Adamant: Hardest metal
Monday, February 24, 2003

Chavez proceeds according to script

lookbackinanger.blogspot.com

Anyone out there who has been giving the Chavez regime the benefit of the doubt - would you please explain this for me?

A leader of Venezuela's general strike was snatched out of a restaurant by secret police and faces charges of treason and instigating violence for his role in mass, anti-government protests that crippled the nation's economy...

Strike co-leader Carlos Ortega, of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, was ordered to surrender, also on treason and instigating violence charges, said magistrate Maikel Jose Moreno.

And if that doesn't disturb your confidence in the honorable "democratic leader" - then explain this:

Venezuela was still reeling today after the weekend killings of three dissident soldiers and a protester opposed to President Hugo Chávez, and the police and grieving relatives split over whether the killings were politically motivated.

According to police investigations, about 12 armed men kidnapped the four victims on Saturday night as they were leaving a protest. They were bound and gagged, and some were tortured before the gunmen executed them, the police said.

The last two bodies, badly decomposed and showing signs of torture, were found on Tuesday on the outskirts of Caracas.

I'm finding it very difficult to keep level-headed with this post. This situation has gone far beyond intolerable. People ask me: "What is it with you and Venezuela?" And I say: "Have you ever noticed the disturbing historical frequency of Left-wing 'revolutions' led by charismatic, narcissistic leaders going very, very bad?" Things have been getting bad in Venezuela for a long time now. Hugo Chavez has promised a "revolutionary offensive" in the coming year. So far he has: purged the military and police forces, quashed popular referendums, had his security forces torture opposition protesters, had his security forces seize private property from opposition businesses, stacked the court system with friendly judges, threatened closure of opposition media outlets, begun enacting "content" laws that would make it illegal for the press to criticize the government...the list goes on and on and on. Now his secret police have seized and detained opposition leaders on the specious court order of a handpicked judge, formerly a lawyer who defended the accused Chavista gunmen responsible for a massacre of opposition protesters last April. And then there are the bodies: the dead opposition protesters found bound and gagged, tortured and shot to death on the outskirts of Caracas. Human Rights Watch is demanding an investigation - the police say "Nothing to see here, folks, move along."

There is a lot going on in the world these days: a lot of important developments to monitor, a multitude of arguments to be made. It's quite possible that Venezuela is entirely off your radar screen - the issues too complex, information too hard to come by. I'm asking you: make an effort. If you believe in democracy for Iraq, support democracy in Venezuela. Read Francisco Toro, read Miguel Octavio, check out Daniel's Venezuela News and Views, check the Americas section in the international news in the NY Times, or the Washington Post. If you have a blog - post about Venezuela; if you don't, talk about it with your friends. The defense and promotion of democracy and its institutions can't be arbitrary. It takes work, but it's worth it. Always.

UPDATE: Miguel Octavio reports: A Deputy from Chavez MVR party just said that the list of those that may be detained for their responsability in the General Strike has approximately 100 names in it (www.globovision.com). If there is any doubt where we are headed, this simply confirms it.

Octavio is keeping up to the minute on this story - you should check out his blog regularly if you're interested. posted by Robert Griffin at 8:34 AM

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