Young opponents from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua who are fighting against the dictatorial regimes that govern them, asked in the framework of the Fifty-third Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, OAS, more than a declaration, concrete actions.
They warned that the dictatorships of those three countries have come together and have worked to close the civic space. «Today we need concrete actions, just a statement is no longer enough: Venezuela and Nicaragua cannot continue to be postponed as has happened with Cuba for more than 64 years.»said the activist of Cuban origin, Félix Llerena before starting a panel of youth for democracy this morning at the OAS headquarters in Washington.
«The dictatorships are united, the orders are given from Havana, Managua abides by them and finances Caracas»accused the opponent, who also called on the opponents of each country to make common blocs.
The Organization of American States, OAS, is the main organization of the American continent to defend democracy in the continent, however, the existing dictatorships in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua have challenged the hemispheric body.
Opponents from Nicaragua and Venezuela also participate in the youth panel and at the meeting they analyze how dictatorships affect the hemisphere. They announced that as part of the activities of the OAS General Assembly, youth organizations will hold a meeting on June 21. The meeting will be attended by youth organizations from various Latin American countries such as Foro Juventudes, The Latin American Youth Network for Democracy, Joe and Democracy, among others.
Dictatorships on the agenda
The discussions will focus on the situation in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. They will denounce how the dictatorships agree to form a single bloc that «acts, schemes and seeks to create perversity to violate human rights, to persecute freedom of thought, to imprison, torture and assassinate citizens who fight to maintain democratic values in the mentioned countries».
The representative of the Nicaraguan youth delegation, Max Jerez, was emphatic in announcing that they will be influencing «for there to be more pressure against these regimes». «We must put an end to these dictatorships, there must be a definitive solution and (we must demand that) the doors of democracy, participation and freedom of expression be opened in our countries that have been demanding a response for years to stop these violations of human rights»he pointed.
They warned that the risk that Latin America runs by gradually closing down democratic and civic spaces must be perceived. «We must think about how this can be a bad example for other countries, since there are no consequences, there can be impunity for abusing power»alerted.
«We support any OAS action on the issue of Nicaragua that seeks to open the doors to democracy and we are against the narrative of governments that seek to give support to the Ortega regime. It is wrong to ignore the serious situation that Nicaragua is experiencing»said Jerez, a former political prisoner exiled by the Daniel Ortega regime in Nicaragua.
Jerez stated that they are convinced that the majority of the OAS member countries will be in favor of a resolution that «Dot the i’s in Nicaragua». «These narratives do not correspond to reality, we must call things as they are: in Nicaragua what there is is a dictatorship, human rights are violated, the OAS itself has said that crimes against humanity are committed in Nicaragua, so how far? Can it be reached without taking concrete actions?»he asked himself.
Be careful with those who wash the faces of dictators
Llerena, for his part, lamented positions such as that of the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, to request that the Inter-American Democratic Charter of the OAS be reformed so that countries such as Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are once again included in this organization.
In addition, he criticized the statements of the President of Brazil, Lula Da Silva, who has said that the political crisis in Venezuela is a situation of narratives, that in Cuba the problem is the economic blockade of the United States and that nothing is happening in Nicaragua. «We reject the use of the OAS so that rulers who were democratically elected defend dictatorships and not democracies»critical.
«That is why we are here in this OAS General Assembly, with our voice denouncing and condemning not only the government, but also political groups that play a disastrous role such as the Puebla Group or the Sao Paulo Forum, which try to defend these dictators. Our voice will not tremble to denounce them here»said the Cuban activist.
The young people said that the defense of freedom in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela is not a matter of ideology, «dictatorships go beyond that»they concluded.
By: United Voices.
