Signature Campaign: Protest the Attack against Carlos the Jackal

Last Sunday, August 15, was the sixteenth anniversary of Khartoum’s betrayal. It is the sixteenth anniversary of my kidnapping to France by being put into a French plane by Sudan security forces from Khartoum International Airport in the capital city of Sudan.

Although our great historical leader as the President of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Commander Hugo Chavez, who is following the way Simon Bolivar paved 200 years ago and is maintaining the Bolivarian political line of unifying the Latin American people that were actually unified despite their separation into different states, got involved in this issue, his efforts didn’t work.

And, I was brought to France through illegal ways. There isn’t a legal basis for their keeping me here. I was brought to France without completing the legal proceedings of deportation. First of all, there is no extradition treaty between France and Sudan. And, there was no subject for which France could try me. After these things, I was tried on the accusation of shooting dead two French agents and a Lebanese informer working as a double agent.

Anyway, while this lawless imprisonment was going on, Chavez came to France in January, 1999 and had conversations with the authorities about me. He met with French president Jacques Chirac and my lawyers. Chirac told Chavez that after the legal procedure was over, I would be sent to Venezuela. It was 1999, and today over 11 years have passed. The same things were negotiated with France’s new president Nicolas Sarkozy. And, he also said “Of course, the issue of Carlos is okay”. Finally, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) was sent here as a mediator by Chavez, and Abbas only asked my conditions in prison to be improved. However, under what kind of conditions I live is a secondary issue. And, these conditions are not changing at all. The primary issue is why I am kept in prison. In short, there are only talks, no actions.

The reason behind not acting but just talking is significant as it shows Venezuela's current critical situation. Because, now, Venezuela has been occupied by opportunists and corrupt people. Even though there are a few honest people in power, on every level of bureaucracy, there are so many people who are not interested in socialism, far from patriotism, do not know anything about real anti-imperialism, deal only with finding a good job and making money and trying to survive during this regime. What all these people worry about is not annoying the USA and American agents that control the economy and are not a few in Venezuela. If Chavez goes as they hope, their aim is to be able to say to these groups they don't want to annoy: "look, we aren't revolutionary, and we have been always against them".

Therefore, the “issue of Carlos” has a symbolic value for them. Every kind of sabotage against “Guerilla Commander Carlos” and setting him free, is one of the greatest symbols of loyalty to the zionists and imperialists who see the "Carlos myth" as a threat. That is why my judicial defense is sabotaged by these Venezuelan opportunists, the doors of Venezuelan embassy are closed for me, my right to vote is prevented by the elements settled in Venezuelan foreign affairs bureaucracy.