By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia—A Colombian judge has issued an international arrest warrant for William Parra, a journalist, alleging that he has links to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).  Parra and his supporters deny any such involvement and claim that the warrant is an effort to silence journalists who are critical of the Colombian government.

“As the innocent person I am, I have asked and will continue to demand that my fundamental rights be respected,” Parra said.  In a statement, he accused Colombian officials of multiple rights violations, including denial of due process.  He claimed that his attorneys were not granted sufficient access to defend him in court and that he has not been adequately informed about any evidence against him.

According to Colombian prosecutors, Parra’s name appears in some emails that were found on the laptop of a high-ranking FARC member, deputy commander Raul Reyes.

William Parra made a name for himself after joining the Venezuelan television network Telesur in 2006.  Telesur is financed by leftist President Hugo Chavez and has been critical of the Colombian government.  Parra worked for the network until 2008 when he became an independent journalist.

Parra’s attorney, Sandra Gamboa, has stated that the warrant violates international law.  Though a Colombian, Parra has been in exile in Venezuela and was granted refugee status there in March.  Gamboa said that the warrant contains irregularities and violates her client’s defense rights.

Telesur released a statement that read in part, “Any investigation that the Colombian authorities bring against William Parra does not link Telesur in any way.  Telesur rejects this new effort to criminalize its journalistic work.”  The network added that Parra “always acted with integrity and professional quality.”

Reporters Without Borders, a group that defends the freedom of the press, has questioned the motives behind the warrant, pointing out that the Colombian government has harassed Telesur employees in the past.

Parra said he plans to appeal all allegations to international bodies.  All other individuals who have been indicted for “FARC politics” as a result of their names being found on Reyes’ laptop have had their charges dropped because of lack of evidence.

For more information, please see:

Reporters Without Borders-Belated proceedings against former Telesur reporter William Parra-9 September 2010

CNN-Colombia journalist wanted for rebel ties-8 September 2010

Colombia Reports-Judge seeks arrest of journalist accused of FARC links-7 September 2010

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

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 SANTIAGO, Chile – Chilean President Sebastián Piñera recently called for an end to an ongoing hunger strike by indigenous Mapuche inmates.  The Mapuche political prisoners are protesting a Pinochet-era anti-terror law that was used to convict them.

The Mapuche people have clashed with the Chilean government and farmers for years over ancestral lands in the southern part of the country.

The anti-terror law, which has been widely criticized by human rights groups, including Amnesty International, was used to label the inmates “terrorists” based on certain actions, such as setting timber shipments on fire.  The law also allows government witnesses to conceal their identities at trial and permits defendants to be tried by military commissions.

The hunger strike began in July with five prisoners and has since grown to include 34 inmates in various jails throughout Chile.  Many of the prisoners have lost up to 40 pounds during the hunger strike and are experiencing dizziness and low blood pressure. 

Last month, the families of the Mapuche prisoners went to Santiago, the capital, to denounce irregularities in their trials and push for dialogue with the authorities. 

A spokesperson for the Mapuche families stated that the prisoners were at a critical stage in the hunger strike and continue losing muscle tissue and experiencing vital organ failure.

President Piñera said that his government will send two bills to Congress next week to reform anti-terror legislation and the military justice system in an effort to end the strike.  He added, “I want to ask all of those worried about the health of the protesters to help us end this hunger strike.”

The police and military have been accused by human rights groups of using excessive force against the Mapuches in the past.  But the indigenous peoples have come under fire for sometimes violent protests where they have burned crops and the trucks and machinery of forestry companies.

The Mapuches lost their lands to the newly formed states of Argentina and Chile in the early 19th century after having fended off the Spanish conquistadores for centuries.  The indigenous peoples ancestral territory spanned most of the south of Chile and crossed over into Argentina. 

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Chile Wants to End Hunger Strike over Terror Laws – 3 September 2010

The Argentine Independent – Chile: Health of Mapuches on Hunger Strike Worsens – 2 September 2010

IPS – Mapuche Prisoners on Hunger Strike to Demand Talks – 12 August 2010

Intercontinental Cry – Mapuche on Hunger Strike over Chile’s Militancy – 4 August 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela—A man who had been protesting President Chavez has died of a hunger strike.  His supporters accuse Chavez of human rights abuses and call the death state-sponsored murder.

Franklin Brito, who was 49 and a father of four, died of a heart attack Monday in a military hospital.  He had been there since last December when authorizes took him away from a protest.  When he died, he weighed 77 pounds.

His protests, ranging from food strikes to cutting off a finger and sewing his mouth shut on live TV, stemmed from government seizure of his property in 2003.

Brito’s yucca and watermelon farm had been taken by the government during a land reform drive.  Brito repeatedly demanded compensation and petitioned the president after being denied by other officials.

Tal Cual editor Teodoro Petkoff wrote, “But the president did not have time to bother with what must have seemed an insignificant matter, a bother which he couldn’t waste precious time on.  So he let him die.”

Many laud Brito as a hero.  Chavez has had a history of seizing property and his foes claim that the nation is becoming a socialist dictatorship.  About 2.5 million hectares (6 million acres) have been nationalized in what the government says is an effort to reverse rural inequality.   This reform has caused widespread food shortages.

The government has been unimpressed with accusations against its reform and Brito’s death.  In a statement, the government blasted opposition leaders for crying “hypocritically” over Brito.

Brito’s relatives plan to sue government officials in the International Court of Justice for “cruel, inhuman and humiliating treatment.”  Brito’s death is considered the result of a series of unconstitutional acts.  He was denied his own doctor, and police violated due process by putting him in the military hospital last year.  “I see little chance that [Brito’s rights] and his heirs can be respected in the country,” lawyer Gonzalo Himiob said.

In a statement, Brito’s family wrote: “Franklin Brito lives on in the struggle of the Venezuelan people for the right to property, access to justice, for liberty and the respect of governments for human rights, both collective and individual.”

For more information, please see:

Reuters-Venezuela says opposition sought protester’s death-2 September 2010

El Universal-Relatives of late Venezuelan striker to take his case to international courts-1 September 2010

Irish Times-Hunger striker dies in Venezuela-1 September 2010

Miami Herald-Hunger-striking Venezuelan farmer dies at 49-1 September 2010