South America

Venezuela Under International Scrutiny for Attacks Against Activists

October 16, 2011

By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – United Nations’ Human Rights Council issued 148 recommendations for Venezuela recently, in part because of the various reports of government human rights abuses towards activists who have publicly criticized government policies. Venezuela, however, has rejected the recommendations despite requests for change from its own allies.

Venezuelan human rights activist Humberto Prado has fallen victim to what he believes is government induced harassment. (Photo courtesy of ABC News).

Humberto Prado, 48, an ex-prison inmate turned director and founder of a prison monitoring group, claims he has been fearing for his life ever since he became an activist for prison reform. After criticizing conditions in a prison where inmates rioted in June, Prado began receiving anonymous phone calls at all hours of the night threatening to kill him.

Government officials, however, have ignored his complaints and Prado suspects that they might even be behind the threats. As the harassment intensified and government indifference continued, Amnesty International helped Prado and his family flee to Spain.

Prado is one of many activists who have fallen victim to attacks after President Hugo Chavez took office. Over the last 12 years, 83 activists have been attacked or harassed and 10 have been killed.

Out of the cases involving attacks on activists in Venezuela this year, the Committee of Victims’ Relatives reports that only 13 percent of them are being tried in court while the remaining have been either dismissed or remain in the preliminary investigative stage.

According to the director of the Committee of Victims’ Relatives, Liliana Ortega, various nonprofit groups have been investigated for improper funding after publicly denouncing government policies. Additionally, human rights groups have also reported arbitrary police arrests of activists, illegal wiretapping and restrictions on public meetings.

Last Friday, during the United Nations Periodic Review of Human Rights convention in Geneva, some of Venezuela’s allies, including Brazil, Russia, and Turkey, expressed concern over Venezuela’s criminal procedures, specifically it’s procedural delays, and other human rights issues.

A member of the Venezuela delegation who attended the convention but who wants to remain anonymous was surprised to hear criticism coming from Venezuelan allies. “”The fact that the United States, Britain and Germany questioned the Judiciary was predictable, but Brazil’s criticisms were not,” he said.

The Brazilian delegation expressed concerned about how closely judges and prosecutors work together in criminal proceedings. They called for a more independent judiciary in order to guarantee citizens of Venezuela the essential conditions of a democracy.

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Threats, Violence Rising for Venezuelan Activists – 14 October 2011

El Universal – Even Allies Questioned Venezuela at the UN Human Rights Council – 14 October 2011

CNN – Venezuela Rejects Certain Human Rights Recommendations – 11 October 2011

El Universal – US Asks Venezuela to “Reconsider” Human Rights Suggestions

– 12 October 2011

Paraguayan People’s Army Targeting Citizens, Police, Journalists

October 16, 2011

by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay – Army troops were dispatched to Concepción this past Monday October 10. The troops have been sent to the city to combat the growing problem of the Ejército del Pueblo Paraguayo (Paraguayan People Army or EPP).

A member of the EPP. (Photo Courtesy of Americas Forum)

The Paraguayan congress passed a bill one week ago that created a state of exception. This bill allowed for the army to dispatch to the troops to the north, where the self-declared socialist group has been most active. The state of exception established only lasts for a period of 60 days. It allows for the police to detain any who they believe to be “suspects” for questioning without having to secure a warrant first. The bill was contested by President Fernando Lugo, he delayed signing it once it passed Congress by a number of days, despite its widespread support.

President Lugo has a religious background; he is a former Roman Catholic Bishop. He is openly left-leaning and his opposition to the state of exception bill rests on the notion that this is a police action that should not be undertaken by the federal government.

It is believed that the EPP comes from a Catholic background as well. Guerilla EPP members, captured by local police, have been found to be closely tied to the Catholic Church. Critics of Lugo note this connection, attributing Lugo’s hesitance to sign the bill as support for the EPP.

It is unclear where the group’s origins lay. Some sources point to the group beginning in 1992 when three priests were expelled from the Catholic seminary for their liberal and radical ideals. They started a socialist movement, the Movimiento Monseñor Romero, which has evolved into the EPP. News agencies claim that the movement began with the kidnapping and murder of Cecilia Cubas in 2005. The group themselves claim to be made up of peasant communities.

The group has increased its activities in the last couple months. They have kidnapped a number of wealthy farmers in the Northern provinces, demanding ransom for their safe return. They have also been attacking local police stations in the area to obtain more weapons

Most worrisome however is Alcides Oviedo Brítez’s, the EPP leader, announcement from jail that news journalists will be attacked as valid military targets if they act as “informants” to the government. During a tape-recorded interview two weeks ago, Brítez’s point of view was that the press was “terrorizing the citizenry” and that the true violence came from the nation’s police forces who were not the “poor little angels” as portrayed by the press. He noted that the killings of police, journalists and civilians would continue as this was a war.

For more information, please see;

Americas Forum – Paraguay Sends Troops to Fight Growing Threat From Left-Wing Terrorist Group EPP – 12 October 2011

MercoPress – Paraguay Sends the Army to the North of the Country to Combat Guerilla Groups – 11 October 2011

Center for International Media Assistance – Guerilla Army in Paraguay Calls Journalists “Military Targets” – 27 September 2011

Council on Hemispheric Affairs – The Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP)-A New Insurgent Group with an Old Time Political Ideology? – 22 July 2011

Venezuela Rejects 38 Human Rights Recommendations From UN Universal Periodic Review

October 12, 2011

by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – On Friday, October 7, Venezuela’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) began. UPR’s are done on a four year basis, with every member state of the United Nations. They are conducted by the Human Rights Council, which is made up of 47 member countries. The goal of the UPR’s is to ascertain the progress that has been made in each country regarding human rights.

Once a UPR has begun, a “troika” of countries is assigned to it. These three countries have 48 hours in which to prepare a final report that is then submitted to the Human Rights Council. This report consists of recommendations for human rights improvements to be made. The reports are not binding on the nations reviewed. The “troika” of countries assigned to Venezuela was Burkina Faso, Czech Republic and Guatemala.

Yesterday, the final report was submitted. This report included 148 recommendations that spanned a variety of topics. Venezuela chose to accept 95 of those recommendations. Another 15 will be considered. The remaining 38 recommendations were flatly rejected. These recommendations all focused on issues of judicial independence, freedom of the press and protection for non-governmental activist groups.

Other suggestions were; more guarantees to allow for freedom of expression, increased safety for journalists, an independent and open selection process for prosecutors and judges as well as a higher respect for the independence of the judiciary. Concerns regarding Venezuela’s failure to comply with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) and its denial of entry to UN special rapporteurs were also noted.

During their presentation, Venezuela made special note of signing on to most international treaties and covenants on human rights. The Slovakian delegate politely chided this with a diplomatic statement inviting Venezuela to “observe them” in practice.

Brazil also gently chastised Venezuela. “The guarantee of human rights needs independence of the Judiciary branch and full freedom of expression and freedom of the press,” was the Brazilian ambassador’s statement to the Human Rights Council.

The Venezuelan vice minister of foreign affairs, Temir Porras Ponce de Leon addressed the rejections made with a statement that called the rejected recommendations “groundless statements” as well as “disrespectful and interfering.”

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs minister Nicolas Maduro said “[t]he proposals from the US are aggressive, cynical and boil down to a slap in the face to the dignity of our people.” He noted that only twelve countries criticized the lack of judicial autonomy, limits on freedom of expression and insufficient protection for non-governmental organizations.

For more information, please see;

CNN International – Venezuela Rejects Certain Human Rights Recommendations – 11 October 2011

El Universal – UN Members Urge Venezuela to Meet International Agreements – 11 October 2011

El Universal – Report on Human Rights to be Submitted on Tuesday – 10 October 2011

El Universal – Venezuela Rejects UN Petitions to Repeal Crimes of Opinion – 10 October 2011

MercoPress – Brazil, in Friendly Tone, Asks Venezuela for Fair Judges and Freedom of Expression – 10 October 2011

ARGENTINEAN CASE IN THE FINAL PHASE OF TESTIMONY MAY FINALLY PROVE KIDNAPPINGS AND MURDERS OF THE DIRTY WAR

October 10, 2011

By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A trial in Argentina that began in late February of this year and is now in its final phase of testimony may finally prove the strategic plan to carry out approximately 500 baby abductions adopted by the nation’s military leaders during Argentina’s Dirty War.

The recent Dirty War trials are uncovering a painful time in Argentina’s history, a period of military dictatorship rule between 1976 and 1983 when around 500 babies were abducted and thousands of left-wing activists were murdered at the hands of the government. Efforts to locate the “disappeared” from this period have been on going by the grandmothers (”las abuelas de Plaza de Mayo”) and the now adult children of those murdered who question their own identity.

One of the accused in the case is Jorge Rafael Videla. Videla headed the military during Argentina’s dictatorship and is now being accused of spearheading the kidnapping operation which redistributed babies from left-wing mothers to military officials. He is among the 11 officials on trial for 35 acts of “illegal appropriation of minors.”

Victoria Montenegro, 35, is a daughter of the Dirty War who was abducted by a military colonel when she was a newborn. She was raised by Lt. Col. Hernán Tetzlaff, the man who killed her biological parents. Although Tetzlaff confessed to the murder in 2000, it was not until after her recent testimony in trial that Montenegro was finally able to accept the truth and shed the name he had given her.

Like many others who were abducted as babies, Montenegro was constantly lied to by her military parents and received a strong ideological education. “I grew up thinking that in Argentina there had been a war, and that our soldiers had gone to war to guarantee the democracy,” she stated. “And that there were no disappeared people, that it was all a lie.”

Thanks to more government support, advanced technology and a growing genetic data bank, the total number of recoveries as of August is 105.

The trial is shedding light on many mysteries surrounding the Dirty War, including a possible connection between some Dirty War crimes and the Argentinean Catholic Church which supported the military government at the time. Church officials in Argentina and at the Vatican have declined to comment on allegations of possible involvement.

For further information, please see;

The New York Times – Daughter of ‘Dirty War,’ Raised by Man Who Killed Her Parents – 08 October 2011

CNN – Argentina Presses Forward with Human Rights Trials – 06 October 2011

Reuters – Argentina Nixes Extradition in 1970s French Nun Case – 04 October 2011

The Guardian– Child of Argentina’s ‘Disappeared’ Fights for Right to Keep Adoptive Name – 23 September 2011

10 Year Old Girl Kidnapped in Colombia, Leads to Protests and Killing of Five Rebel Soldiers

October 9, 2011

by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – Eleven days ago, on September 29, ten-year old Nohara Valentina Muñoz was kidnapped. She was abducted right outside of her school by a group of armed men. Her mother, Pilar Gutierrez, was also taken but quickly released. Nohara’s father is Jorge Enrique Muñoz, the mayor of the town of Fortul in the Arauca department.

School children protest the kidnapping of classmate Nohara Munoz. (Photo Courtesy of Colombia Reports)

The Mayor’s first concern was that his daughter be unharmed. Contact with the kidnappers was established three days later on Sunday, October 2. The Mayor announced that he received a phone call from the kidnappers who told him his daughter was alive and well. All requests for him to identify those responsible for the kidnapping were side-stepped.

“Now we know who has her. At present, I am not authorized to provide that information to the public, but I can only say that there was the first contact and that the girl is well,” was Muñoz’s statement to press.

The situation sparked a demonstration on Friday September 30. Over 1,000 residents of Fortul, predominately fellow classmates of Nohara’s, turned out to protest her abduction. They marched from her home to the spot where she was taken in front of the school, shouting words of encouragement and calling for her release.

The Catholic pope, his holiness Pope Benedict XVI, also took note of the kidnapping. The Colombian Ambassador to the Holy See, Cesar Velasquez, announced that the Pope was keeping the girl in his prayers, hoping that she be safely returned. Juan Santos, Colombia’s president also spoke out against the kidnapping.

“I don’t know who has her but what I want to say to these bandits, because taking this girl is an act of cowardice, is that we are going to pursue them to where they are and we are going to rescue this girl,” he said.

A 100 million peso (roughly US $50,000) reward has been offered for information about Nohara’s capture. Additionally, requests have been made to Venezuela to make sure the kidnappers do not try and take her across the border.

Suspicions, about who is responsible, are firmly focused on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Group (ELN). Neither group claimed responsibility.

Yesterday, during the search, fighting between the army and ELN occurred. In the skirmish five rebel ELN fighters were killed. The ELN has reacted to this by telling the FARC to come clean about their role in the kidnapping.

It remains unclear who in fact is responsible for taking the young girl.

For more information, please see;

Herald Sun – Five Rebels Killed in Colombia’s North – 9 Oct0ber 2011

BBC News – Colombia Troops Kill ELN Rebels During Kidnap Search – 8 October 2011

Latin American Herald Tribune –Colombian Girl’s Kidnappers Contact Family – 6 October 2011

Colombia Reports – School Children Protest Kidnapping of 10-year-old – 30 September 2011