Meeting between the IPU delegation and Venezuelan parliamentarians. Photo courtesy of Telesur.
The international delegation will be in the country until August 27 and will meet with various Venezuelan authorities.
A delegation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) arrived in Venezuela this Monday, August 23, and held a meeting with deputies of the National Assembly (AN), led by its First Vice President Iris Varela, who emphasized the AN’s willingness to achieve a “fruitful exchange” during the visit.
“We want you to know that our country has a very welcoming attitude towards solving all the problems that affect our people as a result of the national dialogue, these problems that have been generated as a result of much thoughtlessness unleashed along the way,” said the first vice president.
Varela also commented on several unfounded and reckless complaints, a product of the political uproar, that are being allayed by the national dialogue.
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“We were able to appoint a new Electoral Power, which was based on consensus, and in which individuals now participate who are recognized members of the political opposition to the national government,” she said.
#ENVIVO| Presidente Unión Interparlamentaria, Duarte Pacheco, deseamos estar en contacto con todos los diputados, Parlamentarios y miembros de la Asamblea Nacional.
➡https://t.co/tqMKHfl0b4 pic.twitter.com/p7jgeIYAsd— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) August 23, 2021
For his part, the President of IPU, Duarte Pacheco, declared that his organization’s function is to support dialogues between countries, or between various organizations within the national boundaries.
“We have wanted to come to Venezuela and organize this mission,” he said. “The best way to contribute is to get to know the reality. Through the actual state of affairs, we can see with our own eyes, and not through the narrative of one party or another.”
In addition, he commented that IPU plans to prepare a report on its visit for the executive committee, and noted the significance of this visit for important aspects of the human right of parliamentarians, and for the representation of Venezuela in the organization.
Pacheco indicated that the delegation hopes to discuss the accusations they have received, and to receive the opinion of the country’s authorities in this regard.
#23agosto Hoy llegan al país miembros de una delegación oficial de la Unión Interparlamentaria (UIP), liderada por su presidente, Duarte Pacheco, para sostener reuniones con autoridades del Poder Legislativo, entre ellos su presidente @jorgerpsuv y la 1° Vpta @IrisVarela_AN pic.twitter.com/zJ4Dib7MRz
— Asamblea Nacional 🇻🇪 (@Asamblea_Ven) August 23, 2021
Hours before, the president of the Parliament, deputy Jorge Rodríguez, commented on the visit of the delegation and its presence in the country until August 27, as it meets with representatives of the public offices and opposition leaders.
This visit follows an invitation issued by Rodríguez last April, when he was at the IPU headquarters in the Swiss city of Geneva, in which he urged a delegation to come to the country to experience the real state of affairs in Venezuela.
The IPU mission is comprised of members of its Executive Committee including Deputy Juan Pablo Letelier, Esther Anyakun Davinia; the Vice President of the Human Rights Committee, Senator Alejandra Reynoso; the President of the Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians, Nassirou Bako-Arifari, and Samuel Cogolati.
The IPU is an international organization of national parliaments that seeks to promote cooperation, accountability, and democratic governance among its 179 national member parliaments and 13 regional bodies.
Featured image: Meeting between the IPU delegation and Venezuelan parliamentarians. Photo courtesy of Telesur.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
