Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-05-07-Speech-4-278"
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"en.20090507.35.4-278"2
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"−
Madam President, Commissioner, I have signed this resolution and asked to speak in this plenary because I was a witness to the so-called ‘expulsion’ of our colleague Luis Herrero, which was, in fact, a kidnapping. What is more, I had a chance to see how political persecution, abuses of power by the Chávez regime, intimidation of the opposition, threats, disregard for human dignity and the misuse of justice are all a normal part of life in Venezuela.
The case of Manuel Rosales was the last straw and the catalyst for this resolution, but there are thousands of cases just as bloody as his; some of them are quoted in the resolution and others are not, like the case of Eligio Cedeño who was born in the poor Caracas suburb of Petare, a notoriously dangerous area well known for electing a mayor who was not from the Chávez regime. Eligio was educated with the help of others, in particular, from Citibank; he managed to set up his own business, the Bank of Caracas, and then lived a normal life, also providing help to the most needy. Today, however, he is illegally imprisoned in a Caracas jail following two years of detention with no coherent case being made against him. His only crime was to be a part of the economic oligarchy.
Another case is that of Nixon Moreno, a student leader at the University of the Andes, elected to the university council several times and president of the Federation of University Centres. In 2003 he won the Federation election against the current Minister of Interior and Justice, and that is his crime. Today he is accused of attempted murder and lewd violent acts, despite having been exonerated of the accusations.
Cases such as these are a feature of everyday life in Venezuela, where persecution of the opposition with the aim of excluding them from political life and of suppressing dissidents has become part of normal life. Nevertheless, we need to send a message of hope to Venezuelan democracy: despite the challenges, I am sure democracy will be established and President Chávez will be voted out."@en1
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