A Voice for the Voiceless

Chávez Deescalates Spat with Colombia in Apparent Move to Preserve Oil Production

By Mario A. Flores
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela — In a surprising about-face, the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, ordered the return of his ambassador to Colombia just a few days after recalling him from Bogotá.

Chávez had retaliated against Colombia by suspending diplomatic relations and ordering a freeze of bilateral relations with the neighboring nation after Bogotá said weapons found in the possession of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were originally sold by a Swedish company to the Venezuelan armed forces and reacting to Colombia’s announcement that it would allow American troops to use its military bases.

Chávez had also threatened sanctions against the Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol saying the company would not be allowed to participate in the tender of its Carabobo heavy crude blocks in the Orinoco oil-rich belt because of the diplomatic dispute. This is the first tender since the government nationalized several projects in the Orinoco belt.

But on Saturday, the Venezuelan leader said, “[Our] ambassador Gustavo has given [the Foreign Minister] all the reports he was going to, let him go back to Bogotá. Return to Bogotá Gustavo.”

The shift comes after discrete reminders that Venezuela depends on natural gas from Colombia to keep its oil wells running.

During a recent interview, Colombia’s Energy and Mines Ministry said that the natural gas supply to Venezuela would continue, “for now.”

The Colombian gas is essential for keeping the oil flowing from many of Venezuela’s aging oil wells. Without the gas injections, many of the wells in the oil-producing state of Zulia would cease to work and Venezuela’s oil output, exports and dollars would rapidly collapse at a time when the government is grappling with a sharp decline in oil revenue and mounting debts

An Ecopetrol spokesperson chimed in with the Colombian Ministry saying that, “We have complied with our contract since the beginning of 2008 without regard to the political situation between Colombia and Venezuela,” referring to the natural gas exports. “We expect to maintain those sales to that market,” the official added.

Colombia began natural gas exports to Venezuela in January 2008 through a new pipeline.

But Chávez challenged Colombian President Álvaro Uribe to show up to the regional summit of Unasur (Union of South American Nations) being held this week in Ecuador to explain Colombia’s decision to allow the United States to use seven of its military bases.

“Uribe should show up, come and face the music and let’s sit down and talk,” Chavez told local Colombian television RCN.

Uribe just completed a whirlwind South American tour to defend his plans to expand the U.S. military’s presence in Colombia, a prospect that worries even friendly nations in the region.

The purpose of Uribe’s trip was to allay fears that the U.S. military could become too powerful on the continent if given long-term leases on Colombian bases. Colombia maintains that the American presence is necessary to combat drug-trafficking operations.

The overall success or failure of Uribe’s trip will be evident in Quito when most of the continent’s leaders will attend the summit. Colombia is an important member of Unasur but announced it will not attend the meeting, in a clear sign of the tense diplomatic relations between Colombia and Ecuador

Quito and Bogotá have been embroiled in a smoldering feud that dates back to last year when the Colombian army raided a terrorist camp in Ecuadorian territory that killed a guerrilla chief and twenty-five other people. Ecuador reacted by breaking off diplomatic relations.

Colombia has also leveled allegations that documents found on computers at the rebel camp showed the guerrilla had at least tried to help finance Rafael Correa’s first presidential campaign. Correa, now president of Ecuador, has vehemently denied the charges.

For more information, please see:

El Comercio – Venezuela bajó el tono de la crisis – 09 August 2009

Latin American Herald Tribune – Latin American Realpolitik: Chavez Returns Ambassador to Bogotá As Colombia Focuses on the Natural Gas Sent to Keep Venezuela Oil Wells Pumping – 09 August 2009

RCN Television – Chávez ordena retorno de su embajador a Colombia – 09 August 2009

Reuters – Chávez pide a Uribe que “dé la cara” en reunión de Unasur – 08 August 2009

Colombia Reports – Chavez returns envoy to Colombia – 08 August 2009

The Union of South American Nations – UNASUR

Commonwealth Urges Fiji to Restart President’s Political Dialogue Forum

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – The Commonwealth Secretary General says that Fiji’s interim government should resume its discussion of the President’s political dialogue forum.

The forum would address Fiji’s position in the group since the Commonwealth has threatened to suspend Fiji unless the interim prime minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, makes progress toward holding democratic elections.

Bainimarama had planned to hold the forum to discuss Fiji’s position among South Pacific nations, but Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma, says it is unclear when the forum will take place.

“At some point it was announced that this process was being not pursued anymore, and what CMAG is saying, is that it should be revived, but with a very clear target of elections in October next year,” Sharma said.

Meanwhile, Bainimarama says he will consider the Secretary General’s request to restart discussions on holding the President political dialogue.

“My government will consider the proposal of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to revive the President’s Political Dialogue Forum. And I will provide an answer to that suggestion – when [I] write to the Secretary General and the UN Secretary General,” Bainimarama said.

The interim PM added that if the Commonwealth chooses to suspend Fiji from the group, there is nothing the interim government can do.

The Commonwealth has given Bainimarama until September 1st to develop a plan for elections, otherwise, the country will be suspended from the group.

For more information, please see:
FBCL – PPDF will continue says PM – 10 August 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Commonwealth Secretary General says political dialogue in Fiji essential – 09 August 2009

Clinton Meets South African President Zuma

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

PRETORIA, Zimbabwe – Today United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, met with South African President Jacob Zuma in Durban in order to discuss ways to build stronger ties between the two countries.


The U.S. wants South Africa to boost its leadership role in Africa, especially regarding international trade.

“We believe that South Africa has so much more economic potential and it cannot exist as an island of relative prosperity amid a sea of untapped opportunity elsewhere on the continent,” said Mrs. Clinton.

Increasing trade with African countries may be more complex than it may seem because the region is currently in a recession and must first respond to the major domestic issues, such as their struggle with AIDS, widespread poverty, and unemployment.  Also, countries such as Somalia suffer from bouts of impunity that need to be resolved before the country can focus on trade.

Previous relations between South Africa and the U.S. have not always been smooth.  President Zuma’s predecessor Thabo Mbeki and President Bush established uneasy relations regarding the fight against AIDS and the Iraq invasion.

This new relation between Pretoria and Washington will also help with issues such as the long-serving Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.  Both the European Union and the U.S. are upholding a travel ban and asset freeze on Mugabe, and his family, for alleged human rights abuses by his government.

“We are attempting to target the leaders of Zimbabwe with sanctions that we think might influence their behavior without hurting the people of Zimbabwe,” said Clinton.

Zuma, who assumed the presidency in May, has a different mentality then his predecessor, Mbeki, who scoffed at the U.S. regarding their attempts to punish Mugabe.

While at an American-financed clinic, Clinton declared that, “we have to make up for lost time.”

Clinton is on the second leg of an African tour which will take her to Angola on Sunday before she heads to Nigeria, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape Verde.


For more information, please see:
AFP – US and S. Africa Pledge Work for ‘Free” Zimbabwe – 7 August 2009

BBC – Clinton Meets South Africa’s Zuma – 7 August 2009

New York Times – Clinton Seeks South African Support on Zimbabwe – 7 August 2009

VOA News – South African President Zuma, US Secretary of State Clinton Meet in Durban – 8 August 2009

Indigenous Families in Paraguay Continue to Organize


By Don Anque
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Asunción, Paraguay – Indigenous families living in a squatter settlement on the outskirts of the Paraguayan capital of Asunción have organized themselves. Now, they have a community soup kitchen and are producing handicrafts to sell. Many of the families say they do not want to return to panhandling on the streets of Asunción, far away from their home villages.

Cerro Poty soup kitchen located on the outskirts of Asunción pictured here.  Photo by Reuters.

“We used to go out on the street and ask for money, with our children, at the stoplights,” Petrona Ruiz, one of the women running the Cerro Poty soup kitchen. “But we haven’t gone out to beg on the streets in three months.”

Earlier this year, Amnesty International claimed that the government of Paraguay is failing to adequately protect the rights of its indigenous peoples. Amnesty International’s March 2009 report on Paraguay stated that many of its indigenous peoples were forced to live in misery and effectively condemning some to death.

Many years ago, the Yakye Axa and Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous communities were displaced from their traditional lands and were promised by the Paraguayan government that their lands would be returned to them.  For more than 10 years of living at the side of the Pozo Colorado-Concepción highway, these communities lived without access to their land they live in precarious conditions, unable to source water and food for themselves and with inadequate provision of health and education.

After a breakthrough court decision, the Paraguayan government was ordered to a return the ancestral lands to the Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous People in a span of three years as well as to undertake a series of measures to ensure their survival in the interim.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International  – PARAGUAY’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN PERIL – 31 March 2009

IPS News  – Indigenous Squatter Communities Organise Self-Help – 02 August 2009

Amnesty International- Indigenous Peoples’ Rights – Solidarity across borders – 16 July 2009

China Should Cancel Quake Advocate Trials

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW YORK, United States– The Chinese government should cancel the criminal trials of Huang Qi and Tan Zuoren in the absence of any credible proof that they endangered state security during their investigation of schools that collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Sichuan quake(AP) School destroyed during the quake (Source: AP)

Huang is a well-known civil rights campaigner and is accused of possessing state secrets, a crime punishable by imprisonment for five-years to life in China.  His charge is based on Huang’s investigation which found that poor construction lead to the collapse of the schools during the Sichuan quake.  Tan is also a famous civil rights and environmental advocate and can be jailed for five-years for his subversion charge.  Tan’s sentence stems from the fact that he compiled a list of children killed during the earthquake.

“Subversion” and “state secrets” charges have long been used by the Chinese government to silence dissidents who exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights.  Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch said, “These trials are not about a reasonable application of the law, but about silencing government critics whose work has considerable public benefit….”  Richardson also commented that there is no evidence to suggest that Huang or Tan did anything more than to embarrass the government, which is not a crime.

The trials of Huang and Tan appears to be part of China’s plan to repress those who are challenging the government’s death toll of the quake and those who are seeking answers as to why 7,000 classrooms collapsed.  Furthermore, prosecuting advocates like Huang and Tan violates international law as well as China’s constitution.  That is, China implemented its first-ever national human rights campaign in April 2009 in which the government promised to “[r]especting earthquake victims (and) registering the names of people who died or disappeared in the earthquake and make them known to the public.”

  Mother, amid quake rubbles, mourning her daughter (Source: Reuters)

Independent research by a renowned architect suggested that the death toll is more than 6,000.  Moreover, outspoken parents of children who died in the school collapse have been harassed, detained or punished by government officials.

For more information, please see:

AP – Trial of Chinese dissidents ends without ruling – 5 August 2009

Human Rights Watch – China: Cancel Trials of Quake Victim Advocates – 4 August 2009

NYT – China Urged to Cancel Quake Trials – 5 August 2009