&nbsp;Meeting&nbsp;at EP Subcommittee on Human Rights&nbsp; Human rights situation in Venezuela in the EP in Brussels. Statement by Elena VALENCIANO (S&amp;D, ES), Chairwoman, Desir&eacute;e CABRERA, Representative of Comit&eacute; de V&iacute;ctimas de la Guarimba y del Golpe Continuado, Ram&oacute;n Guillermo AVELEDO, Secretary for Foreign Relations of Mesa de Unidad Democr&aacute;tica, Francisco ASSIS (S&amp;D, PT), Ram&oacute;n J&Aacute;UREGUI ATONDO (S&amp;D, ES), Chairman EuroLat, Luis de GRANDES PASCUAL (EPP, ES), Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA (ALDE, ES) and Hans-Olaf HENKEL (ECR, DE)

Human rights situation in Venezuela: extracts from the meeting  at EP Subcommittee on Human Rights

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SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Elena VALENCIANO (S&amp;D, ES), Chairwoman, "As the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee of Human Rights of this House, and I think I represent the majority of this chamber, I must demand that the Major of Caracas be set free, as well as all other detained political representatives. Venezuelan progressive political parties have demanded it, as have a large number of personalities worldwide". 

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Elena VALENCIANO (S&amp;D, ES), Chairwoman, "Next month I myself will participate in an official mission of the European Parliament and I will try to say this to the Venezuelan authorities. Nobody has the right to judge the Venezuelan President's political programme or the way forward Venezuelans choose for themselves. But we have the full right to defend those who have been harmed by arbitrqriness and the violation of constitutional guarantees".

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Desir&#233;e CABRERA, Representative of Comit&#233; de V&#237;ctimas de la Guarimba y del Golpe Continuado, "We want to ask you not to use Human rights as a political instrument. The rights to demonstrate peacefully, the right of assembly and to freedom of expression can not become an excuse to justify or legitimate acts that are acts of violence and crimes."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Ram&#243;n Guillermo AVELEDO, Secretary for Foreign Relations of Mesa de Unidad Democr&#225;tica, <p>"Between 1999 and May 2015, 252,073 Venezuelans have lost their lives violently. We have gone from 25 homicides per every 100,000 inhabitants, a worrying figure already, to 82 for every 100,000 inhabitants."</p>

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Ram&#243;n Guillermo AVELEDO, Secretary for Foreign Relations of Mesa de Unidad Democr&#225;tica, "The achievements on the purchase power of the population, have been lost PROVEA informs based on CEPAL data. Inflation, scarcity, the stalemate of employment, the reduction of resources for the "missions" (social programmes), the deterioration in health care and housing have taken the poor back to were they were 15 years ago."

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Francisco ASSIS (S&amp;D, PT), "Divergency is transformed into dissidence and dissidence into a crime. This is not acceptable in a democracy. And there's no election result that can justify that, even after fair elections. No result can justify a situation of this nature."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Ram&#243;n J&#193;UREGUI ATONDO (S&amp;D, ES), Chairman EuroLat, "We have never considered it to be an intrusion, but an act of solidarity to speak about what's going on in another country. Just the same as when we speak about how misserably the EU is behaving with the migrants that get to the Lybian border to try and come to Europe. We criticise ourselves there. We can and we must give our opinion about what goes on in any other country."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Ram&#243;n J&#193;UREGUI ATONDO (S&amp;D, ES), Chairman EuroLat, "I am a socialist, I am a leftist, and I can't understand - and I anticipate what surely we will debate later here - how the European left can turn a blind eye when it comes to criticising acts of a supposedly leftist government, if this government violates Human Rights". 

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Ram&#243;n J&#193;UREGUI ATONDO (S&amp;D, ES), Chairman of EuroLat, "And it is not possible that the left cover their eyes before an untrue version of reality. Because nobody believes there's a continuous coup d'etat in Venezuela".

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Luis de GRANDES PASCUAL (EPP, ES), "This Committee is not putting Maduro's government or Venezuela to a summarily trial. Especially not Venezuela. On the contrary: I think that the European Parliament has been sufficiently clear and convincing. We have been respectful with ideas - which we don't judge - but we have been clear in condemning behaviours".

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Luis de GRANDES PASCUAL (EPP, ES), "It is absolutely indispensible to speak up and speak up loud, denouncing anti-democratic behaviour and telling Maduro's government that he may have a legitimate origin, he may have been elected democratically, but that he is not behaving like a democratic leader."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA (ALDE, ES), "I think it is very significant that there is this common perspective. Especially in making clear that we don't have double standards, or ideological approaches or different positions when it comes to freedom, democracy, Human Rights, regardless of violations taking place in Venezuela, Burundi, Saudi Arabia or anywhere."

SOUNDBITE (English), Hans-Olaf HENKEL (ECR, DE), "What I'm missing in South America are the same kind of criticisms by, let's say, the Chilean government or the Brazilian government when it comes to criticising Venezuela."

Event date	16/06/2015
Reference:	I104677V
Copyright:	© European Union
copyrightYear:	2015

Human rights situation in Venezuela: extracts from the meeting at EP Subcommittee on Human Rights

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