Has Holyrood gone completely Caracas, ask critics

Published on Tuesday 9 March 2010 21:50

HE IS a revolutionary socialist leader of a corruption-ridden country that boasts the world's third-highest murder rate.

• Hugo Chvez's increasingly autocratic government is admired by some at the Scottish Parliament.

Yet five members of the Scottish Parliament have found time in their busy schedule to praise the "progressive" achievements of Venezuelan president Hugo Chvez and to urge Scotland to forge closer links to his country.

As the UK struggles with recession, job losses and the prospect of looming public-sector budget cuts, SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn has tabled a Holyrood motion claiming that Venezuela has been "transformed" by Chvez.

It calls on MSPs to show "solidarity" with a regime that recently devalued its currency and stands accused of becoming increasingly autocratic by imposing restrictions on the media and politicising the military and judiciary.

The motion, filed alongside devolved matters such as tackling organised crime, the future of library services and challenging bullying in schools, has received the support of the SNP's Bill Kidd, Alasdair Allan and Bill Wilson, as well as Labour's Elaine Smith.

The Scotsman has established that at least two of the MSPs have never even visited Venezuela.

But the motion stands little chance of being selected by the Parliamentary Bureau to be heard, as debatable motions must have a local or regional dimension and garner cross-party support.

Yesterday, the move was derided by political opponents, who accused it of "looking like it has been written in the presidential palace in Caracas".

The motion reads: "The parliament considers that Venezuela has been transformed through the progressive policies pursued by the Chvez administration in the last decade; is concerned that this progress and the democratically elected government of Venezuela has been undermined by reactionary elements in the United States and beyond."

Independent monitors Human Rights Watch and Transparency International have condemned the corruption and restriction of human rights in Venezuela, and the CIA reports large quantities of cocaine, heroin and marijuana pass through the country on their way to Europe and the US.

Liberal Democrat MSP Hugh O'Donnell has now tabled an opposing motion to be heard in the chamber, insisting Venezuela had "an alarming record of gagging the press". He said: "Recently, Chvez has threatened television broadcasters for refusing to broadcast his presidential address."

He added that Venezuela's human rights abuses were also a grave concern, with Amnesty International noting that freedom of expression under Chvez was deteriorating fast. He said: "It beggars belief MSPs would support a motion which looks like it has been written in the presidential palace in Caracas."

Scottish Tory deputy leader Murdo Fraser said: "If this is the sort of person Jamie Hepburn and friends want us to align with, what does that say about Alex Salmond and the SNP's vision of an independent Scotland?"

But Mr Hepburn said the motion had been placed to coincide with a rally in London in support of the regime, and he insisted the reaction was "unfortunate".

"Given the Tories' support for the Pinochet regime in Chile, perhaps we should not be surprised," he added. "While no country is without its imperfections, there have been massive efforts at tackling poverty and involving traditionally alienated groups in the political process in Venezuela." Bill Wilson said the regime was regularly attacked on a "dishonest basis".

And Labour's Elaine Smith insisted: "There is always an attack on socialism when it gets into power. This is because capitalism is concerned by the rise of socialism in Latin America."

She also defended the use of parliamentary time. "We can reach out to learn lessons from other countries and have links with them – that is what the motion is calling for us to do."

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