Cardinal Jorge Urosa has called on people to support Catholic education in Venezuela with the slogan, "God cannot be taken out of school." The Cardinal made the statement on arriving at the Santa Teresa basilica in Caracas for religious ceremonies connected with the popular image of Jesus the Nazarene. The Catholic faith must be strengthened within the school framework, Urosa insists, because God is important to Venezuela and should remain in the schools. Reiterating his message of national unity, the Cardinal says that union should be a principal concern and not what divides people. Urosa has also rejected charges from Interior & Justice Minister, Ramon Rodriguez Chacin of alleged links between members of the church and narco-traffickers as unfounded rumors. During his sermon, he highlighted the urgency of dealing with delinquency and violence with an adequate police force, good systematic work by prosecutors and judges who are on the side of victims and not the criminals.
UK Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells has defended his position after another controversial visit to Colombia. The angry defense comes after fellow Welshman, Andy Richards of the United trade union promised to eliminate political sponsorship on the part of the Welsh Trade Union Congress. Howells is a Labour Party member of Parliament. The unions are angry over a meeting that Howells had with Colombian army commander, General Mario Montoya, who has been linked to serious human rights abuse accusations, even in the US Congress. Howells replies that he has not even met Mr. Richards and was not aware of union funding money ... in fact, he quips he is not really concerned if they do not give him any money in the future. As for charges that he adopted a soft line with the Colombian government, Howells fires back stating that he "read the Riot Act to these people, saying that human rights were important above everything." The Minister repeats his blanket condemnation of the Justice for Colombia organization that highlights assassinations against Colombian trade unionists, Howells insists that the NGO supports the FARC, adding that he has met Colombian trade unionists who want to disaffiliate from the NGO. Richards continues his attack, declaring that the Welsh TUC condemns the murders of three trade unionists in Colombia over the last 10 days: Gildardo Antonio Gomez and Carmen Cecilia Carvajal Ramirez (teachers' trade union Fecode) shot and killed and Leonidas Gomez Rozo (bank workers' trade union Uneb) brutally murdered in his home.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has appointed Mauricio Jaramillo to replace Ivan Rios as member of the FARC secretariat. The appointment was announced on continental TV station Telesur. In a five-point communique, the FARC denounces that those responsible for the assassination of Rios were Colombian army infiltrators and attacks the Colombian government for attempting to justify the cowardly and assassination as an act of legitimate defense.
In a report published in Aporrea.org, it has been highlighted that Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos held a meeting with FARC number two, Raul Reyes in Costa Rica in October 1997. At the time, Santos was a presidential candidate from the Liberal Party and one of his central electoral program was to set up a peace plan with the FARC and paramilitary groups. 11 years afterwards, Santos was responsible for the assassination of Reyes during a US-assisted a strike on an FARC camp inside Ecuador two weeks ago.
During a visit to Venezuela, Brazil's presidential international affairs adviser, Marco Aurelia Garcia has stated that Brazil welcomes a British High Court's decision to reverse an injunction freezing Petroleos de Venezuela assets. Speaking on Telesur TV, Garcia says his government is happy with the decision because Brazil has strong energy cooperation ties with Venezuela. On March 26, he states, the two presidents will inspect the Abreu e Lima refinery in Recife. The adviser also highlights the importance of South America which, he declares, has probably the biggest energy reserves in the world. Speaking about Brazil's commitment to Cuba in the energy field, Garcia points out that Petrobras in Cuba is not just involved in extracting petroleum but also in strengthening the petrochemical sector, among other things. At the end of the month in Recife, Presidents Chavez and Lula da Silva will sign several agreements to strengthen the strategic alliance of both countries including a plan to help Venezuela's agriculture plan to substitute imports.
It would appear that the USA and Colombia have acquired another ally in the war on President Chavez after Peru's foreign minister, Antero Flors-Araiz announced closer ties with Colombia to exchange information and intelligence on terrorism. According to the Minister, two alleged members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were arrested yesterday in the border area of Loreto. The Minister says Peru has vast experience in anti-guerrilla warfare after it successfully quelled Sendero Luminoso in the 80s. The alliance is seen as a direct sandwiching of Ecuador and a challenge to President Chavez' Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (Alba) initiative. The Peruvian government has rejected the setting up of Venezuelan-sponsored medical centers in areas bordering with Bolivia.
Patrick J. O'Donoghue
patrick.vheadline@gmail.com
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