Pessimistic report from Venezuelan Human Rights PROVEA

www.vheadline.com Posted: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 - 3:29:52 PM By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

PROVEA human rights group shows signs of pessimism in its latest report on human rights in Venezuela.

Intolerance and deaths continue.

The group cites four deaths since the beginning of the year, 70 persons asphyxiated with tear gas and 30 injured in a fight between government and opposition supporters in Los Proceres and 25 injured in Valles del Tuy. The death of Wilmer Campos Perez (45) and injury of 12 persons on January 23 in a grenade explosion near a government rally has still to be clarified.

Impunity, PROVEA pessimistically reports, continues to hold sway and the Venezuelan human rights organization spotlights a number of cases of daily intolerance, such as the beating up of indigenous actress Elsa Morales by women at Plaza Altamira ... dubbing her a Chavist ... and attacks on Christian Socialists (COPEI) and Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) activists in Caracas as they placed anniversary wreaths at the foot of Simon Bolivar’s statue.

PROVEA maintains that, in particular. the Statehas the main responsibility to prevent, investigate and penalizing all such incidents of intolerance.

• As for the negotiating process, PROVEA is again pessimistic ... "new scenarios and few results in more than two months of negotiations." 

PROVEA argues that the only way to stop the violence and create a favorable environment for human rights is through negotiation which must take place on two levels: At the negotiating table discussing the themes of disarming, electoral consultation and investigation into acts of violence

Recognition of the existence, strength and legitimacy of the other side, importance of mutual respect within the constitutional framework along with the imperious need to prioritize measures to overcome Venezuela's main problem of social exclusion.