En Washington honran a los prisioneros políticos venezolanos y al
activismo que lucha por la democracia.
El 14 de Mayo, en el edificio Sam Rayburn del Congreso de los Estados Unidos se llevó a cabo un acto de reconocimiento y defensa de los
prisioneros políticos venezolanos, de los defensores de los derechos humanos,
estudiantes y sindicalistas quienes hoy dan la batalla por la restitución de la
libertad y la democracia en el país asfixiado por un narco-régimen. En
representación de estos luchadores presos estuvieron presentes Lilian Tintori,
Mitzi Capriles de Ledezma, esposas de leopoldo López
y de Antonio Ledezma respectivamente, y Tamara Sujú, quien fue premiada por su actividad en defensa de los derechos humanos.
Este evento fue organizado por el National Endowment for
Democracy, organización que cuenta con el apoyo de los partidos Demócrata y Republicano
de los Estados Unidos.
En la presentación del evento, el presidente de la organización
anfirtiona, Carl Gershman, dijo:
“The presentation of the 2015 Democracy Award is an
opportunity to honor the sacrifice of those who risk everything to preserve
Venezuela’s democracy: political leaders and elected officials like Leopoldo
López and Antonio Ledezma, as well as a broad spectrum of student activists,
labor unionists, human rights defenders, and others jailed for their political
activism and efforts to exercise their democratic rights in Venezuela, and who
are represented so capably by Tamara Sujú.”
Diversos miembros del congreso hicieron intervenciones para
enfatizar la lucha que llevan a cabo los demócratas venezolanos presos del régimen
abusivo: House Democratic
Leader Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee Ed Royce (R-CA),
Ranking Foreign Affairs Committee Democrat Rep. Elliot Engel (D-NY),
and NED Board member Rep. Peter
Roskam (R- IL).
Las tres personas quienes recibieron el reconocimiento fueron:
Antonio Ledezma is the Mayor of Caracas and was
arrested in February 2015 when heavily armed government thugs stormed his
office and seized him for conspiring to overthrow the state. Elected Mayor in
2008, he was promptly stripped off most of his budget and authority by the
Chávez government. Despite these limitations, he was reelected mayor in 2013.
Ledezma previously served as a
congressman, senator and governor; he currently leads the opposition party Alianza Bravo Pueblo. He has been held in the Ramo Verde Prison and was recently hospitalized for emergency medical treatment.
congressman, senator and governor; he currently leads the opposition party Alianza Bravo Pueblo. He has been held in the Ramo Verde Prison and was recently hospitalized for emergency medical treatment.
Leopoldo López has
been detained in the prison of Ramo Verde since February 2014. He was accused
of inciting violence during the wave of social protests that took place in
early 2014. López leads the opposition party Voluntad Popular and is the former
mayor of the Chacao municipality in Caracas,
where he earned a reputation for honesty and efficiency. He was disqualified from holding public office for six years, starting in 2008, as a result of administrative sanctions due to alleged corruption.
where he earned a reputation for honesty and efficiency. He was disqualified from holding public office for six years, starting in 2008, as a result of administrative sanctions due to alleged corruption.
Tamara Sujú is
a Venezuelan lawyer and human rights activist. She is the founder of FUNDAPRES,
a foundation that brings aid to prisons in Venezuela, and is president of the
NGO Nueva Conciencia Nacional and Director of Fundación Damas de Blanco de
Venezuela. She is also the International
Coordinator of Foro Penal Venezolano. She is currently exiled in the Czech Republic where she continues to raise international awareness on the deteriorating human rights situation in Venezuela.
Coordinator of Foro Penal Venezolano. She is currently exiled in the Czech Republic where she continues to raise international awareness on the deteriorating human rights situation in Venezuela.
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