Global Women's Strike meeting in Philadelphia attacked by violent anti-Chavistas

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Sunday, June 22, 2003 By: VHeadline.com Reporters

Two women were physically attacked at a weekend meeting in a Philadelphia (USA) church by a group of 20 claimed to be support the  Venezuelan opposition which failed to overthrow the democratically-elected government of President Hugo Chavez Frias.  Organizers say the anti-government rebels attempted to censor the truth in "One year after an uprising reversed the coup" statements organized by the Global Women's Strike.

"The disrupters were stationed in and outside the Tabernacle Church ... they harassed a multiracial crowd, which included several older women, a wheelchair user, youth and church members.  There were two assaults: one outside the church against a woman going into the meeting as she attempted to shield her face from a camera-wielded by a disrupter; the other inside the church against a meeting organizer who was slapped loud enough to be heard across the room."

Police officers have taken statements from several other witnesses at the Germantown (Quaker) Meeting Peace & Social Concerns Committee endorsed event: "We in the US have a hard enough time finding out what is really happening in Venezuela, since the mainstream press is biased against President Chavez Frias ... although he was elected by a landslide, the US government is hostile to his refusal to privatize oil or allow the oil revenue to be siphoned to the US, and because he encourages grassroots people to take charge of their own society -- the kind of democracy we in the US have not known for many moons," says Global Women's Strike coordinator Phoebe Jones Schellenberg.

"When people got together to hear what we saw on our April visit, the first anniversary of the popular reversal of the coup, we were physically attacked. They behaved just like their counterparts in Venezuela, to prevent US people finding out what is being accomplished there, and what we can learn from it."

"Despite Venezuela supplying 14% of US oil needs, 80% of Venezuelans live in extreme poverty. People have organized themselves into neighborhood groups, cooperatives, and unions to organize for the housing, education and food they need."

One of the Venezuelan speakers, Dozthor Zurlent says "the Venezuelan opposition is increasingly desperate and violent, having twice now failed to overthrow President Chavez Frias who has emerged from the latest failed attempt stronger than ever."