Venezuela and Global Women Strike, female spinmeisters?
By Aleksander Boyd
London 24 Mar. 04 – I just had a conversation with a representative of the Global Women Strike here in London. For the sake of exposing the preposterousness of her allegations I consider fitting to reproduce contents of the conversation, damn I wish I had Aporrea’s telephone recording equipment!! Anyway, the lady firstly asked me who I was and from where I was calling, she then questioned my knowledge about the country and the current situation. One of the very first sentences by her was “we support the Venezuelan Revolution” and was uttered after I expressed my doubts regarding the not-substantiated-with-evidence-to-date American interventionism.
Sensing a leftist obnubilated fundamentalist on the other end of the line I said to her that before adventuring her organization’s reputation it would be advisable to get in touch with Amnesty International here in London to gather data about the human rights situation. Further I asked her what did she thought –from a feminist perspective- about the beating that the National Guard gave to Elinor Montes on February 27. She did not know who was Elinor Montes and in regards to Amnesty International she said “we don’t get our information from agencies outside Venezuela but from grass root movements inside the country. Ah, wonderful -I replied- then you must be in touch with COFAVIC and PROVEA? COFAwho? She answered.
She did not know who Liliana Ortega was and had never heard before the organizations aforementioned. She did not know about the political prisoners, the scores of tortured, the missing and the politically motivated assassinations and she would have none of it. No conversation about Venezuela is free from the mention of the “Revolution will not be televised” that fantastically successful propaganda film produced by Irish film makers. In my interlocutor’s view said film encapsulates the supreme truth about the country. A differing viewpoint is nothing but unaltered elitist, criollo-rich-boys spin. I commented that I was prepared to debate with her or any other ‘Venezuelan expert’ about the source of the recent upheavals. American interventionism has got nothing to do with the illegal resolution of the CNE board to send to repair roughly 847.000 signatures in unconstitutional fashion, unless one holds the belief that Carrasquero, Battaglini and Rodriguez are CIA or FBI under cover operators. The recent ruling of the Constitutional Chamber is just another proof of the judicial coup being forged in Venezuela, I argued. Of course, what did she know about that? Nothing…
The level of ignorance of the defenders of Chavez’ revolution is frightening, appalling. One can give the benefit of the doubt to John Doe in the slum for not knowing about the gang-raping to the constitution and the country that Chavez and his mates are doing, but how on earth can we excuse self-appointed learned activists? As she was obviously running out of conceivably credible arguments she said that she had another very important telephone call to take. Her main points were the tour that the Global Women Strike organized recently for Nora Castañeda in the US and their deep preoccupation about the ‘kidnapping’ of Aristide. She even asked me what did I thought about that. “I could not care less about what happened to Aristide and that is for Haitians to decide not you or me” I replied. She laughed at my response stressing the commitment that her organization has with women and disenfranchised people of Africa and the third world. I continue saying that linking the Venezuelan crisis to the Haitian, the African and about any other conflict of this planet did not resolve anything, emphasizing the fact that my commitment is with my homeland. She laughed again.
Paraphrasing Francisco Toro every respectable human right organization has expressed in recent weeks concerns over the deteriorating affairs of Venezuela, condemning the excessive use of force implemented by the regime to placate demonstrations and the urgency in investigating cases of political prisoners, torture, missing persons, extra judicial killings and so on. The chavista spin machinery has just hired a movement that allegedly defends the interests of women globally. I wonder what Evangelina Carrizo is thinking from heaven about these ‘female advocates…’
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