MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peace Nobel Prize Lech Walesa banned from Venezuela

Nobel Prize winner Lech Walesa

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that former Polish president and Nobel Prize winner Lech Walesa won't be allowed to visit his country.

The rebuff by Venezuela's controversial leader followed an interview for the Chilean daily La Tercera, where the legendary leader of Solidarity declared willingness to go to Venezuela in order to meet with the local opposition leaders. This is not the first time Walesa has had problems with the Venezuelan authorities. Last year he was invited to a conference on democracy organised by the University of Caracas. The Venezuelan government claimed, however, that they were not able to provide security to the former Polish president. According to Piotr Gulczynski, chair of the Lech Walesa Institute, Chavez's most recent statement is a clear signal that Lech Walesa is obviously persona non gratain Venezuela. Last November, Lech Walesa strongly criticised Chavez, saying that Poland's experience of communism should be a warning to all and described the left wing Venezuelan government as, "the biggest mistake of the region. The ideas of the ruling team [in Venezuela] are very bad ideas," he said.