The Devil's Excrement

My brother and I, at the suggestion of politicaobscura, have planned to have a Blog Day for Venezuela on January 23d, the 45th. anniversary of the overthrow of the our last dictatorsip.  The idea is that on that day, those that would like to participate will either put the banner above in their page designed by us to that effect or a text which links directly to the following page, where we simply are calling for elections as a resolution to the Venezuelan crisis:

As threatened by Hugo Chavez in his Friday address to the Nation, a TV station was visited today by officials from the Infrastructure and communications Ministry to serve notice that a procedure was opened against. The charge is unclear at this time but it has to do with broadcasting ads in favor of the opposition’s marches and demonstrations as well as the promotion of the civil strike. Curiously, the notification did not follow the law because cameras began taping the officials and they left, apparently beacuse they did not wnat their faces shown on TV. Maybe they were ashamed of participating in this type of action. According to the lawyers, the procedure is not valid as the law were not followed. Well, the guy who served the papers now went back to make sure things were done legally, what incompentence.

A second TV station was visited now, according to the lawyers the Government is seeking to suspend the TV station. I am still not clear on what grounds. It does sound like the Dictator is removing his mask, between this and what happened on Friday. The beginning of intimidation or outright repression? What a way to welcome Jimmy Carter to the negotiations!

COFAVIC the well respected human rights organization said today that the level of impunity is on the increase in Venezuela. The Head of COFAVIC said that acts against Human Rights are beinmg committed with “more obscene impunity”. COFAVIC says that it is rare what is happening in Venezuela, where “the criminals televise their acts and have had the unrestricted backiing of the State”. She said that in Latin America criminals acted under the shadows but in Venezuela thhey are acting in front of everyone because they are protected.She noted that there has been no public statement about the actions on Friday by the National Guard that are supposed to protect the rights of Venezuelans.

March of Venezuelans for the world today of foreigners adopted by Venezuela and their children. Chicken with a Coke can and a sign with the name of the General that confiscated the beer and soda on Friday. (More of my pictures inside)

Imagine that in any of your countries a referendum is approved by the people, fullfilling all legal requirements. Imagine that the Government, which does not endorse the referendum, refuses to fund it on the grounds that it has no money. Then imagine that with 14 days to go, the Government refuses to allow the vote to take place at public schools like it has been traditional for 44 years. That is exactly what the Chavez Government is doing. The Venezuelan Supreme Court has ruled twice agaisnt injunctions that would stop the referendum, there are a few more being considered, but unless they do what the Chavez administration is doing is simply illegal, despicable and certainly not democratic. What would you call it?

Retired General Lucas Rincon, the same of the TV announcement in April that Hugo Chavez had resigned, was named today as the new Minister of the Interior and Justice. I am glad the word “truth” is not part of the name of the Ministry.

Today’s El Universal in page 2-1, presents a table that can not be linked that shows that during the last year there have been 49 deaths and 775 people injured in public demonstrations. Of these, 469 where injured by bullets. I could tell you how many were in pro- or anti-Chvaez demonstrations, but that is not the point.

On Friday, lost in the noise of the confiscation of the soda and water plants, a student who had been jailed for two days said that he was tortured, shared a cell with the assasin from Altamira and was denied his rights. The whole country saw the guy on TV with head injuries, bruises all over the body, huge one in his eye, clipped nails, skin removed from his fingers, kidny problems and needle marks in his arms.

Yesterday, the head of the intelligence police said this was all done to attack the intelligence police and that the student “arrived at the intelligence police in a very bad state, with injuries in the face and all over the body”

Today, Asdrubal Aguiar, former Human Rights judge of the OAS, tells the head of the intelligence police that if it were true that the prisoner arrived in such bad shape, Venezuelan law requires that he should have been examined by a Doctor in the presence of a representative from the Attorney General’s office and sent to a Hospital. Instead, he was kept as a prisoner for 48 hours and was only taken to a hospital when he was realeased by the order of a judge.

 The Government thinks we are stupid

Some thoughts by our current Vice-President five years ago when he was a reporter:

On the opposition: Many in Venezuela would give their life not for a horse (referring to Shakespeare) but for an opposition. True opposition. Opposition to stop the Government. To guarantee the mechanisms of control of the State. So that there is a watchdog Congress and a Judicial power that is not submissive….

On protest:There is light at the end of the tunnel. I am talking about the type of protest that is appearing in the country. It is not a loud protest, violent, but one that is eminently civic, in which citizens adopt revealing maturity and responsibility.

On Negotiations: Then there is a problem of violence, of armed confrontation within the territory, you resort to politics to find solutions

On the media and the truth:  The topic is on the table. It is systematically addressed by the Government which could be considered as suspect. Why? Because when Governments address the issue of information or freedom of speech, they do it with an interest. With objectives that are nuclear. They proclaim, there is freedom of speech, but in practice, there are omissions, suspicious pressures and various manipulations…

On Criticisms:  What good is criticism for if it is not listened to? What good is freedom of speech if power can disqualify a priori any questioning that is made? The sense of a criticism that is granted in a democratic system rests not only in the possibility of making a proposal public but that it produces change.

On the reaction of the powerful to criticism:  The best way to appreciate the authenticity of a democracy is through the attitudes of those that are in power in front of the critics. If….says that President caldera should resign, he is immediately disqualified and accused of participating in a destabilizing plan. The world turns… but what never changes is the attitude of those in power in Venezuela in front of criticism and the right of citizens to say what they think.

What a cynic!!!

You have to love the headline in Brazil’s O Estado de Sao Paulo :” Lula tells Chavez no and the group of friends is mantained” accompanied with the picture of a sad Chavez waving, absent his usual “what, me care?” smile. As Tony suggested: “Priceless” (Thanks to Freddy for sending it in)