As President Bush is met with protest and resistance, Town Hall fills in Solidarity with Venezuela

As President Bush is met with protest and resistance
Town Hall fills in Solidarity with Venezuela

November 9, 2005 -- "An Evening of Solidarity with Bolivarian Venezuela" rally attracted a packed house at the 1,500-seat Town Hall venue in Manhattan Nov. 8. This event, the largest expression of U.S. solidarity with Venezuela to date, featured a large panel of international guests, activists, trade unionists, scholars, and cultural performers.

The goal of the Evening of Solidarity was to strengthen the bonds between the people of the U.S. and Venezuela, particularly in light of Bush Administration hostility towards President Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution. Among the speakers were former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, human rights attorney Lynne Stewart, Teamster National Black Caucus President Chris Silvera, Larry Holmes of the Troops Out Now coalition, attorney Leonard Weinglass, Reverend Lucius Walker, Padre Luis Barrios, and many more. A similar meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 10, in Los Angeles.

Many members of the energetic crowd waved Venezuelan flags and toy shovels, inspired by the massive protests last week in Argentina, where Chavez said, "Each one of us brought a shovel, a gravedigger's shovel, because here in Mar del Plata is the tomb of the Free Trade Area of the Americas."

Representatives from the Venezuelan Government included: Leonor Osorio, the New York Consul General; Fermin Toro Jimenez, Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Nations; Jorge Guerrero Veloz, of the Presidential Committee Against Racism and the Venezuelan Afroaraguenos Civil Association; and Martin Sanchez, the Venezuelan Consul in Chicago.

"The voices of the Venezuelan delegation made us feel the love, generosity, dignity and humanity emanating from the Venezuelan process," said Berta Joubert-Ceci, International Outreach Coordinator for the event. "It helped put into context the virulence of the U.S. government that does not care one iota about people, here or abroad, as exposed by its genocidal occupation of Iraq and the treatment of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Last night's event showed that Venezuela is doing everything possible to make a reality of the slogan "another world is possible". And that the people in the United States are behind this process of change in Venezuela once they learn the truth about it."

Curtis Muhammad, of the People's Relief Fund of New Orleans, expressed appreciation for the Venezuelan government's offer to send relief to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Several speakers drew a sharp contrast between President Chavez, who immediately moved to send oil and assistance to the people of New Orleans, and President Bush, who sent the National Guard to protect private property while allowing people to die.

Haitian activists Ben Dupuy and Marlene Jean Noel both spoke of the situation in Haiti, where the democratically elected President Aristide was kidnapped and ousted by the U.S., as a precedent for what the U.S. is planning in Venezuela.

"Today is a different Latin America, one filled with hope and struggle as seen by events in Argentina," said Teresa Gutierrez, Co-Coordinator of the event. "The biggest obstacle for Venezuela is the United States, which has desires to assassinate President Chavez; Pat Robertson said so. That is why this event is so important. Tonight we are letting President Bush know that there is a thriving movement in solidarity with Venezuela. A movement where people like Danny Glover and Noam Chomsky and Representative Jose Serrano and others who gave their names even before we had a date-and that is why they could not join us tonight-because they too felt a sense of urgency about Venezuela."

Representative Jose Serrano said in a written message to the assembly, "Friends, I regret that I was unable to be present at tonight's event. The Republicans' plans are exactly the opposite of the ideals that we fight for here and hope to see take root in Latin America. I have tremendous respect for the vision of President Chavez to use his nation's oil wealth to help the poor and the disenfranchised of this hemisphere. That is truly revolutionary and commendable. President Chavez deserves the recognition and respect given to any other democratically elected President in the world. Thank you for holding this event, and please accept my apologies for not being able to attend."

"This event marks the beginning of a new phase of solidarity between activists here in the U.S. and the Venezuelan people," said Camacaro. "We have taken an important first step to help solidify our relationship, and we plan to step up our work in this area, including another public event on Thursday in Los Angeles. On February 24, in New York City, Venezuelans in the U.S. are inviting everyone to a national gathering of solidarity activists for an organizing conference to carry this work forward."

Global Solidarity
39. W. 14th St. #206
NY NY 10011 www.venezuelanov8.org
212-633-6646

Media Contact: Johnnie Stevens, Berta Joubert-Ceci, Dustin Langley 212.633.6646

Media Spokespeople: Teresa Gutierrez, William Camacaro 212.633.6646