Paraguay

Letter from European Parliamentary

Jürgen Klute, et al.

27/06/2012

Opinión

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Brussels 28 of June 2012

Attention,

High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton

European country representatives to the EU

We, Members of the European Parliament, would like to express our deepest concern over the coup d’état perpetrated against the democratically elected Paraguayan President, Fernando Lugo.

President Fernando Lugo was removed from power by means of an impeachment proceeding promoted by the Paraguayan congress - overwhelmingly controlled by the opposition - and for which he was given less than 24 hours to prepare and only two hours to present a defence. No proof of the allegations was presented by the accusers. The lawyers of the president asked for more time in order to be able to present an adequate defence, but it was refused.

By not respecting due process, essential democratic norms have clearly not been upheld and this has led us to believe that what took place in Paraguay was in fact a parliamentary coup d’état. Such a removal of the president had long been wished for by the opposition, who had been waiting for the proper opportunity to do so (as revealed by cables sent in 2009 from the US embassy in Paraguay). F. Lugo’s vice president himself –who was designated as « new president » - had previously threatened many times to use the very same impeachment proceeding against the president, under various justifications.

The UNASUR, OAS, MERCOSUR, CELAC and ALBA countries, all condemned this illegal removal of the constitutional president of Paraguay, Fernando Lugo. We, as MEPs, concur with this condemnation, and call on our respective governments and the EU to take the necessary measures to suspend the cooperation agreements with Paraguay, until democratic order and rule of law have been restored.

* Document in PDF

https://www.alainet.org/es/node/159110