Human Rights Watch, right on cue

[Catherina]

LMAO! This is the same Human Rights Watch that doesn't SEE any crimes except the ones that suit the US' political agenda. It's nice to see all the masks coming off so blatantly.

Venezuela: Respect Free Speech and Assembly
Allow Peaceful Demonstrations and Investigate Acts of Violence
April 17, 2013


(Washington, DC) – The government of Venezuela should not limit citizens’ rights to freely express their views and assemble peacefully in response to the disputed presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. It should respect freedom of the press and all violent incidents should be subject to prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations, Human Rights Watch said.

Nicolás Maduro, who was declared the winner by the National Electoral Council by a narrow margin, said he would not allow the opposition to hold a rally, initially scheduled for April 17, 2013, and has said media outlets have a choice between supporting the government and supporting “fascism.”

“Venezuelans are entitled to peacefully challenge the election results, by marching in the streets or by expressing their views in the media,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Maduro shouldn’t threaten to use an ‘iron fist’ to restrict and intimidate those who try to voice their opinions.”

....

Capriles challenged the results and asked the electoral authorities to conduct a full recount, a request echoed by the secretary general of the Organization of American States and initially supported by Maduro. However, the National Electoral Council summarily rejected the request and proclaimed Maduro president on April 15.

....

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/17/venezuela-respect-free-speech-and-assembly

[joshcryer]

1. HRW on the Occupy Protests: US: Respect Rights of Protesters

State and local officials in the United States should respect protesters’ rights to free speech and assembly, and prevent and investigate the use of excessive force against them, Human Rights Watch said today. Apparent police misconduct and the unnecessary use of force in response to ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests around the country heightens the need for vigilance on the part of public officials to ensure that excessive force is neither authorized nor used with impunity.

“The United States’ tradition of peaceful protest is protected not only in US law but also under international law,” said Alison Parker, US program director at Human Rights Watch. “Even when protesters’ actions warrant police intervention, force should only be used where strictly necessary and then only to the degree necessary.”

The police chief in Oakland, California has promised an investigation into alleged police use of force that injured a protester. On October 25, 2011, in video footage posted to YouTube, Scott Olsen, 24, was injured by a projectile that appears to have been thrown from behind police barricades into a group of Occupy Oakland protesters. Olsen reportedly suffered a fractured skull and brain swelling.

“The police investigation into the Occupy Oakland clashes should disclose the rationale for the use of force, the crowd-control devices used, and the criteria for using them,” Parker said. “If police misconduct occurred, the authorities should swiftly impose appropriate sanctions and take steps to ensure it doesn’t recur.”

http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/28/us-respect-rights-protesters

OPs narrative debunked in one simple search.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Bad Maduro, master? You bet, right away, bad Maduro coming up. Your wish is my command.

[center]

photo shop face of José Miguel Vivanco onto Igor's body.[/center]

[Zorro]

3. So you disagree with the HRW statement?

[polly7]

4. You are dead on about HRW and their agenda. I found that out

re Libya. Not surprising to see this whatsoever, but always a shame.

[Bacchus4.0]

5. excellent HRW, don't let the state get away with repression n/t

s

[naaman fletcher]

6. Hard to argue with this

The government of Venezuela should not limit citizens’ rights to freely express their views and assemble peacefully in response to the disputed presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today.

What kind of person would argue against this? One who doesn't believe in the right of people to freely express their views and assemble peacefully.

[Bacchus4.0]

7. a clueless brainwashed fanatical chavista?? n/t

s

[flamingdem]

8. Human Rights Watch focuses on Venezuela and Cuba and gives others like Colombia a pass.. article

http://links.org.au/node/1506

--- snip

`Privatised, US-based selection of issues'

Human Rights Watch, however, is not funded by the US government. Yet it gets most of its funds from a variety of US foundations, in turn funded by many of the biggest US corporations. These wealthy, private foundations often tie their contributions to particular projects. So for example HRW's Middle East reports often rely on and acknowledge grants from pro-Israel foundations. Other groups ask for a focus on women’s rights or HIV/AIDS issues. More than 90% of HRW’s US$100 million budget in 2009 was "restricted" in this way. In other words, HRW offers a privatised, wealthy, US-based selection of rights issues.

The coordination of all these interests is best illustrated through HRW’s new chairperson, James F. Hoge Jr. A publisher and journalist, Hoge was editor of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 2009, and a prominent member of that magazine’s sponsor, the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). The CFR, regarded as the most influential of US foreign policy think tank, includes much of the US corporate elite (including banks and media) as well as past and present leaders of the two major parties. Past US secretaries of state, such as Henry Kissinger and Condoleezza Rice, and the current US secretary of deence Robert Gates are CFR members. It is really a "Who’s Who" of the US elite.

The HRW board is similarly dominated by the US corporate elite, such as banking and corporate media executives, and some academics, but not government officials. The board includes former Mexican foreign minister Jorge Castañeda (a former Marxist academic turned right-wing politician), while Chilean-born lawyer José Miguel Vivanco serves as director of HRW’s Americas division.

Vivanco has been the subject of most controversy in Latin America through his attacks on Venezuela and Cuba. If HRW has at times appeared to be acting somewhat independently of US foreign policy, for example, when it supported the US "war on terror" but criticised US operations in Iraq, this has not been the case in Latin America, where the group has closely followed Washington’s line.

Of the HRW's reports on Latin America over the past few years, the only systematic criticism of regimes has been of Venezuela and Cuba. Reports on Brazil, Honduras and Mexico have been on much more specific issues, such as police violence, transgender people's rights and military justice. When it comes to Colombia, HRW has published reports on the use of landmines and the "paramilitary mafias". The latter report does note that Colombia has had worse violence "than almost any other country in the western hemisphere". Indeed, Colombia is way ahead of any other Latin American country in terms of the murder of trade unionists, journalists, lawyers and ordinary people. The Colombian military and its allied right-wing militias have been responsible for most of this slaughter, yet HRW blames left guerrillas and right militias equally, without implicating the regime of Alvaro Uribe, the major Latin American recipient of US aid.

[naaman fletcher]

9. Perhaps

But that doesn't mean that they are incorrect about VZ and Cuba.

[flamingdem]

10. Of course they are wrong because they have an agenda and a paymaster thus

the context and slant of the information is useless.

For instance in Cuba I can bet that they are citing the times that so called dissidents are briefly held as prisoners.
That's the whole reason that USAID is doing this kind of action - so that HRW and others can cite such numbers.

There are very few political prisoners in Cuba at this point and they are having their prisons inspected by an
international group.

You may not want to face it but our Latin American policy is very corrupt and anything but honest or fair. If
so Cuba would not be on the terrorism list just for starters. It's all a $ game. You do understand this? How
much more information do you need until you get it?

[naaman fletcher]

13. I understand that all perfectly

But that doesn't translate I to therefore everything the Chavustas is there for correct and they are incapable of human rights violations.

[Bacchus4.0]

11. here is the Colombia HRW page

http://www.hrw.org/americas/colombia

you can make your own judgement on whether the above characterization of HRW o n Colombia is accurate.

I would only state that if HRW stated Colombia has had worse violence than almost any other country in the western hemisphere its not nearly as bad as Venezuela or Honduras. I believe El Salvador, Jamaica, and perhaps a couple of other countries are now ahead of Colombia.

[flamingdem]

12. You will never hear a PEEP in the media about Honduras and the human rights abuses there..

I wonder why, I just can't figure it out!

[Bacchus4.0]

14. just be proactive and look for information

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/honduras-human-rights

Honduras isn't exactly the topic people are discussing on the major news networks.

[flamingdem]

15. Huffpo counts for very little and this article is minor in the media landscape

and por favor you don't need to tell me to be proactive about information - but imagine those who don't even know where Honduras is or why it's the most violent country in the hemisphere.

They have nowhere to even start, but oh for sure they know about problems in Cuba and probably Venezuela. They might even know enough to spout off about the Ladies in White or Alan Gross but they will conveniently know zero about Honduras.

[Bacchus4.0]

16. its a business decision, Honduras isn't a topic most are interested in

most people probably don't care where Honduras is. Violence in Honduras isn't going to take over the news cycle like the Boston Marathon, gun control, Jodi Arias, or Kim Kardashian.

Why should Honduras be featured over anywhere else in the world? Country information is best found by looking at internet media from that country or region. American television news is going to focus on US interests and the hot stories as a business decision.

I find it difficult to believe that anything close to a majority of Americans get their news from television. At least with the internet, the major news networks do in fact have regional coverage on their websites for those interested.

[flamingdem]

17. It should be because the US is implicated in the violence and overthrow

of a democratically elected president. There are military interests there and as such it should be reported on .. there are plenty of interests, it's just being covered up.

[Bacchus4.0]

18. well, that was 4 years ago and Zelaya was impeached

whether he was forced out of the country illegally according to Honduran law is up to Hondurans to deal with. Not sure what type of coverage you are looking for. Maybe have a Honduras Lock Down show on MSNBC. I don't see why that would take precedence over pirates in Somalia or fighting in the DRC, or unemployment in Spain.

Maybe they can do a most dangerous places weekly series with episodes on Honduras, Somalia, Venezuela and such.

US has alot military bases and interests throughout the world so focusing on Honduras over others doesn't make alot of sense just like the violence issue.