Vzla: He said it, we didn't

Andean Parliament
Deliberative Body of the Andean Community

COLOMBIAN MEMBERS OF THE ANDEAN PARLIAMENT SPEAK OUT ABOUT THE VENEZUELAN SITUATION

Colombia’s Delegation to the Andean Parliament, composed of Senators Samuel Moreno Rojas and Alfonso Angarita Baracaldo, and Representatives Luis Fernando Duque García, Jaime Darío Espeleta and Tania Álvarez Hoyos, met yesterday at the Central Seat located in the city of Bogotá, with the purpose of discussing important themes such as the study of the integration process, as well as strategies for bringing the National Congresses into the debate about decisions made by the supranational Andean courts.

In this sense, as the center point of this meeting, the members of the Colombian delegation appeared to be worried about the proposal made by Senator Enrique Gómez Hurtado, who called for the application of the

Interamerican Democratic Charter to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

In that respect, they indicated that those initiatives are the voice of neither the majority of Congressmen, nor of the Colombian people.

Furthermore, they made it clear that by constitutional mandate, the President of the Republic is in charge of International Relations, and for that reason, it is the President’s job to make statements on these topics.

For this reason, they called upon the national legislators to strengthen parliamentary diplomacy and let the official channels make statements on these topics.

The Colombian members of the Andean Parliament urged the Venezuelan people to find, though political dialogue, an exit to the situation that is constitutional and respectful of democracy, where public interest takes priority over individual interest, and where there are guarantees for the self-determination of the people.

PRESS RELEASE

BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA. APRIL 15, 2004