Venezuela's democracy must not be forgotten

www.washtimes.com Web Posted : 03/05/2003 12:00 AM

The natural beauty of Venezuela stretches from the tropical splendor of the Caribbean to the exotic remoteness of the Andes. Democratically elected governments have ruled Venezuela since 1959, allowing its people to avoid the political excesses and military interventions of many of their Latin American neighbors. The Venezuelan economy has thrived, driven both by huge oil reserves as well as by respect for private property and private enterprise. But the beauty of Venezuela, its democratic tradition, its rule of law, its respect for individual rights, and its vibrant economy are all in peril today as its leftist President, Hugo Chávez, threatens to turn Venezuela into the Iraq of the Western Hemisphere. A year has passed since mass protests began in response to Chávez's repressive political measures, land seizures, extra-judicial actions, and attempts to take over the country's leading trade unions. The National Guard and armed "Chavistas" opened fire on a large crowd of demonstrators last April, killing 19 and wounding over 100 others. A military coup briefly ousted Chávez from power, but an interim government collapsed after only two days. The situation remained tenuous until Dec. 2nd, when Chávez opponents launched a general strike demanding a referendum on the Chávez presidency. As many as one million Venezuelans, out of a total population of 24 million, took to the streets against the Chávez government. Determined to break the back of the opposition, Chávez has resorted to increasingly violent and extreme tactics. On Dec. 6, a Chávez supporter opened fire on another demonstration in the Plaza Altamira, killing three and wounding at least twenty others. The National Guard now routinely opens fire on peaceful demonstrators with rubber bullets. Jesus Soriano witnessed the Altamira shootings and helped wrestle the gunman to the ground, saving countless lives. For his efforts, Soriano was picked up by agents of DISIP — the Venezuelan secret police that Chávez has infested with agents of Cuba's security apparatus — who beat and tortured him, and allowed Joao Gouveia, the accused Altamira shooter, to enter his cell to perform, in Soriano's words, "unspeakable things." Last month, three military dissidents and a female protestor who frequented the Plaza Altamira were kidnapped, bound, and shot execution-style. The embassies of Spain and Colombia, members of a multinational group seeking a peaceful resolution to the Venezuelan political crisis, were the targets of bombings last week. Accompanying the violence, Chávez is seizing more property and levers of power. In January, the National Guard seized a Coca-Cola bottling plant and a beer distribution plant, beating workers who resisted. Chávez has started the process to revoke the licenses of privately owned television and radio stations, among the few sources of information beyond the government-run propaganda machine. Carlos Fernandez, president of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and co-leader of the general strike, was recently seized by DISIP and charged with rebellion. His partner in opposition, Carlos Ortega, leader of the Confederation of Trade Unions, has gone into hiding, facing the same charges. As an army paratrooper, Chávez led a coup attempt against a democratically elected government in 1992. Since his own election, Chávez has closely allied himself with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, paid homage to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi, and made common cause with the Islamic extremists ruling Iran. Chávez has already established ties with the Marxist FARC rebels in neighboring Colombia and, given the opportunity, will turn Venezuela into a greater source of instability and violence in the region. While the Bush Administration is postulating democracy for Iraq, democracy is disappearing in a nation that has served as an anchor for political and economic liberalization in Latin America. The increasingly violent, dictatorial rule of Hugo Chávez demands greater attention from the White House, the State Department, and not least from the American media, which has largely ignored the political, civil, and human rights abuses of the Chávez government. The people of Venezuela are pleading for American support, before the beauty of their nation is completely destroyed.

E-mail Jonathan Gurwitz at jmgur@swbell.net