opinion

Considering the shameful events that have befallen our country, on account of the tragic pardons issued by Mrs. Mireya Moscoso to the Cuban terrorists who were tried and condemned for their aberrant acts of November 2000 at the Ibero-American Presidents' Summit held in Panama, WE DECLARE:

We recognize and salute the democratic and revolutionary action of the Venezuelan people in the sweeping triumph of this past August 15, saying NO to the recall referendum. Today we see this people insulted by Mrs. Moscoso when she declares that "I give the pardon for humanitarian reasons --- if these persons were extradited to Cuba or Venezuela surely they would kill them." We want to remind of the profound democratic sense of the Bolivarian Revolution, in which the death penalty does not exist, but the will of the people and of the government that the law be carried out does exist. Posada Carriles is a fugitive from Venezuelan justice and the extradition request duly presented to the Panamanian authorities is for him to to finish his 30-year prison term, as that was the final sentence of his trial.

Because of this we energetically reject the pardon issued to the Cuban terrorists, an act that demonstrates the defeatist and corrupt character of Mrs. Moscoso's government, which buckled once more under the pressures applied by the US government, carried out personally by the commander forces that invaded our country and the present US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell; and her "familiar" friendship with the Miami worms' nest. This lamentable action seriously affects the credibility and respect that the sovereign state of Panama must have before the international community, and moreover is an insult that is repudiated by 80 percent of the people of Panama.

We advocate a prompt and urgent reestablishment of normal relations with the peoples and governments of Cuba and Venezuela, which we see interrupted because of Mrs. Moscoso's government's slimy attitude; and we deeply regret the absence of President Chávez on September 1, the day when he had planned to visit our country and share with the Panamanian people a mass meeting that was to have taken place at the University of Panama Assembly Hall.

The National Bolivarian Meeting continues, and will continue to stand in the struggle for:

The revolutionary and democratic integration of the Bolivarian peoples;

The sovereignty of our nations;

Public international law; and

The deepening of the struggle to build a Bolivarian internationalism, so that we can soon be able to say OUR COUNTRY IS AMERICA.

Panama, August 28, 2004

Encuentro Nacional Bolivariano de Panama
(National Bolivarian Meeting of Panama)

The National Bolivarian Meeting of Panama is composed of the:

• Congreso Bolivariano de los Pueblos Panamá (CNBP)

• Central Nacional de Trabajadores de Panamá (CNTP)

• Pensamiento y Acción Popular Universitaria (PAT)

• Coordinadora Campesina Contra los Embalses (CCCE)

• Fundación Casa Azul "Esther María Osses"

• Partido del Pueblo

• Congreso General Kuna Yala (CGKY)

• Bloque Popular Universitario (BPU)

• Alianza Nacional por la Vida (ANAVI)

• Coordinadora Continental Bolivariana Panamá (CCBP)

• Militantes Bolivarianos del Circuito 8-8 (PRD)

• Movimiento Estudiantil Bolivariano Universitario (MEBU)

• Frente Estudiantíl Revolucionario (FER-29)

• Sindicato Único de Trabajadores de la Construcción y Similares (SUNTRACS)

• Círculos Bolivarianos Torrijistas

• Movimiento Juventud Kuna (MJK)

• Juventudes de los Pueblos Indígenas

• Asentamientos Campesinos



Also in this section:
Leis, What our newly inaugurated officials should do
Jackson, Things that Panama's Americans must decide
What they're saying about the attacks on Kerry's military record
Giuliani, Thank God George W. Bush is our president
Aldredge & Kelley, Protests at the Republican National Convention
Thomas & Thomas, SouthCom's contortions to define its role
Human Rights Watch, The Guantanamo military tribunals
Vacca, The Greater Caribbean This Week
Bolivarians, About the pardons of Cuban terrorists
Bernal, Where is the University of Panama going?

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