National Spokesperson for the US Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign Invited to Venezuela to Participate in Human Rights Delegation

Cheri Honkala, founder of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, national spokesperson for the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign and noted Human Rights activist, has been asked to be a part of an international delegation of "human rights defenders" to travel to Venezuela from April 12th to the 16th. Ms. Honkala, along with nine other "human rights defenders" from the Americas, have been asked to support the Venezuelan people during this period of political crisis.

In the wake of the coup in Haiti and interference in the electoral process in El Salvador, it is feared that the United States will further seek to disrupt and dismantle the Venezuelan government lead by popularly elected President, Hugo Chavez. Ms. Honkala:

“I have accepted an invitation to go to Venezuela to see and hear first hand the political, social, and economic situation evolving there, and to bring the truth about what’s happening in my own country to people in Venezuela and around the world. I believe in democracy, nonviolence, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and basic human rights and I am disturbed by the dismantling of those principles both in my own country and abroad.” -- Cheri Honkala

When Ms. Honkala returns, she will be available to speak about the situation in Venezuela, its relationship to the movement for economic human rights here in the U.S. and the ways in which both the struggles here and in Venezuela are related to the FTAA, human rights, US foreign policy and the protection of democracy.

Ms. Honkala will be accompanied by professional photographer Harvey Finkle. An official forum and discussion of Ms. Honkala's visit will take place when she returns.

Please see www.kwru.org for further reports and photographs of the trip. If you are interested in finding out more about KWRU/PPEHRC's trip to Venezuela or if you are interested in a report-back on Cheri's return, please contact Jen Cox at kwru@kwru.org and saulelydis@aol.com.

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Press Contact:
Samantha Heller
Press Coordinator, KWRU/PPEHRC
(407)497-4318 | press@kwru.org