La Paz, Bolivia
• Jack Ailey, Bahram Zandi and Sanda Everette attended the Federation of the Green Parties of America meeting in La Paz, Bolivia.
Countries represented: Bolivia, USA, Venezuela, Columbia, Guatemala, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Peru.
IC proposals submitted at the FPVA conference (directly from GP platform):
1. Peace and Disarmament
– Endorse US military base closures.
– Close the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas, in Ft. Benning, Georgia.
– We reject the U.S. government’s economic blockade of Cuba.
– We reject US government spying on the citizens of the world.
2. A Real Road to Peace in the Middle East
Endorse BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanction) of Israel
We recall that ending institutionalized racism (apartheid) in South Africa demanded an unusual, cooperative action by the entire international community in the form of a boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against apartheid South Africa, and that BDS can become the most effective nonviolent means for achieving justice and genuine peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
3. Puerto Rican Independence
In 1898, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States and has been held by the U.S. in the form of a colony ever since. In response to international pressure, in 1952, the U.S. established the “Free Associated State” status for Puerto Rico but continued to claim that Puerto Rico belongs to, yet is not a part of, the United States.
a. Greens support the right of the people of Puerto Rico to self-determination and independence in conformity with United Nations Resolution 1514(XV) of 1960, the release of all Puerto Rican political prisoners being held in U.S. prisons, and call for the appropriate environmental clean-up and sustainable development of Vieques and Culebra, islands that were used as firing ranges by the U.S. military. We oppose recruitment of the youth of Puerto Rico into the U.S. armed forces and their deployment to U.S. wars abroad.
Background ref:
http://www.gp.org/index.php/what-we-believe/our-platform/17-platform/37-i-democracy.html#RealRoad
• Proposal 1 was unanimously approved.
• The resolution on Puerto Rico was partially adopted. The reluctance was to explicitly support the independence of Puerto Rico since several delegates stated that this was not supported by the people of Puerto Rico. The resolution on BDS was tabled on the basis that the Global Greens are working on a position regarding Israel/Palestine.