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<h1 class="title">Amnesty International Opposes Venezuelans Defending
Their Human Rights</h1>
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<p class="byline"> By <span class="author">Tamara Pearson-
Venezuelanalysis.com</span>, <span class="date">March 23rd 2014</span>
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<p>In a recent article Amnesty International accused the Venezuelan
government of a “witch hunt” when opposition mayor, Daniel Ceballos was
arrested. However, Amnesty has yet to use such strong language against
the five weeks of human rights violations people in Venezuela have
suffered at the hands of violent opposition sectors. The “witch hunt”
term demonises the people’s right to bring such criminals to justice.</p>
<p>Amnesty argues in its article<a
href="http://impact22.amnesty.org/en/news/venezuela-daniel-ceballos-2014-03-20">,
Venezuela: Arrest of local mayor signals potential “witch hunt</a>”,
dated 20 March 2014, that Ceballos, mayor of San Cristobal, capital of
Tachira state, was arrested for his “alleged involvement in
anti-government protests...authorities in Venezuela seem to be setting
the scene for a witch hunt against opposition leaders”.</p>
<p>It is important to counter the horrendous distortions contained in
the article, because despite the fact that Amnesty is not expert on
Venezuela, the private media and even some leftwing media will quote
its positions as fact. Further, articles like this embolden the
criminals and coup participants who make up a part of the opposition
leadership, while making it harder for those of us here who have
suffered from the violence to be able to demand arrests, and
authorities to carry them out.</p>
<p>As I write (on Saturday afternoon), I can hear constant gunshots
coming from down the road. Violent groups who have called for President
Maduro to resign, are firing from the street and apartment buildings at
people, buses, and cars on the main city intersection on Avenue Las
Americas. They have set a bus on fire, and two people have been shot,
including a youth from the barrio where I teach. The other is a Cantv
worker –reports coming in now that he has died. Four police have been
injured. The driver of that bus has now lost his living. <a
href="https://scontent-a-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/1947708_616089315145170_899016725_n.jpg">Photo</a>,
<a
href="https://scontent-b-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/1966827_616024965151605_1082901080_n.jpg">photo</a>,
<a
href="https://scontent-a-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/1509009_616034255150676_2077511509_n.jpg">photo</a>,
and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBEQcNX_Lis">video</a>.</p>
<p>That intersection has been like this, to different extents for
weeks. Last week on my way to work I took photos of a burnt <a
href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1.0-9/1959803_10152006781066232_6902694939466176843_n.jpg">truck</a>
and <a
href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/1978613_10152006780631232_5950919778332899739_n.jpg">rubbish</a>
there. Because of the violent opposition blockades, for weeks people
haven’t been able to exercise their basic human rights and get to work,
school, university, shops, and hospitals. There are various such
blockades around the country, mainly concentrated in cities with an
opposition mayor, including Ceballos’ city of San Cristobal. The
blockaders verbally abuse, physically attack, and sometimes charge
bribes to people who want to get through. Others have not been able to
get through and have been stuck inside their house, or outside of it,
for weeks. The blockaders have hung effigies of Chavistas in red
shirts, and painted slogans in the road that involve anti-Cuban racism.
Journalists, including myself, as well as various community,
alternative, and private media journalists, have been physically
attacked and threatened when trying to cover what Amnesty in its
article refers to as “protests”. If they were protests, the protestors
would welcome the publicity. 31 people have been killed, the majority
by blockaders, and the violent opposition sectors have also destroyed
buses, stations, burnt houses and shops, attacked the buildings of
public institutions and media outlets, and destroyed countless fences,
traffic lights, signage, and billboards.</p>
<p>By leaving out all political, historical and economical context, and
ignoring the opposition’s proven history of backing the rich elites,
Amnesty probably believes it is being “neutral”. In fact, the
organisation’s limited and Eurocentric understanding of democracy and
rights sees it in this article condemning a so called attack on an
individual, whilst being blind to the (failing) attempt currently
underway to overthrow a democratically elected government.</p>
<p>Ceballos meanwhile, has publically –through his <a
href="https://twitter.com/Daniel_Ceballos">Twitter</a> account, the
media, and his own actions – supported that attempt. While his level of
involvement- financial or not- in the violence is up to the courts to
pronounce, that much is clear. Despite <a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcpTWyhbmA">video</a> evidence
proving the contrary, he <a
href="https://twitter.com/Daniel_Ceballos/status/437972659461046272">blamed</a>
the National Guard for the death of an opposition blockader, then <a
href="https://twitter.com/Daniel_Ceballos/status/438694824502231040">paraded</a>
the victim’s coffin through the town to support his political cause.
The Supreme Court later ordered Mayor Ceballos to remove blockades in
the city so that people could exercise their right to free transit, and
he ignored that order. The Tachira governor has also accused Ceballos
of allegedly having foreign bank accounts containing money he has
allegedly made out of his support for drug smuggling and petrol
contraband, as well as permitting the presence of Colombian
paramilitaries, who have allegedly been supporting the far right’s
campaign to remove Maduro.</p>
<p>Minister for internal affairs, Miguel Rodriguez said, “A mayor is
obliged to comply with the constitution and the law, and to not foment
violence, anarchy, and civil rebellion”. Given that there is at least
very solid evidence for his support for the violent barricades, is it
not reasonable to take Ceballos to court? If a mayor in Australia or
the US or Europe were to actively encourage destruction of public
property, chaos, closing roads so that people can’t get urgent medical
care, and the overthrow of that nation’s government, would it be a
“witch hunt” if that mayor was taken to trial? Or is it only
progressive governments who aren’t allowed to arrest open criminals and
put them on trial?</p>
<p>In the article, Amnesty’s America’s spokesperson Guadalupe Marengo
concludes, “It is undeniable that authorities in Venezuela have a
responsibility to maintain public order. However, unless they respect
the human rights of all and exercise restraint, their actions will lead
to even more violence.” What Marengo fails to acknowledge, is the
ridiculous levels of restraint the Venezuelan government has exercised.</p>
<p>No other government in the world would be this restrained in the
face of such intense and long lasting violence and violations, as well
as the threat to overthrow it. There have been a few exceptions, and no
other government in the world would publically reject such exceptions,
then arrest the perpetrators, as the one here has. 14 members of
security forces have been arrested for alleged abuses and excessive use
of force, while not one police responsible for racial killings in
Australia for example, has ever been arrested – rather they tend to be
promoted. Further, despite putting up with constant verbal harassment,
racism, injuries, and six deaths so far from opposition “protestors”,
the National Guard has mostly remained calm, <a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yONBN1fIYeM">here</a> for
example, giving blockaders a workshop in human rights, then letting
them go.</p>
<p>The Venezuelan people have also been incredibly patient and
peaceful. In little Merida alone, thousands of government supporters
have marched for peace four times in one month, despite not being able
to get into the city because the violent opposition threatened the bus
union if they didn’t go on strike. There has been up to a hundred more
marches around the country calling for peace, and in Merida, government
supporters have organised daily cultural events in the main plaza.
Further, the national government and state governments have repeatedly
called for, and held, peace talks, which the opposition, including
Ceballos, has refused to attend.</p>
<p>Ceballos is being charged with civil rebellion, Article 143 of the
Penal Code, and criminal association, Article 258 of the Penal Code.
According to <a
href="http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/claves-perfil---de-donde-viene-daniel-ceballos.aspx">Ultimas
Noticias</a>, Ceballos was arrested because of denouncements made by
citizens in his municipality who demanded “actions be taken because of
the closing of roads and lack of rubbish collection”. They also argued
that he had been leading the attacks on public and private property, on
people, and on free transit, and they lodged a petition in the Third
Court of San Cristobal. The First Control Court in the city then put
out the arrest warrant, which was carried out by the Sebin. Though
national government authorities have commented on the arrest- as is
their political right, do the citizens of Ceballos’ municipality not
have the right to lodge complaints? Does Amnesty have the right to
argue that if myself and others in Merida, facing a similar situation
with the opposition mayor here, were to lodge a petition to have him
arrested, it would be a witch hunt? We don’t have the right to defend
ourselves, our human rights – our right to education, to work, to get
health care, to walk freely in the streets, to public transport, to
safety, which is being infringed by these violent barricades? </p>
<p>Impunity feeds crime, and nobody, not even mayors, politicians, or
police should have it.</p>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
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