Brief naar aanleiding van de staatsgreep in Paraguay

• 2012-06-29
• Democratie & mensenrechten Europa in de wereld

Afgelopen weekend zette het parlement in Paraguay de zittende en democratisch verkozen president Lugo af en werd de macht overgenomen door zijn rivaal Franco. Deze staatsgreep met een democratische facade, kan niet op internationale erkenning rekenen. In Paraguay zelf - een land met een akelige traditie van dictatuur en bloedige staatsgrepen - is gelukkig ook veel protest te horen. Men beseft daar maar al te goed dat niet veel nodig is om de prille democratie in gevaar te brengen.

Precies daarom roepen verschillende Europarlementsleden - waaronder Bart Staes - in een brief de Europese Commissie en de lidstaten op om alle samenwerkingsakkoorden met Paraguay op te schorten tot de rechtsorde terug is hersteld.

De brief is meteen een uiting van solidariteit en respect voor het Paraguayaanse volk dat vreedzaam protesteert tegen deze gang van zaken.

Brussels, 28 June 2012

Attention,
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton
European country representatives to the EU

We, Members of the European Parliament, would like to express our deepest concern over the coup d’état perpetrated against the democratically elected Paraguayan President, Fernando Lugo.

President Fernando Lugo was removed from power by means of an impeachment proceeding promoted by the Paraguayan congress - overwhelmingly controlled by the opposition - and for which he was given less than 24 hours to prepare and only two hours to present a defence. No proof of the allegations was presented by the accusers 1 . The lawyers of the president asked for more time in order to be able to present an adequate defence, but it was refused.

By not respecting due process, essential democratic norms have clearly not been upheld and this has led us to believe that what took place in Paraguay was in fact a parliamentary coup d’état. Such a removal of the president had long been wished for by the opposition, who had been waiting for the proper opportunity to do so (as revealed by cables sent in 2009 from the US embassy in Paraguay ). F. Lugo’s vice president himself –who was designated as « new president » - had previously threatened many times to use the very same impeachment proceeding against the president, under various justifications.

The UNASUR, OAS, MERCOSUR, CELAC and ALBA countries, all condemned this illegal removal of the constitutional president of Paraguay, Fernando Lugo. We, as MEPs, concur with this condemnation, and call on our respective governments and the EU to take the necessary measures to suspend the cooperation agreements with Paraguay, until democratic order and rule of law have been restored.

We therefore invite the European countries, who refused to condemn the coup government, to reconsider this unacceptable position for democracy, and in particular for countries such as Paraguay that have lived for so many years under dictatorial rule. We also call on the Commission to clearly condemn this coup d'état, to cut any cooperation and to initiate an investigation under the GSP scheme of preferential trade facilities.

We express our full solidarity with the people of Paraguay peacefully resisting this major breakdown of the rule of law.

We call on the High Representative of the EU, Catherine Ashton, to strongly condemn this attack on democracy, and to call for an International Mission to clarify the responsibility in the massacre of Curuguaty. We hope that the European Union will take all the necessary actions to guarantee the restoration of Constitutional Order and Popular Sovereignty and to support the regional organisations rejecting the de facto government and seeking a peaceful outcome to this crisis.

Sincerely,

Jürgen Klute, MEP, Germany
Gianni Vattimo, MEP, Italy
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, MEP, France
Marisa Matias, MEP, Portugal
Martina Anderson, MEP, Ireland
Nikolaos Chountis, MEP, Greece
Ivo Vajgl, MEP, Slovenia
Amelia Andersdotter, MEP, Sweden
Barbara Lochbihler, MEP, Germany
Lothar Bisky, MEP, Germany
José Bové, MEP, France
Bart Staes, MEP, Belgium
Conerlia Ernst, MEP, Germany
Raul Romeva, MEP, Spain
Gabriele Zimmer, MEP, Germany
Ana Miranda, MEP, Spain
Helmut Scholz, MEP, Germany
Satu Hassi, MEP, Finland
Sabine Lösing, MEP, Germany
Francisco Sosa Wagner, MEP, Spain
Alda Sousa, MEP, Portugal
Marie-Christine Vergiat, MEP, France
Yannick Jadot, MEP, France
Martin Häusling, MEP, Germany
Miloslav Ransdorf. MEP, Czech Rep.
Franziska Keller, MEP, Germany
Jean Lambert, MEP, United Kingdom
Ulrike Lunacek, MEP, Austria
Catherine Grèze, MEP, France