Hands Off Venezuela statement on Libya and misinformation

The Hands Off Venezuela campaign condemns the recent smear campaign
against Venezuela by Conservative politicians, especially William
Hague, and certain media outlets in the UK, consisting of spreading
false information that Colonel Gaddafi had fled from Libya to
Venezuela. The cynical purpose of this lie was to label President Chavez
“guilty by association” with Gaddafi.

It is very revealing that the right-wing media and politicians in
Britain which denigrate Venezuela as a “dictatorship” hardly had a word
of criticism of the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt until their overthrow
was imminent. Even worse, Gaddafi’s forces are now killing fellow
Libyans with weapons sold to them by the UK and other western countries
just as did Mubarak in Egypt and Ben Ali in Tunisia.

We reiterate that far from being a “dictatorship” President Chavez
and the Bolivarian movement have consistently demonstrated that in one
election after another they have had majority support from the people
of Venezuela.

Hands Off Venezuela applauds and welcomes the recent and continuing
uprising of the masses in many countries in North Africa and the Middle
East against corrupt and dictatorial governments which have been tied
politically and economically to multinational corporations and
Imperialism.

We welcome the overthrow of Ben Ali and Mubarak in Tunisia and Egypt
respectively. We believe that these developments run parallel with the
Bolivarian revolution. Indeed they are part of the same worldwide
struggle for a fairer and better society as the demands of the masses
in the Arab world have been both political; freedom of organisation,
speech, assembly and elections and economic; for jobs, lower food
prices and equality.

Just as Hands Off Venezuela stands against imperialist intervention
in Venezuela and Latin America, we are also against such intervention
in Libya and elsewhere.

Hands Off Venezuela National Steering Committee, Britain, March 6th, 2011

Source: Hands Off Venezuela