*Hasta siempre - Valentina and VOCES DEL SUR Songs | ReverbNation
http://www.reverbnation.com/open_graph/song/9883358 …<http://t.co/lL6bqJiXMP>
*
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*[image: Hands Off Venezuela]Hands Off Venezuela
@HOVcampaign*<https://twitter.com/HOVcampaign>
*27m* <https://twitter.com/HOVcampaign/status/340431248633761795>

*president @NicolasMaduro <https://twitter.com/NicolasMaduro> "I have lost
confidence in Santos, he broke the Santa Marta agreement" http://www.
aporrea.org/tiburon/n229928.html … <http://t.co/HMwK8TW8Xe>*

*
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*[image: Hands Off Venezuela]Hands Off Venezuela
@HOVcampaign*<https://twitter.com/HOVcampaign>
*TODAY: twitter campaign demands Julian Conrado freedom & asylum http://
aporrea.org/ddhh/n229848.html … <http://t.co/pNBz9Fb7U6> http://
venezuelanalysis.com/news/6377  <http://t.co/A3PkMchO3Z> #
LibertadAsiloPaJulianConrado<https://twitter.com/search?q=%23LibertadAsiloPaJulianConrado&src=hash>
 *


FARC Singer Conrado Formally Seeks Asylum in Venezuela

Jul 26th 2011, by Tamara Pearson – Venezuelanalysis.com
[image: Colombia’s Guillermo Enrique Torres (aka Julian Conrado, or “the
Singer”) (archive).]

Colombia’s Guillermo Enrique Torres (aka Julian Conrado, or “the Singer”)
(archive).

Mérida, July 25th 2011 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Protest singer and member
of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Julian Conrado,
formally requested asylum in Venezuela almost two months after Venezuelan
authorities arrested him there with the declared intention of extraditing
him to Colombia

Conrado, known as “the singer”, and whose real name is Guillermo Enrique
Torres, was born in 1957, and composed over 100 songs of protest, including
“From my people to the guerrilla”, an unofficial anthem of the FARC.
Venezuelan authorities detained him following information received from
Colombia intelligence on 31 May and said he would be deported to Colombia.

A national group of artists called “Don’t silence the singer”, formed on 11
June this year to demand Conrado’s freedom, released a letter they received
from him which formally requests asylum in Venezuela. The letter, dated 20
July, was written inside the cover of a book.

The letter read:

I, Guillermo Enrique Torres, identification card number 9,281,852, from
Turbaco, Bolivar, Colombia, [request of Venezuelan] Foreign Minister
Nicolas Maduro, ACNUR [the [United Nations Refugee Agency], and whoever
else it may concern: I came [to Venezuela] from Colombia because my life
was under threat and I was captured in Venezuela on 31 May. My human rights
haven’t been recognised, nor even my right to make a statement in my
defence.  I have problems in my prostate gland and other illnesses. I
request asylum and refuge in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

The letter concludes with two of his finger prints and his signature.

According to the “Don’t silence the singer” group, writing for Tribuna
Popular, it is not known if legal proceedings are still underway to
transfer Conrado to Colombia, but the group says he is in Boleita, Caracas,
in the head office of the Military Intelligence (DIM), and in solitary
confinement.

Conrado wrote a letter to his supporters a few days before the above
letter, smuggling it out through an anonymous “Bolivarian soldier”,
according to “Don’t silence the singer”. In this one he commented more
generally about his legal and political situation:

Caracas, [Nelson] Mandela’s birthday [18 July], 2011, brothers and sisters
from around the world who give me their solidarity, from my captivity in
the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, I appreciate your support and the
courage you give me to continue.

I know that according to international laws and those of Venezuela that my
extradition to Colombia or the U.S. isn’t possible, and that Comandante
Chavez knows perfectly well that no state based motivation can be above
inherent rights of humans or above revolutionary principals. Comrade Chavez
also knows that this decision won’t mean anything but torture and death,
and Che [Guevara] said it very clearly, “the most beautiful quality of a
revolutionary is to feel deeply any justice committed against anyone
anywhere in the world”

Either way, I want you all to know that whatever happens I won’t give up
and I won’t betray [anyone], my heart definitely leaves me no other choice:
wherever I am and however I am I’ll continue being faithful to the
beautiful cause of peace with justice and love. Well... my brother Ali
Primera [who was popular Venezuelan radical singer] already said it, “Man
doesn’t just live on life”.

I’d like to let you know that I haven’t stopped singing and that I have two
new songs, when the issue of my asylum is resolved I’ll make them known.

A hug with all my heart, loving we overcome! Julian Conrado.

The “Don’t silence the singer” group, who is also legally representing
Conrado, said it received a notification from the Caracas courts on 21 July
that they accepted the group’s request for Habeas corpus, meaning the court
must order Conrado’s release if it doesn’t find sufficient evidence for the
arrest.

The group called it a “small advance” and the “beginning of a ...stage of
justice and legal struggle”.

Photos of the original letters can be seen
here<http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=132917&titular=en-nueva-carta-el-revolucionario-cantor-julian-conrado-solicita-asilo-formal-en-venezuela-donde-est%E1->
 and 
here<http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=132820&titular=apareci%F3-juli%E1n-conrado-y-admiten-habeas-corpus->
.
------------------------------
*Source URL (retrieved on 31/05/2013 - 7:30am):*
http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/6377


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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