Statement of the European Region of the Humanist International regarding the recent declaration of the EU on the situation in Bolivia
23rd of April 2008
The Humanist Parties of Europe strongly condemn the apparently neutral declaration of the EU regarding the situation in Bolivia.
The current Government of Bolivia was democratically elected in 2005 with 54% of the votes with the next largest party gaining 29%. Since the very beginning, the opposition has boycotted the elected government, evidently because the process launched by the new Government threatens the privileges of the wealthy minority that has been exploiting the Bolivian people for centuries.
How would any EU country react if a minority did not accept the democratically elected government and instead of participating in a process decided by the majority of people, try to divide the country? How would any EU Government react, if such a minority were to try to influence the process of a Constituent Assembly, using every available means, including physical violence and the spread of hatred and misinformation?
We demand the EU to invite President Evo Morales to speak in front of the European Parliament and Council, in order to explain the process of his country and the present situation without the manipulated information of the media that are owned by the same minority that seeks to destabilize Bolivia.
As European citizens and Humanists, we demand an active role from the EU, supporting the process that President Evo Morales' Government has set in motion and supported by the vast majority of the Bolivian people. This process has, as one of its aims, to end the centuries-long exploitation of this country, and we believe that it is even a historical debt that the EU now has the chance to repay. The present declaration of the EU, on the contrary, raises the suspicion that European nations are not interested in real democracy and human rights, but continuing their policy of exploitation of the people of Bolivia.
Attached to this letter, you will find the statement of Humanists all over the world regarding the situation of Bolivia.
Awaiting your response
Sincerely
Giorgio Schultze
Attachments:
- UN report of December 2007
- UN Press release 10th of April 2008