Venezuela’s Chavez goes after Sumate
By Aleksander Boyd
London 19 May 2004 – Verbattim of Hugo Chavez’ “Alo Presidente” number 108 from Simon Bolivar’s house on June 16th 2.002 “Yo no voy a darle nocaut a nadie, aquí cada quien se da su propio nocaut, yo no estoy peleando con nadie ni voy a pelear con nadie; mi pelea es con el hambre, con la miseria, con la desigualdad, esa es mi pelea.”
“I won’t knock anyone out, here everyone knocks itself out, I’m not fighting with anyone and I will not fight; my bouts are against hunger, misery, inequality, those are my fights.”
“Los que quieran creer que yo estoy en estado de debilidad y que por eso hay que echarme un empujoncito. Bueno, yo más bien les invito a que reflexionen, porque a mí no me van a tumbar ni yo voy a renunciar. Yo les hago un llamado a los que no quieren a Chávez, bueno, vean la Constitución, vean la Constitución... Y por cierto que yo tengo que hacer una corrección, cometí un error hace unos días atrás, y me puse a revisar los documentos para cerciorarme de la verdad verdadera, y lo voy a corregir de una vez. Yo dije hace unas semanas atrás que los que no quieran a Chávez tienen el derecho ahora, y precisamente porque yo lo propuse a la Asamblea Constituyente, del referéndum revocatorio, esto no existió aquí nunca antes en Venezuela. ¿Quién propuso este referéndum o esa figura? Hugo Chávez. Bueno, ahora tienen ustedes la oportunidad.”
“Those of you thinking that I am in a state of weakness and so I need a little putsch, well, I rather invite them to think for they won’t oust me nor will I resign. I would like to call upon those who do not want Chavez, well, read the Constitution, read the Constitution… And by the way I have to make an amendment, I made a mistake few days ago so I looked into the legislation to reread the ultimate truth, and I will correct it at once. I said some weeks ago that those who do not want Chavez have the right nowadays –thanks to my proposal in that respect to the Constituent Assembly- to the recall referendum, which never existed before in Venezuela. Who proposed that referendum or option? Hugo Chavez. Well, now you have the opportunity.”
“Entonces, no se desesperen, esperen, trabajen y traten de sacarme pues… En el supuesto de que los que quieren que Chávez se vaya ganen el referéndum, miren, yo recojo mis macundales y me voy.”
“Hence, don’t despair, wait, work and try to recall me… If we were to suppose that those who want to recall Chavez win the referendum, see, I’ll pick my stuff and will leave.”
Nearly two years have elapsed since Chavez gave that speech. It is rather obvious that not all the listeners were chavistas. Sumate apparently was paying extra attention and took the message by heart and wait and work they did. Patiently and efficiently they set up a formidable organization that is undoubtedly, as we stand today, the single most efficient guardian of our democracy. They have uncovered all sorts of illegal electoral practices performed by the National Electoral Council, thus the media in Venezuela is no longer the sole target of the presidential wrath. We now learn that the regime is going after Maria Corina Machado and Alejandro Plaz, accusing them of treason and conspiracy. The crimes, as imputed by the prosecution, are to do with the financing received by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Now before all else I must say that those 54K are by far the best contribution that the NED has granted since it started promoting democracies across the globe.
The situation begs for a number of questions; since when it is a crime to receive money from international bodies? If such were to be the test then Hugo Chavez, as head of state, needs to be charged as well for: a) having accepted illegal campaign contributions by the BBVA –that mounted to more than $1 million according to judge Baltasar Garzon-; b) the monies received from the EU for the redevelopment of Vargas state (€38.5 million) and; c) the funds received from the international community for the same reason (approximately $25 million).
Second I am dying indeed to see the prosecution’s interpretation. Which law, statute, article or provision have Machado and Plaz violated? Prosecutor Luisa Ortega summoned them to declare. According to Venezuela’s Penal Code (Art. 128) “Any person who, in accord with a foreign nation or enemies, conspires against the safety of the country’s territory, or against its republican institutions, or makes any hostile actions in that respect, will be punished with 20 to 30 years imprisonment.” Article 129 cites “He who from within Venezuela or from abroad, without the complicity of another nation, attempts in itself against the independence of the republic’s territory, will be punished with 20 to 26 years imprisonment.”
The name of Mohammad Merhi springs to mind, after having lost a son (assassinated) in the tragic events of April 11 2.002 and requesting at both national and international level for an independent truth commission to investigate the killings of the day he was also charged of treason by Chavez. What constitutes treason in Chavez’ dictionary? Let us see, Sumate can not organize and uncover the trickeries of the administration regarding a constitutional right called referendum, for its actions are deemed as treason to our territory. Its efficient ‘hostility’ evidences the countless violations to our republican institutions as such its directors must be punished.
Hugo Chavez on the other hand can open our frontiers to the Cuban G2 (giving them Carte Blanche so that they can set our soldiers on fire); he can give away Venezuelan citizenships to Colombian peasants; he can turn our territory in guerrilla paradise and gateway for the drug trade; he can bring the country to the brink of military confrontation with about any other neighbour; he can grant free oil to a dictator; he can bequeath the country’s resources to American oil firms; he can waste Venezuelan money in American PR companies; he can ally himself with the universal human scoriae to further advance his ‘project’; he can ruin our institutions and seed hatred amongst Venezuelans; he can wipe his ass with our constitution; surprisingly enough none of that is treason.
The day is coming, the beast is wounded and when it all comes to an end those same articles of the Penal Code, specially the 129, will be used to bury Hugo Chavez and his cronies for life. If “conspiring against the safety of the country’s territory, or against its republican institutions, or making hostile actions in that respect” means openly opposing Hugo Chavez and his wretched revolution I honourably request to the Venezuelan authorities to add my name to the list of accused of treason and conspiracy. My name: Aleksander Boyd. My ID No: 11.951.608. My citizenship: Venezuelan by birth.
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