NGOs as Instruments of U.S. Foreign Policy
Kucinich gave the following speech in Congress on December 14, 2005:
Speaking in opposition to H. Con. Res. 312, Urging Russian Federation to Withdraw Legislation Restricting Establishment of Nongovernmental Organizations, Congressman Kucinich said (as revised by the Congressman):
"Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman [Mr. Lantos] for his eloquence on this matter.
"I have been to Russia many, many times and I believe it is always in the interest of peace between our two countries for us to keep on active dialogue.
"H. Con. Res. 312 urges the Government of the Russian Federation to withdraw or modify proposed legislation that would have the effect of severely restricting the establishment, operations, and activities of domestic and foreign NGOs in the Russian Federation.
"While there are many NGOs that do great work in civil society, in working rights, in peace, in environment, in human rights, in health care, there are some bad apples of the bunch and we cannot ignore that. If the Russian government were to look at, for example, the role that the National Endowment for Democracy played in the April 2002 coup of President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, the Russian government would have good reason to oppose foreign NGOs in their country.
"The State Department's Richard Boucher acknowledged that the Bush administration provided 'funding to groups that promote democracy and strengthen civil society in Venezuela and around the globe.' He further stated that the funds 'are for the benefit of democracy, not to support any particular political faction.'
"According to the New York Times, the organization 'funneled more than $877,000 into Venezuela opposition groups in the weeks and months before the recently aborted coup attempt.' More than $150,000 went to 'a Venezuelan labor union that led the opposition work stoppages and worked closely with Pedro Carmona Estanga, the businessman who led the coup.'
"The National Endowment for Democracy, over the years, has actively worked to destabilize governments in Central America and Eastern Europe.
"According to a book by former State Department employee, William Blum, entitled Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower, the NED 'played an important role in the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s, funding key components of Oliver North's shadowy Project Democracy network, which privatized U.S. foreign policy, waged war, ran arms and drugs, and engaged in other equally charming activities.'
"So although we in the United States have legitimate complaints about a variety of conditions in the Russian Federation and in other countries around the world, we do not have the right to channel funds into NGOs who work as instruments of U.S. foreign policy."
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