The Media War against Venezuela - Stuart Munckton

7.4 Mb. 64kbps mono 15:38 mins

Reported rumours of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' dictatorial tendencies seem to be grossly exaggerated, according to Stuart Munckton from the Latin American desk of GreenLeft weekly. International mainstream media coverage of right wing student protests (designed to sabotage the latest plebiscite for constitutional reform) got both the facts and the figures wrong. Stuart explains, quite simply what the reforms are, why a huge majority of the Venezuelan people will vote in favor of them, and why the US State department and the establishment media are in an hysterical feeding frenzy over the possibilities of popularly ratified change.

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Venezuela - Australian solidarity. Lisa MacDonald

Venezuela - Australian solidarity. Lisa MacDonald

6.85 Mb. 128kbps mono 7:30mins

Lisa Macdonald of the Australia Venezuela Solidarity Network talks with 2NimFM about ways in which Australians can overcome the media spin and distortions about Venezuela's move towards socialism. The AVSN has reliable people on the ground providing regular eyewitness reports that contradict the hysterical accounts of the mainstream international media, and is organising a stream of brigades and study tours for Australians to go there and see for themselves.

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El Salvador - Mariposa vs the Death Squads

2.3 Mb. 64 kbps. mono 9 mins. Lara Pullin reports on developments in El Salvador and the continuing struggle of the FMLN to maintain the democratic standards in El Salvador that it fought for for so long. The forces of neoliberalism are pulling no punches as they try to claw back the recent advances made by the burgeoning of governments independent of US influence throughout the whole region. The pro-US neo-liberals are resorting to their old tactics of fear, intimidation, violence and terror.

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An Activist remembers - 'Wes' on Timor Leste

28 Mb. 128kbps mono 30 mins.

Rob Wesley-Smith has just come back from one of his many visits to Timor Leste. He is familiar with the area (Same) and the people where Australian troops tried to capture the rebel mutineer, Alfredo Reynado. Wes knows Reynado personally, being one of the few people to meet him when Reynado first came to Australia as a refugee. While not impressed with Reynado's role in recent events, Wes is very critical of the 'modus operandi' of the Australian Defense Forces in Timor Leste.

Wes has been active in defense of the independence of the East Timorese people since the first days of the Indonesian intervention. His involvement goes back to dodging police and ASIO agents to set up and maintain the clandestine radio transmitter, which was the only means the Fretilin/Falintil guerillas had of communicating with the outside world, after Indonesia sealed East Timor off. Wes was also involved in several attempts to smuggle medical supplies to the Fretilin guerillas in 1976. In this interview he recalls half a lifetime of activism for Timor Leste.

(Photo: Former member for Frazer and Timor activist, Ken Fry with Brian Manning and Wes, sending messages of support to Fretilin guerillas just outside Darwin.)

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