan tourists to the Caribbean island of Dominica. On the Conviasa plane were 46 people from Miranda and Carabobo states. The program includes airfares, meals, hotels and excursions during the trip. Although the program officially started yesterday, Azuaje maintains that more than 9,000 persons have already benefited from the scheme. The Minister says the Venezuelan tourism board (Venatur) h as a team entrusted with drawing up a census of people who could benefit from the scheme ... " 11,700 people have already benefited from visiting other parts of Venezuela ... the idea is that Venezuelans get to know their idiosyncrasy." The agreement to open Dominica to popular tourism from Venezuela was taken at the last meeting of the Alternative for the Americas (Alba) at which Dominica enrolled as a member state.
Patrick J. O'Donoghue
patrick.vheadline@gmail.com
If Britain were actually a real democracy, and not merely a stage-managed simulacrum of one, like all "bourgeois democracies", this phony "Labour" party would no longer be in existence -- let alone in power: and let alone openly serving as handmaiden to fascistic capitalism and oligarchy. This miserable flunky "minister" should be summarily removed from all power by those who previously 'voted him in' -- as far as that is an accurate statement concerning such a manipulative system. However, this ain't gonna happen -- because Britain is an ersatz democracy. No wonder it is leading even the U.S. in setting up a hi-tech surveillance police-state -- c/o the "Labour" Party, no less.
ReplyDeleteHow many organizers of the recent protests against the Uribe mafia are now dead because of the connivance of the likes of the Kim Howells of the world? And for that matter: how dare the ALBA and ecuadoran presidents publicly hug or shake hands with the murderer Uribe -- at the very moment his thugs were disappearing and assassinating the very people inside Colombia who should be these presidents' natural allies??
Like I said: the colombians and the yanquis are at least laffing up their sleeves about that one. And this is what you get when you work for pious liberal abstractions like "World Peace". Fugg world peace. You work for socialism, guys & dolls. Nothing less. Nothing else.