Venezuela was present at the London conference: 'Putting Irish Unity on the Agenda' organized by Ireland's Sinn Fein political party.
Leaflets advertising next March's event at Bolivar Hall, "Venezuela under threat" were to be found on every seat in the main conference hall at the Trades Union Congress building in Great Russell Street (London).
Members of the Venezuelan Solidarity Committee (VSC) attended the conference and, interestingly enough, among the speakers there were many who have attended solidarity events at Bolivar Hall over the years.
Members of Parliament (MPs), who support Venezuela, such as Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell were speakers ... Colin Burgon (MP) should have been there, but he couldn't come.
Around 500 people turned up and I expect a lot of them wanted to hear Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness speak, but both had problems preventing them from getting to London.
The conference was directed towards spurring the Irish diaspora in the UK into action through a campaign aimed at getting the British political parties to accept the inevitable, namely that the future of the island of Ireland is something the Irish, both green and orange, have to sort out for themselves.
During his opening speech, Sinn Fein MP Pat Doherty argued that a united Ireland makes sense for the Protestant sector of the North. In the UK they make up just 2% of the population, while in a unified Ireland they would make up 20% and a greater voice.
A new Ireland, he continued, must address their fears and concerns and their sense of "Britishness."
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