Message to Mercosur: “Paraguay will never accept intervention by foreign powers in its internal affairs”

On what he described as the “first and last time” he will address the United Nations General Assembly, the President of Paraguay, Federico Franco, affirmed that his country will not abide by any infringement on its sovereignty.

 President Franco addressing the UN assembly recalled the holocaust of the Triple Alliance.

“Here, before humanity's highest assembly, I expressly declare that Paraguay will never accept intervention by foreign powers in its internal affairs,” President Franco told the 67th Assembly’s General Debate, at UN Headquarters in New York.

“We will continue building upon our democracy according to the will of the Paraguayan people, sovereignty exercised through our freely elected institutions,” he added.

In June, the landlocked South American country experienced a political crisis, with President Franco predecessor – Fernando Lugo – removed from office through an impeachment process instigated by the country’s National Congress.

Then serving as Vice President, Mr. Franco assumed the office of President. “Since then, in accordance with the oath of office, I govern Paraguay peacefully and democratically, fully respecting public liberties,” he noted.

The events led to a fact-finding mission led by the Organization of American States (OAS), as well as an extraordinary meeting of the Heads of State of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).

Subsequently, UNASUR, as well as MERCOSUR, adopted sanctions against Paraguay “without allowing it to exercise its right to defend itself, as clearly expressed in the international agreements that are invoked for the application of sanctions,” President Franco said.

“In violation of international treaties, these countries have attempted to become the custodians of Paraguayan democracy, putting aside the principle of non-intervention consecrated in our United Nations Charter,” he said. “But”, he underlined, “they will not defeat us”.

Throughout its history, he continued, Paraguay has suffered repeatedly as a result of “arrogant intervention” in its internal affairs.

“The holocaust known as the War of the Triple Alliance (1865/1870), resulting from an unjustifiable coalition (Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay) that decimated Paraguay's population and destroyed its economy has still not faded from the memory of my people,” he said, adding that every right enshrined in human rights agreements signed in the UN and OAS frameworks has been respected.

“In the short time of my government, our detractors have not been able to point out a single violation of the agreements we have mentioned,” he added.

Leadership is based on respect for International law. “Only this way can we have a common position to reform the Security Council, a long standing wish of this universal organization that hosts us”.

“Paraguay calls to prop and continue building the beautiful international utopia of a planetary organization ruled by the strong and the weak, by the large and the small, by the poor and the rich, all equal in this magna world assembly. Therefore Paraguay believes it is necessary to insist that the reform process must necessarily include the gradual elimination to the right of veto”.

In opposition to this utopia, the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff at the opening of the General Assembly argued the need for the incorporation to the UN Security Council of more countries with the right to veto.

Other topics mentioned in President Franco’s speech included sustainable development, UN reform, transnational crime human rights, gender issues and UN peacekeeping, with the latter being an area in which Paraguay has contributed its troops.

'South America must avoid thinly veiled coup d' etat attempts', CFK (Running Scared?)

Argentine Presidential Whore Cristina Fernández de Kirchner urged her Mercosur bloc counterparts to work jointly to avoid more ‘thinly veiled coup’d etats” in South America.

As she delivered the Mercosur summit’s opening speech in Mendoza province, Fernández de Kircher deemed that the removal from power of Fernando Lugo in Paraguay was not only illegal, but that the new Government, led by Federico Franco is illegitimate and warned that "the heads of state must avoid that the region suffers thinly veiled coup d’etats.”

“What we are dealing with here is whether we are capable of safeguarding legality and legitimacy and avoid these regional thinly veiled coups which do not fully develop to be dictatorships but under a certain veneer are a breakdown of the constitutional order,” the President assured.

Fernández de Kirchner also recalled the overthrow attempts of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia and highlighted the absolute rejection the Mercosur and Unasur blocs showed at the time.

“These administrations have implemented inclusion policies to improve the life of millions of citizens who could not even access basic services. These decisions have a quality. Unasur does not group heads of state who share the same opinion in every aspect, but the positive aspect is that when facing situations regarding the breakdown of democratic order all of the Presidents have reacted by unanimously rejecting them,” she added.

 The President also added that Mercosur and Unasur "will accept Paraguayan people’s will regardless of the outcome of the 2013 presidential elections in that country,” and proposed the creation of a committee to monitor the situation in the neighbouring country.

Paraguay has been suspended from the bloc until the presidential elections, which are set to take place in April 21st 2013, following Fernando Lugo’s removal from power a week ago.

However, no economic sanctions have been imposed to Paraguay by Mercosur, it was announced earlier today.

US demands Argentina “immediately” ends the import licensing regime

The United States demanded on Friday that Argentina “immediately” end an import licensing regime and other curbs that have frustrated foreign suppliers while also expressing concerns about a “sweeping new import restriction” that Indonesia has imposed.

The comments came in remarks by a US official at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, copies of which were made available in Washington.

Rachel Bae, a US attaché, took a notably harder line with Argentina, which is already the target of a WTO suit filed by the European Union over steps the administration of President Cristina Fernandez has taken to discourage imports.

Those include an import licensing regime and an obligation on companies to balance imports with exports.

“Our hope is that Argentina will acknowledge our concerns and terminate these import-restrictive measures and practices immediately,” she said.

“In short, our question for Argentina, again today, is: When will the government put an end to the non-transparent and restrictive measures and practices that have been the source of such longstanding irritation and growing frustration to so many of Argentina's fellow WTO Members?”

In contrast, Bae began her remarks on Indonesia by stressing the Southeast Asian nation “is an important partner of the United States.”

But it has introduced a large number of new trade and investment restrictions “that threaten to make Indonesia's market impenetrable,” Bae said.

In related news WTO General Director Pascal Lamy said the organization will be deciding this year if Argentina must lift some of its import restrictions, which the EU says are not in line with the agency’s rules.

“The WTO will decide if Argentina has complied or not with its obligations established under the WTO rules, as requested by the Europeans,” Lamy said during the UN Rio+20 summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Bitch of South America - Cristina Fernandez forced to return to address a three-day teamsters strike

As Argentine president Cristina Fernandez was landing in Buenos Aires Wednesday night cutting short her international tour, Gendarmerie forces were clashing with striking teamsters at a major fuel refinery which is vital for the supply of gas to the province of Buenos Aires.

Shortly after landing at the Buenos Aires metropolitan airport in Buenos Aires the president met with members of her cabinet to analyze the three day long conflict which “could turn ugly” according to teamsters union boss Pablo Moyano.

Gendarmerie officers clashed with truck drivers as they tried to allow trucks to leave the premises and begin distribution in order guarantee gas supply in Buenos Aires province localities affected by the strike

Earlier on Wednesday Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo announced the Head of State decided to cut her international trip short.

Cristina Fernandez had arrived in Brazil early Wednesday morning to take part of the Rio+20 environment summit after having attended the G20 Summit in Mexico and on June 14 addressing the UN Decolonization Committee in New York claiming Argentine sovereignty over the Falklands.

Randazzo said he had informed President Fernández about the seriousness of the teamsters’ nationwide strike led by Pablo Moyano, who on Tuesday announced a strike on a nationwide level until Friday and refused to abide by the mandatory conciliation issued by the Labour Ministry.

Officials fear the strike could lead to several fuel and food shortages.

Pablo Moyano, vowed to send truckers to demonstrate at Plaza de Mayo, if security forces crack down on striking workers. “If they try to force us out, things will get ugly. We hope the government has common sense and doesn't do this,” Moyano told reporters.

On Tuesday Vice-President Amado Boudou, the acting president, vowed to use the anti-hoarding law if the distribution of fuel and other key supplies, including food are blocked. Truckers blocked petrol plants on Tuesday night.

Speaking in Rosario, after a Flag Day rally, Randazzo called the strike a “savage act” and said the President was returning to the country because of “the teamsters' disdainful attitude.”

The teamsters led by Pablo Moyano declared a national strike and ignored the conciliatory agreement order amid the conflict with freight companies, following the failure to reach a wage deal during conciliatory talks. The conciliatory agreement was supposed to be held in place for 15 days.

Hugo Moyano, the secretary-general of the CGT union umbrella group and Pablo Moyano father, on Tuesday night reacted to Boudou’s comments saying “we will not be scared, we will not retreat” in the salary demands.

Moyano said the Vice-President “did not apply the anti-hoarding law when legislators were granted a wage increase of 100%”. Speaking to a gathering at the CGT Moyano anticipated that “in the very near future, all workers will demonstrate for more jobs and for our rights”.

The teamsters are also demanding an end to wage income tax and to salary caps to collect family allowances. The Moyanos and Cristina Fernández were strategic allies since Néstor Kirchner, the President’s late husband and predecessor in power took office in 2003. But the President has been at odds with the teamsters since refusing to accept the CGT political demands for congressional candidacies before last October’s presidential elections.

Boudou said that the walkout “has no logic”. He added: “It’s not a question of seeing who is more macho.” But Pablo Moyano replied recalling that Boudou has “to prove that he is not guilty,” in reference to several influence-peddling allegations faced by the Argentine Vice-president.

Hugo Moyano said there will probably be an order from a judge to pressure workers back into their jobs, but “we hope that neither the Police nor the Gendarmerie do something to harm the health and lives of our workers”.

      

Shame & Disgrace of the UN as it objects to Human Rights fro Falkland Islanders

C24 chair calls Falklands’ referendum ‘political ploy’; praises Argentine president

The chair of the UN Decolonisation Committee Ecuadorian ambassador Diego Morejón Pazmiño described the UK announcement of a referendum in the Malvinas Islands as a “political ploy”, insisting that the Falkland Islanders can not appeal to the right of self determination.

Falklanders can not claim self determination, said Ambassador Morejon Pazmiño .

“The referendum is a political ploy from the English government when there is a certain symbolism over the Malvinas issue because it is the anniversary of the war and because the Argentine president is here in New York” and was one of the speakers at the Decolonization Committee said ambassador Morejón Parmiño.

Last Tuesday and two days before the 30th anniversary of the end of the Malvinas war (June 14), the elected government of the Falkland Islands announced they would be holding a referendum in the first half of 2013 so that the Islanders can decide on their “political status”.

The government of the Falkland Islands when making the announcement said that independent, international observers will be invited to observe the process and verify its outcome.

According to Morejon Pazmiño the Islanders can’t appeal to the right of self determination they claim, because in the Malvinas case “there is a principle of territorial integrity” from Argentina which is above other considerations and the UK is the “occupying power” since 1833.

“The position of England is not that of an administrative power, it is that of an occupying power. It does not administrate a colony that can be claimed as independent. That figure does not exist in the C24”, added the Committee chair.

“There are two issues: self determination and territorial integrity of States. You can’t accept a form of colonization when there is a principle of territorial integrity, which is the applicable form in the Malvinas case”, he added.

Of the 80 non autonomous territories that existed when the Decolonization Committee was created by the United Nations in 1960/61, only 16 are left, a majority of which under British control.

The chair of the Decolonization Committee underlined the attendance of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on Thursday because “it gives the UN system credibility and likewise to the task of this Committee as a negotiating body”.

He also mentioned the fact that the Argentine head of state was accompanied by representatives from the congressional opposition which is “a clear signal of internal cohesion in Argentina in an issue so bonding as is that of sovereignty”.

Ambassador Morejon Pazmiño effusively congratulated and publicly praised the Argentine president following her speech and participated of the standing ovation which was started by the numerous Argentine delegation that accompanied Cristina Fernandez.

However he also admitted that until the United Kingdom does not modify its position “no negotiation is possible”.

The UK position is that above all is the Islanders’ right to self determination and as long as they wish to remain British and hold no discussions with Argentina on sovereignty, that is and will be the case.