this thursday, three latin american solidarity groups will be co-organising a joint rally in solidarity with the people of colombia, venezuela and cuba. come along and find out for yourself how the US is militarily intervening in the region and preparing for a wider war, specifically between the ultra-right government of colombia and the ultra-left government of venezuela. (and for those who think that all governments are just as bad, remember, pinochet killed all the anarchists too...)o
HANDS OFF VENEZUELA & CUBA!
NO TO PLAN COLOMBIA!
U.S. OUT OF GUANTANAMO!
A rally against US intervention in Latin America
speakers include:
Diego Escobar (Colombian trades union activist), Sue Branford (writer & broadcaster on Latin America), Jorge Martin (correspondent for Venezuelan trades union newspaper), Dave Raby (Institute of Latin American Studies, Liverpool), Steve Wilkinson (editor, CubaSí magazine), Denay Monsote (Cuban school student), plus very special guest Mark Thomas (Comedy Product)
Thursday 17th June, 7.30pm
Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, Upper St, London N1 (nearest tube: Highbury & Islington)
suggested donation £2 (£1 low-wage, no-one turned away for lack of funds)
COME TO THE RALLY:
The people of Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba are under attack and face the increasing threat of an Iraq-style war and occupation of their countries.
In Colombia there are already 1000 US troops and military contractors directly involved in counter-insurgency and combat operations. This is part of the $2-billion military assistance package, "Plan Colombia", which aims to prop up the far-right government of Alvaro Uribe by waging a brutal dirty war against its own people. Now the guns are being turned on Venezuela; last month 140 Colombian paramilitaries were arrested inside Venezuelan territory.
Venezuela was number one supplier of oil to the US before the election of leftwinger Hugo Chavez, who ended this and instead started an 'oil-for-doctors' deal with Cuba. Washington supported a traditional coup against him in 2002 which was defeated when hundreds of thousands of supporters (mainly women) rallied and the military rank-and-file rebelled. An employers' lock-out later that year to try and overthrow Chavez also fell apart after two months of popular defiance. Now Washington is preparing military intervention via Colombia.
Meanwhile, the US has taken further steps to strangle the economy of Cuba through savage cuts on travel and donations by Cuban-American families to their relatives. Both Washington and Westminster are openly supporting Cuban mercenary forces and Bush has authorised the use of military planes bordering Cuban airspace for illegal transmission of radio and TV propaganda.
At this rally you will have chance to hear more about the threat of war and US intervention in the region from people who are involved in fighting back.
• In Cuba over a million people in Havana marched in defiance of the new US threats.
• In Venezuela the 'Bolivarian revolution' has mobilised the urban and rural poor in a fight for land, education and health care.
• In Colombia peasant, social and trades union organisations continue to fight for democratic rights in the face of the regime's repression.
Join us at this rally to be part of the resistance against US intervention and war in the region.
Co-organised by Colombia Solidarity Campaign, North London Cuba Solidarity Campaign and Hands Off Venezuela!
cvc_solidarity@yahoo.co.uk
www.thenewagenda.org/cvc_rally
NO TO PLAN COLOMBIA!
U.S. OUT OF GUANTANAMO!
A rally against US intervention in Latin America
speakers include:
Diego Escobar (Colombian trades union activist), Sue Branford (writer & broadcaster on Latin America), Jorge Martin (correspondent for Venezuelan trades union newspaper), Dave Raby (Institute of Latin American Studies, Liverpool), Steve Wilkinson (editor, CubaSí magazine), Denay Monsote (Cuban school student), plus very special guest Mark Thomas (Comedy Product)
Thursday 17th June, 7.30pm
Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, Upper St, London N1 (nearest tube: Highbury & Islington)
suggested donation £2 (£1 low-wage, no-one turned away for lack of funds)
COME TO THE RALLY:
The people of Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba are under attack and face the increasing threat of an Iraq-style war and occupation of their countries.
In Colombia there are already 1000 US troops and military contractors directly involved in counter-insurgency and combat operations. This is part of the $2-billion military assistance package, "Plan Colombia", which aims to prop up the far-right government of Alvaro Uribe by waging a brutal dirty war against its own people. Now the guns are being turned on Venezuela; last month 140 Colombian paramilitaries were arrested inside Venezuelan territory.
Venezuela was number one supplier of oil to the US before the election of leftwinger Hugo Chavez, who ended this and instead started an 'oil-for-doctors' deal with Cuba. Washington supported a traditional coup against him in 2002 which was defeated when hundreds of thousands of supporters (mainly women) rallied and the military rank-and-file rebelled. An employers' lock-out later that year to try and overthrow Chavez also fell apart after two months of popular defiance. Now Washington is preparing military intervention via Colombia.
Meanwhile, the US has taken further steps to strangle the economy of Cuba through savage cuts on travel and donations by Cuban-American families to their relatives. Both Washington and Westminster are openly supporting Cuban mercenary forces and Bush has authorised the use of military planes bordering Cuban airspace for illegal transmission of radio and TV propaganda.
At this rally you will have chance to hear more about the threat of war and US intervention in the region from people who are involved in fighting back.
• In Cuba over a million people in Havana marched in defiance of the new US threats.
• In Venezuela the 'Bolivarian revolution' has mobilised the urban and rural poor in a fight for land, education and health care.
• In Colombia peasant, social and trades union organisations continue to fight for democratic rights in the face of the regime's repression.
Join us at this rally to be part of the resistance against US intervention and war in the region.
Co-organised by Colombia Solidarity Campaign, North London Cuba Solidarity Campaign and Hands Off Venezuela!
cvc_solidarity@yahoo.co.uk www.thenewagenda.org/cvc_rally
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14.06.2004 20:30
NO TO PLAN COLOMBIA!
US OUT OF GUANTANAMO!
A joint rally organised by the Colombia Solidarity Campaign, North London Cuba Solidarity Campaign and Hands Off Venezuela! against US intervention in Latin America.
US intervention isn't just limited to the Middle East. The ongoing 'hidden war' in Latin America has also reached a critical point. Colombia's long-standing civil conflict is intensifying under the far-right government of Alvaro Uribe. Fuelled by a $2-billion military aid budget from Washington (as part of the genocidal 'Plan Colombia'), targets of the state are more often grass-roots activists like trade unionists and peasant farmworkers than "narco-guerrillas". Now it appears the guns are being trained against its neighbour Venezuela, precipitating a showdown against the left-leaning president Hugo Chávez there.
According to the May 26th Financial Times, Chávez is lobbying the new Spanish government to cancel a contract to supply Colombia with 43 AMX-30 tanks. The FT reports, "Colombian officers say the tanks - if delivered - will be ineffective for their war on guerrillas, and will likely be deployed on Colombia's border with Venezuela, inflaming tensions." Earlier that month, 140 Colombian paramilitaries were arrested in a ranch just outside of Caracas wearing Venezuelan military uniforms, reminiscent of both the Bay of Pigs disaster and the Contras in Nicaragua.
Watching across the Caribbean is Cuba, which for 44 years has suffered attempted invasions, terrorist attacks and a vicious and illegal economic blockade by the US. Along with Europe, the US are openly backing Cuban anti-government mercenaries and increasing spy plane flights close to Cuban airspace, from which they broadcast non-stop propaganda. Since 9-11, the threats towards the island have increased: in 2003, President Bush listed Cuba as a country of "concern" in his war on terror, and his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush stated, "After its success in Iraq, Washington should finish off the regime of Fidel Castro."
Like Iraq, Venezuela has lots of oil. It was the number one supplier to the US before Chávez' election and used to be known as the 'OPEC-buster' because it produced over quota, which drove prices down. Chávez ended this and started offering favourable deals to the poorer Caribbean countries, including Cuba with which he established an 'oil for doctors' barter exchange. He also channelled the massive profits towards public projects such as housing, education and healthcare, which to the oil-addicted Bushites and local elite meant war.
First they tried a conventional coup, kidnapping him for two days in April 2002. That failed when the military rank and file rebelled, the US backed down under international pressure, and hundreds of thousands of supporters (mainly women) fought fascist-controlled police on the streets to demand their president back. Eight months later, a bosses-backed general 'strike' (which hit the national oil industry hardest, costing billions of dollars) crumbled after over two months of popular defiance. Finally, the strategy seems to have shifted to outright military intervention from abroad, in this case, from Colombia. Come to the rally and find out how you can help challenge them.
Thursday 17th June, 7.30pm, Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, Upper St, London N1
(nearest tube: Highbury & Islington) Suggested donation £2 (£1 concessions, no-one turned away for lack of funds)
www.thenewagenda.org/cvc_rally
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