Venezuelan Prisons worse than Dante's Hell
The German news magazine Der Spiegel published today an article on their web site about German inmates in Venezuelan prisons. According to the article, there are currently 35 people from German speaking countries and 1,400 from other countries incarcerated in Venezuela. Most are convicted or awaiting conviction for drug related charges.
Der Spiegel specifically reports about the case of a 33 year old guy who was caught while trying to smuggle cocaine out of the country. Originally confined to the Los Teques prison, he was ordered by the prison director, who was worried that he wouldn't survive conditions there, to be transferred to the Maracay prison, a luxurious place compared to the dilapidated facility of Los Teques. While most of the foreign embassies try to negotiate their nationals out of the country under bilateral prison transfer agreements, the process nevertheless can be excruciatingly slow and the current Interior Minister, Pedro Carreño, a military of dubious background, seems reluctant to sign transfers.
The plight of inmates caught up in the inhumane Venezuelan prison system is nothing new. Overcrowded, notoriously violent, controlled by mafias and corrupt guards with one third of the prison population awaiting trial, Venezuelan prisons have been described as the most dangerous in Latin America. Every year hundreds of inmates are killed or maimed in prison riots. Numerous reports have been written about it, human rights organizations have been complaining for decades and each government promises to remedy the situation, to no avail. Under the last Caldera government, they went even so far as to blow up the infamous Reten de Catia as if that was going to solve the problem.
The so called revolutionary government is no different from its predecessors, as you can see in this grim video. According to the NGO Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones, between January and September 2007, 370 inmates have been murdered and 781 have been injured.
Due Process, Casualty of Constitutional Reform?
The discussion about the Constitutional Reform underway in the Venezuelan National Assembly (NA) is quickly resembling a travesty.
Let's recap. On August 15, the president submits a proposal to change 33 articles of the Constitution which according to Venezuelan law has to be submitted for approval by the NA before subjecting it to a national referendum on December 2.
The law also requires the government controlled NA to debate the proposal in three separate rounds. After completing the first two rounds of the debate, all of a sudden, a Special Committee of the NA decides, single handedly, to sneak in 25 additional articles to the original proposal, in clear violation of amendment procedures. This was done during a holiday week end and behind closed doors.
And if that wasn't enough, last week, they sneaked in yet another bunch of articles, totaling the number of reformed articles to 69 (this number might change) which is almost one quarter of the total number of constitutional articles (350).
You don't have to be a constitutional lawyer to realize that this is more than just a Reform. Most of the proposed changes seek to increase the power of the presidency to nearly obscene levels and to institutionalize the Military's authority over most aspects of civilian life which clearly violates the spirit and the principles of the current Constitution.
One of the most troublesome aspect of the proposed changes, is the elimination of the right to Due Process during declared States of Emergency. This has caused an outcry among the public in general and Human Right Groups in particular who are denouncing that such fundamental rights cannot be taken away under any circumstances.
Apparently, the criticism must have had some kind of an effect on the NA as they decided, magnanimously, to change its original proposal to the following version:
Articulo 337
El Presidente o Presidenta de la República, en Consejo de Ministros, podrá decretar los estados de excepción. Se califican expresamente como tales las circunstancias de orden social, económico, político, natural o ecológico, que afecten gravemente la seguridad de la Nación, de las instituciones y de los ciudadanos y ciudadanas, a cuyo respecto resultan insuficientes las facultades de las cuales se disponen para hacer frente a tales hechos. En tal caso, podrán ser restringidas o suspendidas temporalmente las garantías consagradas en esta Constitución, salvo las referidas al derecho a la vida, la prohibición de tortura, incomunicación, el derecho a la defensa, la integridad personal, no ser condenado a penas que excedan a los 30 años y la desaparición forzosa.
Article 337
The President of the Republic, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, shall have the power to decree states of exception. Expressly defined as such are circumstances of a social, economic, political, natural or ecological nature which seriously affect the security of the Nation, institutions and citizens, in the face of which the powers available to cope with such events are insufficient. In such case, the guarantees contained in this Constitution may be temporarily restricted, with the exception of those relating to the right to life, prohibition of incommunicative detention or torture, the right to a defense, to personal integrity, not to be sentenced to terms that exceed 30 years and forced disappearance.
Clearly, the new proposed version of Article 337 tries to circumvent the term Due Process with deliberately vague wording that allows for many interpretations. The question that needs to be asked here, though, is: Does the new wording hold up to international standards of Due Process? And more precisely, what are the Gaps in the proposed law that could leave the door open for future abuses?
There is a reason why the term Due Process was included in the Constitution of 1999. As history has taught us, all Venezuelan governments have a tendency to violate human rights during declared States of Emergency.
Ironically, by changing Article 337, the current legislators might be very well digging up their own graves. Who is not to say, that a future Chavista or Non Chavista government, for that matter, will (mis)use this law against them.
Imagen de la serie realizada por José Arocha. (Licencia CC: Atribución, compartir igual).
Dirigentes universitarios ratifican convocatoria a marcha
1. Dirigentes universitarios ratifican convocatoria a marcha
Los estudiantes piensan protestar en todo el país en contra de la REFORMA CONSTITUCIONAL, promovida por el gobierno de Hugo Chávez. Nosotros tenemos el deber de ayudar a estos estudiantes en estas protestas, como nos sea posible. El Carabobeño
2. Lo que no se puede votar
Este artículo fue escrito por Saúl Gody Gómez. No sugiere que vayamos a votar o no, sugiere que debemos salir a la calle a evitar otro golpe de estado. Escribió:Pero cuando el objeto del acto electoral es decidir sobre la
3. Clara intromisión de Chávez en Bolivia
libertad misma, sobre entregar a otro nuestro derecho de opinión y
decisión sobre los asuntos públicos, el votar pierde todo sentido ya
que se trata de destruir la democracia.
Nos señala claramente como ha sido la intromisión sin verguenza de Hugo Chávez en Bolivia. No digo ha sido intromisión venezolana, porque los venezolanos no aprobamos este abuso. En cuanto a la ayuda económica de Venezuela a Bolivia, Juan Claudio Lechín nos dice:.. el pueblo espera que esa ayuda llegue sin condiciones y sin abusos. Que no sea como cuando un hombre le ofrece un dulce a una niña, para luego violarla.
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Un abogado de la Comunidad Europea
"OK. However, I do not believe that Chávez is equal to Fidel Castro. It seems to me, he is more like a character from a Woody Allen film than a communist dictator."
Concluye un abogado de la Comunidad Europea a un Venezolano. Este, pide que en pocas palabras, le ayudemos a contestar el comentario. Cómo podemos contestar a éste tipo de comentarios?
Chávez si es un dictador, pero ya esto no está en discusión. Todos saben esto, y más bién ahora la discusión está centrada en que ser un dictador es lo que conviene al Pueblo, que ama a Chávez, y que dice: Comunismo o Muerte. Es decir, ya no se trata de preguntarse Si o No es un Dictador. Es que ya QUEREMOS que sea dictador. Lo mas rápido posible. Con un referendum por la vía del 1-2-3-. Qué mas bla-bla-bla de la burguesía? Ya pareciera que el Pueblo ni siquiera tiene tiempo para discutir su destino político.
Porque ha sido decidido por un mísero Presidente. Que finalmente, resulto tán farsante como los que colocaba la burguesía Venezolana. Esta vez, colocamos a uno peor, que se idenfiticó como popular. Por lo que el Abogado puede que esté contestando o refiriendose a un debate ya antiguo. Ese no es el debate, Sr. Abogado. Ya la discusión es otra. Si es como Fidel, eso es lo que más desearía Chávez. Pero quizás nunca lo logre. Si es un personaje de Woody Allen o no lo es...eso se lo dejo a otro para que conteste con más propiedad que lo que yo podría hacer.
Primero y último, definimos como autocracia y desmentimos la intensión verdaderamente popular y social del presente Gobierno. Como lo indica un dirigente estudiantil, con la nueva y sustancial reforma constitucional, es un Golpe de Estado mas que una reforma. Esto ha quedado muy claro, que la idea es de concentrar el Poder del Dictador lo más rapidamente posible. Ya que solamente la dictadura popular puede garantizarle el total control de las masas, en vez de ser utilizada para mejorar y garantizar el bienestar de todos sus ciudadanos.
Aún más, a pesar de tener de aliados a las grandes potencias que le compran el Petróleo Venezolano, hace creer a su pueblo que el enemigo principal busca desestabilizarlo por sus intenciones socializantes. Sabemos que mientras le den el crudo, se quedan mudos y que Chávez en verdad nunca ha propuesto que romperá lazos con sus compradores quienes lo mantienen en el poder y con los bolsillos bien llenos.
What is Venezuela for you?
by Karin Koch
Whenever you're invited to watch a movie about the political situation in
Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author of this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the other members of Venered.
Desaparecen las estadísticas de salud en Venezuela
A toda la comunidad mundial:
Represan datos sobre intensidad de la epidemia del dengue en Venezuela. Desde hoy se ha verificado que todas las estadísticas sobre la epidemia de dengue en Venezuela han sido eliminadas de la página web oficial del Ministerio de Poder Popular para la Salud. Esto es inaudito y sin precedentes.
Hasta el momento hay más de 20 muertes infantiles por dengue en lo que va de estos dos meses de la epidemia del 2007 en Venezuela. Esta enfermedad solamente se puede prevenir con eficientes medidas de Salud Pública (alerta a la población, eliminación de criaderos de mosquitos, atención médica adecuada y a tiempo).
El nuevo Ministro ordenó la eliminación total de las estadísticas sobre dengue. En el momento en que este tipo de información es eliminada a drede revela la intención del Gobierno en esconder importantes indicadores de salud y atenta contra el derecho a conocer los riezgos que corre la población en épocas epidémicas.
Las epidemias son un problema que atañe a toda la población y deben ser reveladas las cifras y la magnitud de esta epidemia para asi poder tomar las medidas de protección y facilitar el control de dicha epidemia.
Es responsabilidad de los organismos estatales de salud implementar las medidas de control durante epidemias, empezando por reconocer que esta situación es sumamente alarmente debido a la gran mortalidad de esta presente infección por picadura de mosquito.
El ministro de salud es un militar y no es médico. Quizás esto es también parte del problema que estamos presenciando con respecto al dengue. Si alguno de Uds. tiene conocimiento de cómo rescatar estas estadísticas avisen.
Article 337 of the Venezuelan Constitution
Article 337
The President of the Republic, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, shall have the power to decree states of exception. Expressly defined as such are circumstances of a social, economic, political, natural or ecological nature which seriously affect the security of the Nation, institutions and citizens, in the face of which the powers available to cope with such events are insufficient. In such case, the guarantees contained in this Constitution may be temporarily restricted, with the exception of those relating to the right to life, prohibition of incommunicative detention or torture, the right to due process, the right to information and other intangible human rights.**
The proposed change conveniently removes the highlighted part of Article 337, preparing the ground for things to come...
* Actually, they sneaked in 25 additional articles
** Translation taken from the web site of the Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Ciencia y Tecnología
A fondo: una mirada profunda a la Reforma Constitucional
Serán 40 programas dedicados exclusivamente a abordar este tema. Está concebido para la participación y el diálogo, dará espacio para que los escuchas puedan hacer todas las preguntas y comentarios que consideran pertinentes. En este programa se vale decir no entiendo; se vale disentir o compartir. Un esfuerzo del Centro Gumilla y Radio Fe y Alegría para que usted cuente con todas las herramientas que le permitan decidir con conciencia, cómo será su participación en el referéndum previsto para el próximo diciembre.Para más información visita el blog del programa A fondo: una mirada profunda de la Reforma Constitucional Allí podrás escuchar los programas en vivo y también los compilados.
Escucha el promo:
Hoy cierran el registro electoral
Free Burma
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should interact towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2 Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignity.
[…]
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights jointly was passed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948, and is considered as explicit commitment to the Human Rights since.
In a globalized world, this commitment is more important than ever since. For this reason, we must not look away, when in a country like Burma peaceful protesters and Buddhist monks are killed or arrested ruthlessly.
The Burmese people are being repressed by a dictatorial military regime for more than over 45 years. Legal opposition is de facto eliminated, all media is state-controlled and censored, and the human beings – abused as forced labourers – live at or below the poverty level. Due to these facts, it is not surprising, that monks wanted to express their protest against the rise of fuel prices a few weeks ago.
Although the military tried to cut off any information from and to foreign countries by all means, proof of its cruelties reached the international community. In spite of the danger of being arrested and displaced, brave Burmese risked their lives to inform about the incidents in their country.
However, economic interests of individual member states prevent the condemnation of the violence and the suppression by the United Nations.
With this international action we want to give a signal!
We detest the violence and the terrorism in Burma.
We support all those being suppressed because of exercising their right to freedom of expression and opinion, and we solidarise with the people demonstrating for their rights.
We urge the United Nations to condemn the violence in Burma.
We demand freedom and peace for Burma.
¿Puedo hablar? May I Speak?
¿Puedo Hablar? May I Speak? is a new documentary film on Hugo Chavez and the political conflict in Venezuela. The film offers a portrait of a Venezuelan society at a crossroads; a re-elected president, challenged by a reformed and mounting opposition; a divided state; a glimmer of hope.
Date: Friday, October 5, 2007
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Location: CGIS-South, Tsai Auditorium, 1730 Cambridge Street
Moderated by: Dan Levy, Lecturer in Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government
Commentaries by: Leonardo Vivas, author of Chávez: La última revolución del siglo
Q&A with: Christopher Moore, Director and co-producer of ¿Puedo hablar? May I Speak?
For more information please contact Kit Barron at chbarron@fas.harvard.edu
Read our review of the film here.
Watch the trailer:
Venezuelan NGO displays banner in protest against the constitutional reform
La continuación de la autoridad en un mismo individuo frecuentemente ha sido el término de los gobiernos democráticos.
The bestowment of continuous authority on the same individual frequently has been the downfall of democratic governments.