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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Missionaries Ordered to Leave Venezuela |
| 2005-10-13 |
| BARRANCO YOPAL, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered a U.S.-based Christian missionary group working with indigenous tribes to leave the country Wednesday, accusing the organization of "imperialist infiltration" and links to the CIA. Chavez said missionaries of the New Tribes Mission, based in Sanford, Fla., were no longer welcome during a ceremony in a remote Indian village where he presented property titles to several indigenous groups. "The New Tribes are leaving Venezuela. This is an irreversible decision that I have made," Chavez said. "We don't want the New Tribes here. Enough colonialism!" He accused the missionaries of building luxurious camps next to poor Indian villages and circumventing Venezuelan customs authorities as they freely flew in and out on private planes. The group is involved in "true imperialist infiltration, the CIA, they take away sensitive, strategic information," Chavez said, without elaborating. "And on top of that, exploiting the Indians." "We don't want to abuse them, we're simply going to give them a period of time (to) pack up their things because they are leaving," Chavez said to applause from hundreds of Indians who sat under tents in Barranco Yopal, a remote village on Venezuela's southern plains. Nita Zelenak, a New Tribes representative reached by phone, declined to comment on Venezuela's decision or say how many missionaries are working in the country. The New Tribes Mission specializes in evangelism among indigenous groups in the world's remotest places. The organization says it has 3,200 workers and operations in 17 nations across Latin America, Southeast Asia and West Africa. During the ceremony, Chavez granted 15 property titles for more than 1.65 million acres to the Cuiba, Yuaruro, Warao and Karina tribes. The documents recognize collective ownership of ancestral lands by communities with some 3,000 people. "Previously, the indigenous people of Venezuela were removed from our lands. This is historic. It is a joyful day," said Librado Moraleda, a 52-year-old Warao from a remote village in the Orinoco River Delta. Moraleda received a land title and government pledges of $27,000 to build homes and plant cassava and plantains. Chavez says he is leading a "revolution" for the poor and that defending the rights of Venezuelan's 300,000 indigenous people is a priority. But poverty remains severe in many Indian communities, and some said they need more help beyond land titles. "We want the government to help us with hunger, with credit," said Yuaruro Indian Pedro Mendez, 26. He said his community had asked for an electrical generator and loans to help plant more crops. |
| Posted by:DanNY |
| #11 There's a big difference between those honest men and women who've figured out atheism for themselves, then live cheerfully with the results (my adored great uncle Bill came back from fighting WWII in Germany stripped of his belief in God, and is one of the most interesting men I know.) The problem comes when dictators use their -ism of choice to forcibly separate the peepul from their moral foundations rooted in the community's historic religion. This generally follows on the permanent removal of the thinking class of the society: teachers, priests/ministers, village elders...After which the Party becomes the religion, and the Fearless Leader the replacement god. But that is an ersatz atheism, and not at all the real, proud thing itself. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-10-13 23:07 |
| #10 ...Wondering why we've not heard anything about the expulsion of ALL Christian missionaries from Cuba earlier this year. Oh, sorry - Castro would never do anything wrong. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2005-10-13 20:43 |
| #9 Perhaps there's and idle Syrian who could give him some tips. |
| Posted by: Lt. Scott 2005-10-13 20:30 |
| #8 he'll plant weapons as an excuse for killing them. Hugo needs to die soon, preferably by his own hand - hint hint |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-13 20:27 |
| #7 The expulsion of these missionaries has nothing to do with their religion and everything to do with being Americans. It is another exercise in drawing attention to the "external enemy". |
| Posted by: TMH 2005-10-13 19:10 |
| #6 Hugo has made his law: now let him enforce it. Don't be surprised if these people simply don't obey. Sure, he'll kill a bunch of them, but if they are true believers they will continue all the same. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2005-10-13 13:25 |
| #5 I stand by my post, Doc. Don't make me come over there, lol. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-13 11:23 |
| #4 However, it's an absolute requirement that socialist dictatorships break the links people have to their faith. If you're building a state where the state is everything, you can't have people thinking independently, and you can't allow a competing organization to provide for the needs (material or spiritual) of the people. Not all athiests are socialists. But all hard-core socialists are virulent athiests. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2005-10-13 11:17 |
| #3 C-Low - Let's hold on there, son. It's very simple: Stupid is as stupid does. Atheism has nothing to do with it- you need to get a massive grip on reality. People seeking power at all costs, indeed, seldom have time for anything but a mirror, but equally true is that religion is used for personal gain all the time. Get religion out of the equation - it's a false test. Some of the best friends you have on this planet are, like me, atheists. I support your right to believe as you see fit - as long as you stay out of everyone else's business. The Islamists fail precisely this test, in a spectacularly bloody barbaric brutal fashion, thus they are forfeit, IMHO. Don't stoop to their level. The biggest lie in the entire history of mankind is, "If you're not like me, you're [bad, broken, wrong, damned, etc - choose one]." Thank you for your attention. As you were. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-13 11:06 |
| #2 Is anyone really suprised one of the Corner Stones of Socialism is Aitheism. Just ask our neighborhood LLL's, ACLU, ect.... Hugo is just trying to get his people worshipping the one true god Hugo Chavez, Kinda like the one true god in Nork land Kim Jong Il's father and the Prince Kim Jong Il himself. Socialism is just one of those ideas that on paper make sence but when they hit reality and Human Nature they just dont fly and you get Stalin, Mou Sa Tung, Kim Jong Il, Hugo Chavez, ect..... ya know everyone is equally poor exept of course the leadership and thier family which for some reason live like kings. |
| Posted by: C-Low 2005-10-13 10:52 |
| #1 This is an irreversible decision that I have made Just don't call him a dictator. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-10-13 07:28 |