International Criminal Court–Office of the Prosecutor Weekly Briefing – 31 August – 6 September 2010 – Issue #53
Venezuela Moves Toward Rationing Food
By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelans fear that a new food-card issued by President Hugo Chavez is the first step to the country rationing food. The card, which President Chavez called the “Good Life Card,” is being implemented to “make shopping easier,” according to President Chavez, but others expect that the card will be used to control where the citizens can shop and what they can buy.
Many suspect that the food card will be similar to the one that rations food in Cuba, but will likely be more technologically advanced so that Venezuelan citizens can only shop at certain places and only buy a certain amount of food. The Cuban equivalent emerged when goods became scarce in the country, but later became a means to control Cuban citizens ability to buy food because the Cuban food markets were all owned and operated by the Cuban Government.
President Chavez stated that the card is to “purchase what you are going to take and they keep deducting. It’s to buy what you need, not to promote communism, but to buy what just what you need.” However, the concerns are not unwarranted as it appears the card will only work at government-run markets.
Venezuela is facing a recurring shortage of supply, and many see this card as an effort to resolve the problem without expressly calling it rationing. This move comes months after the Chavez Government began cracking down on hoarding, which includes police raids on food stores and warehouses.
While many experts think that supply shortages could be curbed by simply finding a sustainable means to get supplies to all markets, the Venezuelan Government seems preoccupied with focusing solely on the supply and consumption in regards to the government-run markets.
Experts are accusing President Chavez of lacking accountability for his own government’s failures. Rather than admitting that Socialism has not succeeded in Venezuela, Chavez seems content with digging the country into a bigger hole. In the end, Venezuelan citizens pay the ultimate price because they will not have the right to buy the types of food they want, the amount of food they want, and will have limited shopping options.
For more information, please see:
New American – Venezuela “Good Life Card” comes at a Great Cost – 5 September 2010
RightPundits.com – Hugo Chavez Begins Food Rationing in Venezuela – 5 September 2010
The Miami Herald – Venezuela Introduces Cuba-like Food Card – 3 September 2010
International Humanitarian Law Dialogs–4th Chautauqua Declaration 2010
Kawaiisu Tribe Files Amended Lawsuit To Stop California Resort Infringement on Tribe Burial Grounds
By Erica Laster
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
CALIFORNIA, United States – On August 15, 2010, the Native American Kawaiisu Tribe of Tejon in Southern California filed an amended complaint objecting to a statement in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) of Kern County which indicates that “the property owner (who is also the owner of the remains), and of any associated archaeological materials.”
The EIR was made by the Defendants, Tejon Ranch Corporation and County of Kern, pursuant to a project proposing to build Tejon Mountain Village (TMV), a 26 thousand acre resort. The proposal includes 750 lodging units, 3400 homes, a 160,000 square foot shopping center and golf courses. The resort falls within Indian Country and the over 50 pre-historic village sites of the Kawaiisu people, an ancient Great Basin Shoshone Paiute Tribe. Before European encroachment, the Kawaiisu’s territory extended from Utah to the Pacific Ocean.
The Kawaiisu tribe calls attention to the Administrative Procedure Act, the federal acknowledgement process and the Native American Repatriation of remains. David Laughing Horse Robinson, Chairman of the Kawaiisu Tribe of Tejon claims the statement proclaims TMV ownership of Kawaiisu ancestor remains and sacred objects.
He argues that despite the land being set aside in Federal Reservations for Native Americans, “the unborn and our ancestors are made into slaves and property by that statement.” Robinson argues that California Native Americans are receiving unequal treatment from those of European descent. The threat by various corporations to bulldoze the Kawaiisu Tribe’s land represents a serious infringement on humanitarian rights. Robinson further contends that the Kawaiisu tribe was illegally dropped from the list of recognized tribes on the federal register with an allocation of land under federal treaty in 1853. He will defend his right to represent Kawaiisu tribe in the proceeding before a Judge in Federal Court until an attorney can be located.
The Defendants, the U.S. Department of Interior, Kern County and Tejon Mountain Village Corporation, were first sued November 10, 2009 in Federal Court in Fresno with the Kawaiisu arguing that the Defendant’s ignored Native American rights to historical sites and burial remains. Both Kern County and Tejon Mountain Village have filed motions to dismiss the complaint.
For More Information Please See:
The Mountain Enterprise-Second Lawsuit Seeks Injunction…for Kiwaiisu Tribe of Tejon – 13 November 2009
Indigenous People’s Issues and Resources-Kawaiisu Tribe of Tejon in Emergency Battle – 23 February 2010
Indigenous People’s Issues and Resources-Kawaiisu Tribe of Tejon Lawsuit Amended Complaint Filed – 28 August 2010
Iranian Human Rights Activist Tried; Awaits Judicial Verdict
By Alyxandra Stanczak
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
