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Condoleezza Rice cancels Peru trip again

(LIP-jl) -- For the second time during her tenure as the United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice has canceled an official visit to Peru. As was the case the first time, she canceled her trip to what Peru's Chancellor's Office explained as a 'busy schedule.'

"The Secretary of State called off her trip to Lima due to a busy schedule. However, I plan to meet with her in Panama next Monday," Peru's Chancellor Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde was quoted as saying to AFP news agency.

The chancellor indicated that the US diplomat expressed her 'profound apologies' over the cancellation of the June 8 meeting. This is the second time Rice has canceled an official visit to Peru due to a jam-packed schedule,

According to Peru's RPP Radio, the last time she canceled a trip to Peru was in March of 2006, during former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo's term.

Garcia Belaunde stated that he will hold conversations with Rice during the upcoming Organization of American States meeting in Panama. Among the topics the two diplomats are scheduled to discuss are the pending free trade agreement as well as the status of Peru's efforts on the war on drugs.

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# Jason W. Smith, Ph.D. says :
5 June, 2007 [ 20:41 ]

Havana.  June 4, 2007

Condoleezza humiliates Spain and attacks Cuba By Arsenio Rodríguez—Granma daily— THE announcement of Condoleezza Rice’s visit to Spain generated a lot of expectations and greatly attracted the attention of the Spanish press. The most optimistic seemed to hope that her presence in Madrid would symbolize Bush’s forgiveness of Spain’s withdrawal from Iraq and other differences. It subsequently emerged that it was to be an eight-hour visit and she would not be giving her hosts the honor of staying overnight. Curiously, the prelude was a strong statement from the secretary of state, who directly criticized Spain and forthrightly and threateningly affirmed that she was not sure that there was agreement on Cuba and that that was one of the fundamental issues she would cover on her visit. President Rodríguez Zapatero responded by saying: “it is absolutely elemental… countries and governments do not have to have the same perspectives in all those aspects of international politics and countries’ evolution… that is understandable and reasonable because they have distinct historical links, because there are very different approaches… “ It was clear that eight hours would be a very short time to arrange a honeymoon, confirmed in the joint press conference given by Rice and Moratinos, in which they warmly called each other “Condi” and “Miguel.” The Spanish foreign minister stated that “our relations have been fully normalized after the ups and downs we all know about,” which failed to elicit one word or gesture of agreement from the secretary of state. According to Moratinos, Latin America was a central theme of the talks, in relation to which he said in colonial tones: “It is absolutely essential that Spain and the United States work together with greater participation to allow institutional, political, economic, democratic and social normality throughout the subcontinent… we shall be working in specific countries to strengthen their democratic and institutional construction and to guarantee democracy in Latin America. But Condoleezza stated that they talked a lot on Latin America, due to the long history of Spain, its cultural ties and the role of the United States there… “in an area of great interest to us.” It is obvious that the roles were well defined: for Spain, history and culture; for the empire, its backyard. As predicted, the issue of Cuba raised emotions. “Miguel” then assumed a pathetic attitude. A few weeks after his visit to Havana, facing a hard and arrogant Condoleezza, he declared, in reference to Cuba, “Our politics, our way of acting, our tactics are complementary…” and then received a second and humiliating dressing down from “Condi.” Having discussed Cuba as a prioritized agenda item, one would have to ask: was there any mention of the damage and suffering to the Cuban people of almost half a century of a brutal and genocidal policy of aggression and blockade, or the extraterritorial application of U.S. legislation, including in Europe, whose most extreme expression is the measures established by Bush in July 2006. Did they discuss the prevailing situation in the concentration camp located on the illegal Guantánamo Naval Base, territory usurped from our country? Or maybe the CIA secret flights, the kidnapping and torture that horrified European and world public opinion, and the murder of Spanish journalist José Couso? Was there any discussion on terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, free in Miami while five Cubans remain unjustly incarcerated in the United States for fighting against terrorism? For her part, Condoleezza reiterated the lines of the well-known U.S. policy aimed at destroying our political, economic and social system and ratified her support for the mercenaries organized and funded by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. She said that “the free world is not prepared to tolerate an anti-democratic transition in Cuba.” The Cuban people reject these interfering and arrogant statements by the secretary of state and reiterate that – as President Fidel Castro affirmed in his Proclamation to the People of Cuba on July 31, 2006 – “Our people and our Revolution will fight until the last drop of blood.” The secretary of state will fail in her attempt to build an international siege of the Cuban Revolution through pressure and threat. The country where a “democratic transition” is needed is the United States.

# Perro Rabioso says :
8 June, 2007 [ 17:38 ]

Venezuela Keeps Regional Human Rights Seat in Blow to U.S.

Wednesday, Jun 06, 2007		Print format
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By: Brian Harris - Reuters

PANAMA CITY, June 5 (Reuters) - Venezuela held onto its seat on a Pan-American human rights commission on Tuesday in a blow to U.S. diplomacy a day after the countries traded barbs over media freedom and the US prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Member countries of the Organization of American States, or OAS, voted at a meeting of the hemispheric body in Panama to give Venezuelan Luz Patricia Mejia one of four seats opening up on its seven-member regional human rights commission.

The United States and its foe Venezuela both hold seats but the Venezuelan-held position is one of four due to change hands by December. Washington, which is at loggerheads with leftist President Hugo Chavez, had pushed for Bolivia to fill the seat.

The vote came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice slammed Venezuela at the OAS meeting for closing a private television station and Venezuela's foreign minister bit back by comparing Guantanamo Bay to Nazi Germany.

After the vote, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro grinned at the media to show his pleasure at the result and Venezuelan officials promptly presented Mejia to reporters, although she refused to comment on the human rights situation in either Venezuela or the United States.

Based in Washington, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights investigates complaints of abuses in the Americas, and can elevate charges of violations to the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Its members act independently, without representing any particular country.

The vote capped the final day of the OAS general assembly, which had been the scene of high-level tension between Venezuela and the United States.

During a heated verbal exchange with Maduro on Monday, Rice called on the OAS to investigate the recent government closure of RCTV, a private Venezuelan television channel critical of Chavez and his self-styled socialist revolution.

Maduro retorted that an OAS commission should investigate whether human rights were violated at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where 380 prisoners are held.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior U.S. diplomat present at Tuesday's vote said its outcome was a result of top crude oil exporter Venezuela giving poor OAS member countries preferential financing terms for oil.

# Nelson K. Armitage says :
4 October, 2007 [ 18:38 ]

Aloha, It's time the american government stop blaming other for the extreme measures of hypocrisy. It is sad to see how greed, control, deception, suppression and clandestine all adds up to what we Hawaiis call (Pilaki'a) having people destroying one and other while the perpetrators stands and watch the horrible action right before your eyes. This tactics needs to come to an end, we can never stop greed or clandestine, but we should hold those responsible for crimes against lying and propaganda. What the world needs now is Leaders who cares about life, invating countrys with no respect, then drop bombs to justifiy it action against humans of this planet earth. I know Rice needs to get real about start to look at her remarks about any country that controls there natural resourse, they cant even do the right things in the home? let alone blame others for their control. 

Lets be real!! RCTV's 20-year lease on its broadcast, don't compair to US prison camps, Invation of Iraq, the killing that gose on, Human rights for the people in Guantanamo, and list moves on. I almost forgot the illegal occupation of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Still under secret of the United States of America way of democracy? We Hawaiian say Mr. Bush and Mrs. Rice look into the mirrow and you will see things you never want to see? it is your Piliki'a that cause people to raise above and unit to serve for truth and justice against the forceses evil to huminity.

Mahalo nui loa, May our good Lord keep all from evil.
Nelson K. Armitage

# Carlos says :
15 June, 2008 [ 06:30 ]

Conadlissa rice should stick rice up her ass and sing like a monkey hahaha.