President Chavez Frias cannot hide behind hack HR spin doctors

www.vheadline.com Posted: Sunday, March 02, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Foro por la Vida human rights umbrella organization has issued an important statement defending the work of Cofavic human rights over 14 years since it was created in the wake of February 27, 1989 (27F) spontaneous riots in which more than 400 people were killed by the Armed Forces (FAN) and police.

The group welcomes Cofavic’s victory at the Inter American Human Rights (IAHR) Court after failing to get justice in Venezuela. The IAHR Court has ordered the Venezuelan State to investigate 27F, identify those intellectually and materially responsible, as well as eventual accessories, penalize them, publish the IAHRC sentence in the Gaceta Oficial and pay compensation to families.

Foro por la Vida hits out at a silly statement made by Deputy Planning & Development (Cordiplan) Minister Roland Denis on February 27 at a religious ceremony outside the Cementario del Sur. Denis says Cofavic’s “initial spirit has disappeared under the manipulating hands of its executive director,” Liliana Ortega and those connected to Cofavic are a bunch of “poor devils that allow themselves to be used.”

Worse still, Denis has the nerve to say that the families of people who were killed have the right to receive attention but not financial compensation … “a rebellion like that cannot be solved by money … it’s not a question of payments.” Allegedly defending the State Treasury, Denis also claims that the State has no responsibility in the matter!

• Such statements, Foro por la Vida insists, contribute little to the fight against impunity and respect for human rights.

Foro por la Vida expresses its solidarity with each and every member of Cofavic and with Cofavic’s rejection of any attempt by any sector to capitalize and use 27F as a political standard in detriment to the victims that have maintained an independent and non-political 14-year struggle in favor of human rights.”

It calls on the government to comply with the IAHR Court’s ruling as soon as possible to avoid falling foul of the 1999 Constitution.

I support the statement 100% and fail to understand why the government has been skirting the issue. The only reason I can find is what Domingo Alberto Rangel suggests … that President Chavez Frias defends the Armed Force (FAN) come rain and come shine as Venezuela’s savior and scandals must be shoved under the carpet to avoid damage to the corporation.

I cannot understand either why the President hasn’t seized the opportunity to blast officers responsible for blemishing his praiseworthy Bolivar 2000 Plan. One reader has offered an explication comparing President Hugo Chavez Frias’ attitude to FAN human rights abuses to the behavior of the Catholic Church when scandals arise.

As long as President Chavez Frias fails to stand firm on his electoral HR platform, human rights abuses will continue to dog his government and the opposition will continue to capitalize human rights issues, as happened to the April 11 killings … which is why I want to see a truth commission up and working.

Cofavic has still to clear itself of the image that it has become the opposition’s favorite HR group and it could start by becoming a member of Foro por la Vida.

• The 27F commemoration reminds us that neither the government nor opposition should be allowed to kidnap human rights.

If President Chavez Frias complies with the international court, it would send a message to any military commander or politician that the era of impunity is over and that anything s/he orders could come back to haunt them.

Flunkies like Denis only reinforce the feeling that government policy on FAN HR abuses is to let sleeping dogs lie.

The President cannot hide on this one or blame it on twits like Denis!