Representatives of antiimperialist popular movements calling for
Bolivarian and antiimperialist unity on the occasion of the EU-Latin
American summit in Vienna
From May 10 to 13, European and Latin American forces critical to globalisation will hold the alternative summit “Enlazando Alternativas” in parallel to the official meeting of the European Union with Latinamerican heads of states due to take place during the Austrian EU presidency.
Already at the World Social Forum in Caracas, Venezuelas’s President Hugo Chavez had invited popular movements to form an antiimperialist movement able to act in practice. His criticism was explicitly directed against the anti-globalisation fora of the last years due to their incapacity to act. This had become obvious since important antiimperialist resistance movements and decisive sites of conflict with the US-Empire were being denied access or acceptance at these fora. In particular, this applied to those movements who are forced to recur to the armed resistance struggle.
President Chavez’ call hit the point for many antiimperialist and popular movements. In order to further develop the antiglobalisation movement, it is necessary to build a common front against the US-Empire, the main force today repressing the right to self-determination, freedom, democracy and social justice for peoples and popular masses throughout the world.
In the light of the fact that Europe – after the very superficial and temporary opposition to the US aggression against Iraq – has again aligned behind US policy, the summit to be held in Vienna proves to be an important occasion to discuss Chavez’ initiative and to define common steps in order to build this alternative antiimperialist movement. The recent attacks against basic democratic rights and in particular political solidarity with resistance movements (for instance the arrest of seven members of the Danish Left Socialist Party for having declared political solidarity with the Palestinian and Colombian popular resistance movements) shows how urgent it is to take concrete steps. Not only is neoliberalism abolishing the social rights of the masses as the recent events in France clearly demonstrate. Moreover, democratic rights are being sacrificed for the sake of obedience to the US imperialist strategy.
Hence, the struggle for social justice, national self-determination and democracy proves to be an important link between opposition forces in Latin America and in Europe. In this sense, President Chavez’ proposal has assumed particular importance.
The Bolivarian process of national and social liberation of Venezuela is currently one of the main sites where the US centred world order is being broken up. It is, hence, an occasion to break with one of the crucial imperial ideas, that of pretending that there would be no alternative to the neoliberal and neo-imperial way advocated by the USA and its European allies. The continuation of this process towards “socialism in the 21st century” (Hugo Chavez) through the election of Chavez for another cycle as head of state of Venezuela is therefore of major importance for the worldwide resistance movement. The recently published Human Rights Report by the USA, which repeatedly attacks Venezuela, once more demonstrates that the USA are not willing to accept the democratic right for self-determination of a people that has decided for an antiimperialist and revolutionary way.
Therefore, on the occasion of the alternative summit in Vienna, we will discuss first steps and initiatives towards an enforced antiimperialist coordination.
Two important representatives of the Colombian opposition movement will be present. Colombia is one of the countries that are seriously threatened by a US intervention. Luz Perly Cà³rdoba, head of the peasants’ organisation of Arauca and human rights commissioner of the national peasants’ confederation FENSUAGRO was imprisoned for 14 months due to her social and political activities. Gerardo Ariza Alvarez also was detained for three years in the high security prison of Cà³mbita. His crime was nothing else than being suspect due to his family tradition of left-wing activism. Both are important advocates of the bolivarian unity of Latin America and top representativs of the Colombian popular movement, notwithstanding heavy repression by the US-supported dictatorship.
We hence call to use the occasion of the alternative summit to strengthen the antiimperialist alliance with the Latin American left and to join forces in striving for a united antiimperialist movement.
Antiimperialist Camp
Vienna, March 23, 2006
