What is "radical" about Hugo Chavez apart from

[BuyingThyme]

the fact that he stands up for the people he's supposed to stand up for?

(Not rhetorical; just want to know.)

[Terran1212]

1. My Congressman hates him

I'm on my congressman (tom price)'s "youth advisory council," and he called Chavez "not too pro-american" and says he is "doing things with oil" that are causing unrest.

He's a damn fool, though, so his argument would be -- as you said -- only rhetorical.

[SharonAnn]

70. He's requiring that oil companies pay their royalties to Venezuela.

That is providing the money to build schools, houses and provide health care for the poor.

The oil companies are outraged about this because it reduces their profits. They think they should be able to steal all of Venezuela's oil.

That's the basic issue. All the rest is commentary.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

96. Ah. Generic, baseless innuendo. How typical.

Ask, "Specifics?"

If he doesn't give any, reply, "yeah, thought so."

If he does reply, I guarantee one of the following responses will be apropos:

"That's SO unfounded it isn't even funny."
"And that is a bad thing... why?"
"Well, you can hardly blame him for that."

[DistressedAmerican]

2. Nationalized Oil. Pissed Bush Off. Cuts Into His Profits.

[eallen]

27. Nay. Many nations have national oil. Mexico. Saudi Arabia.

Except for Saudi Arabia, that doesn't much impact price. Saudi Arabia is the 800 lb gorilla that (used to?) control prices by deciding how much to produce. To the extent that the nationalization of Venezuela's oil affects global price, it likely drives it up a bit.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

97. Brazil too.

Although our oil only covers our consumption, almost to the tee.

[murray hill farm]

101. Mexicos nationalize oil....

is greatly offensive to bush...ha!

[1932]

78. The president before the president before Chavez nationalized the oil.

Of course, he did it and ended up giving the profits to a small group of well-connected peopel.

[Darranar]

3. What's "radical"

is that he stands up for the people he's NOT suppose to stand up for.

Namely, the Venezuelan poor, who are supposed to be oppressed, marginalized, and exploited.

[mshasta]

4. CNN just said that

" we have the intelligent insiders and the resources to deal with him"

louboo talking to wolfy

[htuttle]

8. Right...

Intelligent insiders like Pedro 'King for a Day' Carmona?

:eyes: :rofl:

[DemFromMem]

5. The enemy of my enemy is not always your friend

Just because Chavez is Bush's nemesis in South America doesn't mean he's a good man. The country is drifting back toward dictatorship under Chavez and it's really scary for Venezuelans who remember the bad days of the generals. He's also causing people to lose faith in his economy and there is a steady emigration of the brightest young minds from the country.

Trust me - he'll be a thorn in the side of the next Democratic President of the US if he's around in '08.

[Tom Joad]

9. A thorn in the side of a Dem President? I hope so. god, I hope so.

But a Dem would be just as likely to send cia assassins to do the dirty work as a Repub.

[DistressedAmerican]

10. I Doubt It Since Bush's Main Beef Is Oil Driven.

Unless we nominate another oil man, I do not see it as a likely future issue.

[libnnc]

11. so Hugo's not helping the poor?

I honestly want to know.

[murray hill farm]

12. any links or statistics or anything...

to back up what u say..."the country is drifting back toward dictatorship under Chavez" or "he also causing people to lose faith in his economy and there is a steady emigration of the brightest young minds from the country"...where do you get that from?

[DemFromMem]

19. well,

Here are headlines on Venezuela from Human Rights Watch, a very credible organization that is similar to Amnesty International.

Also FYI - I'm an immigration lawyer and represent many of the Venezuelans who are fleeing the country.


Venezuela

Small Number of Countries Holding UN World Summit Hostage on Human Rights, Security, Poverty
Human Rights Watch, Oxfam International and Amnesty International call on a small number of “spoiler” countries to stop holding the UN World Summit hostage over crucial measures on human rights, security, genocide and poverty reduction. These governments have thrown negotiations on the final outcome text into crisis just days away from the biggest meeting of world leaders in history, September 14-16 in New York.
September 7, 2005 Press Release
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Venezuela: Court Orders Trial of Civil Society Leaders
In ordering the trial of four civil society leaders on dubious charges of treason, a Venezuelan court has assented to government persecution of political opponents, Human Rights Watch said today.
July 8, 2005 Press Release
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Venezuela: Rights Lawyer Faces Judicial Persecution
Criminal Investigation Launched to Intimidate Critic of Government’s Rights Record
The Venezuelan government should immediately halt criminal proceedings opened against one of Latin America’s most prominent human rights lawyers, Human Rights Watch said today.
April 5, 2005 Press Release
Also available in spanish
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Venezuela: Curbs on Free Expression Tightened
Amendments to Venezuela’s Criminal Code that entered into force last week may stifle press criticism of government authorities and restrict the public’s ability to monitor government actions, Human Rights Watch said today.
March 24, 2005 Press Release
Also available in spanish
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Venezuela: Chávez Allies Pack Supreme Court
The Venezuelan Congress dealt a severe blow to judicial independence by packing the country’s Supreme Court with 12 new justices, Human Rights Watch said today. A majority of the ruling coalition, dominated by President Hugo Chávez’s party, named the justices late yesterday, filling seats created by a law passed in May that expanded the court’s size by more than half.
December 14, 2004 Press Release
Also available in spanish
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Venezuela: Media Law Undercuts Freedom of Expression
A draft law to increase state control of television and radio broadcasting in Venezuela threatens to undermine the media’s freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today. Venezuela’s National Assembly, which has been voting article by article on the law, known as the Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, is expected to approve it today.
November 24, 2004 Press Release
Also available in spanish
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Venezuela: Legal Means Used to Address Political Crisis
Referendum Process Strengthens Rule of Law, But Judiciary Still Faces Threats
By seeking to resolve its political crisis through a national referendum, Venezuela has taken an important step toward strengthening the rule of law, Human Rights Watch said today.
August 17, 2004 Press Release
Also available in spanish
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Venezuela: HRW Reiterates Concern Over New Supreme Court Law
In a memorandum published today, Human Rights Watch seeks to clarify some of the questions and misconceptions that have arisen in response to our recent report regarding threats to judicial independence in Venezuela.
July 14, 2004 Background Briefing
Also available in spanish

Testimony of José Miguel Vivanco
Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs
Over the past year, President Chávez and his allies have taken steps to control Venezuela’s judicial branch. These steps undercut the separation of powers and the independence of judges. They violate basic principles of Venezuela’s constitution and international human rights law. And they represent the most serious threat to Venezuela’s fragile democracy since the 2002 coup.
July 7, 2004 Testimony
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Court-Packing Law Threatens Venezuelan Democracy
By José Miguel Vivanco and Daniel Wilkinson
Published in The Washington Post
When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez faced a coup d'etat in April 2002, the international community roundly condemned the assault on Venezuela's constitutional order. Now, as he faces a recall referendum in August 2004, Chavez's own government threatens to undermine this country's fragile democracy through a political takeover of its highest court.
June 22, 2004 Commentary
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Venezuela: Judicial Independence Under Siege
The Venezuelan government is undermining the independence of the country’s judiciary ahead of a presidential recall referendum that may ultimately be decided in the courts, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. President Chávez’s governing coalition has begun implementing a new court-packing law that will strip the Supreme Court of its autonomy.
June 17, 2004 Press Release
Also available in spanish
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Rigging the Rule of Law
Judicial Independence Under Siege in Venezuela
The Venezuelan government is undermining the independence of the country’s judiciary ahead of a presidential recall referendum that may ultimately be decided in the courts. President Chávez’s governing coalition has begun implementing a new court-packing law that will strip the Supreme Court of its autonomy. This 24-page report examines how the new law will make judges more vulnerable to political persecution and help ensure that legal controversies surrounding the recall referendum are resolved in Chávez’s favor.
HRW Index No.: B1603
June 17, 2004 Report
Also available in spanish
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Letter to President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías
In a letter sent to President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, HRW expressed deep concern about credible reports documenting that National Guard and police officers beat and tortured people who were detained during the recent protests in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities.
April 12, 2004 Letter
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Venezuela: Investigate Charges of Abuses Against Protestors
The Venezuelan government should conduct a thorough investigation into allegations that state security forces have beaten and abused detained protestors this week, Human Rights Watch said today. The investigation should also examine the circumstances of killings that occurred during confrontations between protesters and police.
March 5, 2004 Press Release
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Venezuela: Official Press Agency Distorts Human Rights Watch’s Position
Venezuela’s official government press agency has published an article that distorts Human Rights Watch’s position on freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today.
October 28, 2003 Press Release
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Venezuela's Supreme Court Upholds Prior Censorship and "Insult Laws"
Venezuela's Supreme Court Upholds Prior Censorship and "Insult Laws"
A decision by the Venezuelan Supreme Court upholding prior censorship is a major setback for freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today.
July 18, 2003 Press Release
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Venezuela: Limit State Control of Media
Letter to President Chavez
The main purpose of this letter is to urge President Chavez to take steps to address serious threats to freedom of the press in Venezuela
July 1, 2003 Letter

Caught In The Crossfire:
Freedom of Expression in Venezuela
The Venezuelan government is not doing enough to protect journalists from violence, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Human Rights Watch also urged the government to protect freedom of expression by ending its ongoing investigation of the country’s private television networks, and dramatically revising its proposed law to regulate the contents of radio and television broadcasts. The launch of Human Rights Watch’s report coincides with renewed public debate in Venezuela over draft legislation that the government of President Hugo Chávez has introduced on the “social responsibility of radio and television.” The draft legislation would impose stringent and detailed controls over radio and television broadcasts, greatly limiting what could be aired during normal viewing hours. Under the guise of protecting children from crude language, sexual situations and violence, it would subject adults to restrictive and puritanical viewing standards. The 26-page report describes how journalists face physical violence and threats, often by fervent civilian supporters of President Hugo Chávez. Noting the justice system’s failure to identify and punish those responsible for the attacks, the report recommends that the attorney general set up a special panel to investigate the problem.
HRW Index No.: B1503
May 21, 2003 Report
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Investigate Killings of Opposition Supporters in Venezuela
The government of Hugo Chávez should carry out a thorough and impartial investigation into the abduction and murder of four opposition supporters whose bodies were found on February 16 and 17, Human Rights Watch said today.
February 19, 2003 Press Release
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Political Crisis in Venezuela
Former President Jimmy Carter will travel to Venezuela on July 6, 2002, to mediate talks between the government and the country's political opposition. President Carter has an invaluable opportunity to help overcome the political impasse that has existed since the failed coup of April 12, 2002.
July 3, 2002 Background Briefing
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[enki23]

28. ctrl-c, ctrl-v

U.S. Foreign Policy and Human Rights

Travel regulations undermine family values
By By Daniel Wilkinson, Senior Researcher, Human Rights Watch
Published in The Miami Herald
Among the many injustices Cubans endure today are restrictions on travel that prevent them from reuniting with family members abroad. These restrictions have torn young children away from their parents, destroyed marriages and kept exiles from visiting and caring for their aging or dying parents in Cuba. Cubans may expect such state control over their lives coming from a government that has systematically deprived them of the most basic freedoms for years.
October 21, 2005 Commentary
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U.S. and Cuban Policies Forcibly Separate Families
Both Governments Impose Inhumane Travel Restrictions
Both Cuba and the United States have imposed harsh travel restrictions that cause the forced separation of Cuban families, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
October 19, 2005 Press Release
Also available in french german spanish
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Families Torn Apart
The High Cost of U.S. and Cuban Travel Restrictions
This 69-page report shows how the travel policies of both countries infringe upon the internationally recognized right to freedom of movement, which includes the right to leave and return to one’s own country. In the case of parents and children forced to reside in different countries, the policies also violate the international prohibition on the involuntary separation of families.
HRW Index No.: B1705
October 19, 2005 Report
Also available in spanish
Download PDF, 2470 KB, 71 pgs
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Letter to President Bush on Mr. Lu Banglie
We write to urge that you and the United States government immediately press the Chinese government at the highest levels regarding the vicious beating of Lu Banglie on October 8, 2005 in Taishi village, Guangdong province, and to prosecute those responsible. This is a rare case in which the perpetrators are known to the international community. It should be seen as a test for the Chinese leadership of their stated commitment to the rule of law and human rights. The Chinese government must act quickly to arrest the perpetrators and prosecute them in a fair trial open to the public.
October 17, 2005 Letter
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Abuse: Systematic and Chronic
Published in www.TomPaine.com
For many people, both in the United States and abroad, there isn’t a more egregious scandal involving the United States than the photographed abuses that took place at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
October 7, 2005 Commentary
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United States: Soldiers Provide Accounts of Torture
In a new report by Human Rights Watch, United States soldiers have for the first time come forward to describe torture and other abuse by the U.S. military in Iraq, and the failure of superior officers to stop it. Human Rights Watch's report has revitalized a discussion in the United States Congress of detainee abuse by the military.
October 5, 2005 Advocacy Impact

New Accounts of Torture by U.S. Troops
Soldiers Say Failures by Command Led to Abuse
U.S. Army troops subjected Iraqi detainees to severe beatings and other torture at a base in central Iraq from 2003 through 2004, often under orders or with the approval of superior officers, according to accounts from soldiers released by Human Rights Watch today.
September 24, 2005 Press Release
Also available in arabic french german spanish
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Leadership Failure
Firsthand Accounts of Torture of Iraqi Detainees by the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division
This report provides soldiers' accounts of abuses against detainees committed by troops of the 82nd Airborne stationed at Forward Operating Base Mercury (FOB Mercury), near Fallujah.
HRW Index No.: G1703
September 23, 2005 Report
Also available in arabic
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U.S.: Ecuador’s Labor Abuses Violate Trade Act
The United States should suspend Ecuador’s trade benefits due to the country’s failure to comply with the labor rights requirements of the Andean Trade Preferences Act, Human Rights Watch said today in a petition filed with the U.S. Trade Representative. Human Rights Watch called for suspension of Ecuador’s trade benefits because of the country’s poor record on workers’ right to freedom of association and harmful child labor.
September 19, 2005 Press Release
Also available in spanish
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Small Number of Countries Holding UN World Summit Hostage on Human Rights, Security, Poverty
Human Rights Watch, Oxfam International and Amnesty International call on a small number of “spoiler” countries to stop holding the UN World Summit hostage over crucial measures on human rights, security, genocide and poverty reduction. These governments have thrown negotiations on the final outcome text into crisis just days away from the biggest meeting of world leaders in history, September 14-16 in New York.
September 7, 2005 Press Release
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United States: Accept Andean Proposal to Add Non-Discrimination Provision to U.S.-Andean Free Trade Agreement
Letter to United States Trade Representative Robert Portman
As currently negotiated, the U.S.-Andean Free Trade Agreement would not require countries to ensure that their domestic anti-discrimination laws comply with international standards nor even to enforce their existing laws. The Andean countries, however, have proposed language that would at least require countries to enforce their domestic non-discrimination laws, but the United States has reportedly not accepted this proposal. Human Rights Watch urges the United States to reconsider this wrong and misguided position.
September 6, 2005 Letter
Also available in spanish
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Not Worth the Paper They're Written On
Despite what the Prime Minister says, the rules of the game have not changed
By Steve Crawshaw, London Director of Human Rights Watch
Published in The Independent
In the days after the bombings of 7 July, there were many reasons to feel proud to be a Londoner. Politicians responded with dignity to the terrible events. People of all faiths stood together in the knowledge that those who had commissioned these crimes against humanity should be identified and prosecuted. The rule of law seemed to reign supreme.
August 13, 2005 Commentary
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Back in Business?
U.S. Landmine Production and Exports
The Bush administration appears poised to erase many of the positive steps the United States has taken in the past toward banning antipersonnel mines. The United States will decide in December 2005 whether it will begin the production of a new antipersonnel mine called Spider. According to a media report, which the Pentagon has yet to confirm or deny, in May 2005 the U.S. Army was to begin deploying to Iraq a new remote-controlled landmine system called Matrix, which relies on technology developed for Spider. In addition, the Pentagon has requested a total of $1.3 billion for development and production activities for another new antipersonnel mine called the Intelligent Munitions System, with a full production decision expected in 2008.
August 3, 2005 Background Briefing
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U.S.: Pentagon Poised to Resume Production of Antipersonnel Mines
The Bush Administration appears poised to resume the production of antipersonnel mines, Human Rights Watch said today in a new briefing paper.
August 3, 2005 Press Release
Also available in german
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DR-CAFTA Falls Short on Workers’ Rights
By Carol Pier (*)
The U.S. House of Representatives will likely vote before the end of this week on the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). The House should reject the accord for falling short on workers' human rights because it does not require countries to protect women workers from discrimination or to have laws that meet international labor standards.
July 27, 2005 Commentary
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India: White House Hosts Prime Minister Singh
As you travel to the United States this weekend to promote India’s image abroad and to seek a greater role for India on the world stage, this is an opportunity for your government to demonstrate to the world that it takes its human rights obligations seriously. India has gained significant influence in the region, and as an emerging power, your foreign minister will soon be meeting with his G-4 colleagues and other states to discuss the possibility of India gaining a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
July 15, 2005 Letter
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Chad: Ex-Dictator’s Accomplices Still Wield Power
Hissène Habré’s Victims Still Seek Recognition, Compensation
Nearly fifteen years after the fall of Chad’s brutal Cold War dictator, Hissène Habré, dozens of his henchmen still hold positions of power in the West African country, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
July 12, 2005 Press Release
Also available in french german
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Chad: The Victims of Hissène Habré Still Awaiting Justice
Nearly fifteen years after the fall of Chad’s brutal Cold War dictator, Hissène Habré, dozens of his henchmen still hold key positions of power, including top state security jobs. Meanwhile, the thousands of victims of torture and killings under Habré’s rule have never received compensation or recognition from Chad’s current government.
HRW Index No.: A1710
July 12, 2005 Report
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Download PDF, 225 KB, 43 pgs
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Joint Letter from Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists to Secretary Rumsfeld
We are writing to you as the executive directors of Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists to express our ongoing concern about the U.S. military’s failure to develop and implement adequate procedures at military checkpoints in Iraq. More than two years after the March 2003 invasion, flawed checkpoint procedures continue to unnecessarily endanger the lives of civilians and U.S. service members.
June 17, 2005 Letter
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Iraq: Checkpoints Lack Basic Safety Measures
Pentagon Should Implement Its Own Recommendations to Protect Civilians, U.S. Forces
The U.S. military’s inadequate checkpoint procedures in Iraq endanger civilians, including journalists, as well as U.S. service members, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists said today in a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
June 17, 2005 Press Release
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US/Canada: Transfer of Maher Arar to Torture
Human Rights Watch Report to the Commission of Inquiry on Maher Arar
On June 7, Julia Hall, Senior Researcher for Human Rights Watch, testfied before a Canadian Commission of Inquiry that is investigating the transfer of Maher Arar to Syria, where he alleges he was brutally tortured. Arar, a Canadian citizen, was transferred by U.S. authorities to Jordan with the understanding he would be turned over to Syria. Hall presented a report written by Wendy Patten, former U.S. Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch, that detailed U.S. rendition policy. The U.S. government has come under increasing scrutiny for its policy of accepting assurances of proper treatment from countries that routinely use torture.
June 7, 2005 Background Briefing

Uzbekistan: US Should Press for Investigation of Andijan Massacre
Joint letter to President Bush from Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, and Freedom House
The events that unfolded in Andijan, Uzbekistan on 13 May were a tragedy of yet unknown proportions. We believe that the United States can and should play a decisive role in ensuring that the violence is thoroughly investigated so that it does not occur again. We also believe that the time has come for the United States fundamentally to reevaluate its close security relationship with a government that uses lethal force against unarmed citizens.
June 6, 2005 Letter
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U.S. Support of Needle Exchange Needed to Curb HIV/AIDS Epidemic
Open Letter to the Global AIDS Coordinator
Organizations from 21 states and the District of Columbia express concern about recent reports that US officials have questioned the efficacy of needle exchange programs and sought to block support for needle exchange in United Nations resolutions and policy documents. They call on the US, the single largest funder of global HIV/AIDS programs in the world, to communicate accurate information about needle exchange, faithfully represent the public health consensus supporting these programs, and refrain from standing in the way of countries, and organizations within its own borders, that wish to pursue this proven, effective method of prevention.
June 6, 2005 Letter
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The Other Face of the War on Terror
By Brad Adams
Published in Dawn
By Brad Adams The brothers Zain Afzal and Kashan Afzal, US citizens of Pakistani origin, were abducted from their home in Karachi on August 13 last year. They were released on April 22 this year, without having been charged. During eight months of illegal detention, they were allegedly tortured by Pakistani personnel to extract confessions of involvement in terrorist activities.
June 2, 2005 Commentary
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Sweden: United Nations Confirms Sweden Violated Torture Ban
In two recent reports, Human Rights Watch has exposed the increasing reliance by Western governments on a practice called "diplomatic assurances," which enable those governments to return terror suspects to their home countries, many of which are known to practice torture.
June 1, 2005 Advocacy Impact

United States: U.S. Backs Down on Prostitution Pledge
In coalition with other human rights, public health, faith and community-based organizations, Human Rights Watch successfully challenged U.S. policies that impede effective HIV/AIDS work with men and women in prostitution.
June 1, 2005 Advocacy Impact

U.S.: Bush Should Urge Abbas to Respect Rights
I am writing to you on the occasion of your meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to urge you to promote respect for human rights and the rule of law in areas under Palestinian Authority control and in any U.S. efforts toward a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
May 26, 2005 Letter
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Pakistan: U.S. Citizens Tortured, Held Illegally
FBI Participated in Interrogations Despite Apparent Knowledge of Torture, Abduction
(New York, May 24, 2005) -- U.S. FBI agents operating in Pakistan repeatedly interrogated and threatened two U.S. citizens of Pakistani origin who were unlawfully detained and subjected to torture by the Pakistani security services.
May 24, 2005 Press Release
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The Koran case, electoral reform and others
Persistent reports of US interrogators mistreating the Koran
By Steve Crawshaw, London director
Published in The Independent
Sir: Joan Smith rightly notes that, amid all the fuss about the Newsweek story about alleged desecration of the Koran, the wrong targets are being blamed ("Don't blame Newsweek for riots in Pakistan", 18 May). If anything, she understates the problem when saying that the story has not been "categorically disproved".
May 24, 2005 Commentary
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A Genuine Inquiry into Abuses
By Saman Zia-Zarifi, deputy director, Asia division, and John Sifton, Afghanistan researcher
Published in The International Herald Tribune
How did a short item in Newsweek reporting that U.S. interrogators had desecrated a Koran at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, spark massive riots in several Muslim countries last week, leading to the deaths of least 16 people? And who, exactly, should bear the blame for these tragic events?
May 21, 2005 Commentary
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Sweden Violated Torture Ban with U.S. Help
U.N. Committee Rebukes Sweden for Sending Terror Suspect to Torture
Sweden violated the absolute ban on torture by expelling a terrorism suspect to Egypt, the United Nations Committee Against Torture ruled today. Sweden justified the transfer saying it secured assurances from Egypt that the suspect would not be tortured upon return.
May 20, 2005 Press Release
Also available in arabic
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Call for Action against the Use of Diplomatic Assurances in Transfers to Risk of Torture and Ill-Treatment
Governments in Europe and North America are increasingly sending alleged terrorism suspects and others to abusive states based on so-called “diplomatic assurances” of humane treatment that expose these individuals to serious risk of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (ill-treatment) upon return. Countries offering such assurances have included those where torture and other ill-treatment are often practiced, as well as those where members of particular groups are routinely singled out for the worst forms of abuse.
May 12, 2005 Memorandum
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Global Torture Ban Under Threat
Governments Cannot Hide Behind the Fig Leaf of Diplomatic Assurances
Western governments are undermining the global ban on torture by transferring suspects to countries known for routinely torturing prisoners, Human Rights Watch and seven partner organizations said today in a joint statement.
May 12, 2005 Press Release
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Egypt: Suspects Sent Back Face Torture
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, and Other Countries Have Rendered Suspects to Egypt
Scores of alleged Islamist militants have been sent back to Egypt, where they have faced torture and serious mistreatment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The United States is among the countries that have rendered such suspects to Egypt.
May 11, 2005 Press Release
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Iraq: U.S. Checkpoints Continue to Kill
The failure of U.S. forces in Iraq to implement basic precautions at checkpoints has led to unnecessary deaths of civilians two years after these inadequacies were identified, Human Rights Watch said today.
May 4, 2005 Press Release
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Repeating Clinton's Mistakes
U.S. Response to the Crisis in Darfur
By Tom Malinowski, Washington Advocacy Director
Published in The Washington Post
In his willingness to confront evil head-on, President Bush likes to think he's more decisive than that mushy-headed multilateralist Bill Clinton. But when I look at the Bush administration's response to what it has itself called genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, I can't help thinking I've seen this movie before. It recalls the early Clinton administration (in which I served) and its initially ineffectual stand against genocide in Bosnia.
May 3, 2005 Commentary
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Stain of Torture Lingers
Op-ed published in the Baltimore Sun on April 28, 2005
By Reed Brody, special counsel
Published in Baltimore Sun
IT HAS NOW been one year since the appearance of the first pictures of U.S. soldiers humiliating and torturing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. When the pictures first stunned the world, Washington sought to portray them as an isolated incident, the work of a few "bad apples." President Bush spoke of "disgraceful conduct by a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values."
April 28, 2005 Commentary
Also available in portuguese
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U.S.: Abu Ghraib Only the “Tip of the Iceberg”
The crimes at Abu Ghraib are part of a larger pattern of abuses against Muslim detainees around the world, Human Rights Watch said on the eve of the April 28 anniversary of the first pictures of U.S. soldiers brutalizing prisoners at the Iraqi jail.
April 27, 2005 Press Release
Also available in arabic french
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U.S.: Investigate Rumsfeld, Tenet for Torture
The United States should name a special prosecutor to investigate the culpability of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and ex-CIA Director George Tenet in cases of detainee torture and abuse, Human Rights Watch said in releasing a new report today.
April 24, 2005 Press Release
Also available in arabic french german russian spanish
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Letter to President George W. Bush Regarding Prince `Abdullah's Visit to the US
Saudi Arabia has taken some political reform initiatives, such as the partial elections to municipal councils held over the past few months. But improvements in human rights, where they have occurred at all, have been halting and inadequate. Government proclamations regarding adherence to human rights principles have not led to changes in practices or to public access to information about violations of human rights.
April 24, 2005 Letter
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Elimination of Barriers for Katrina Victims Act
Letter to Congressman Robert C. Scott
We applaud the introduction of the "Elimination of Barriers for Katrina Victims Act." If enacted, this legislation will enable thousands of people displaced or otherwise harmed by Katrina to gain access to food stamps, medical care, public assistance, public housing, and student loans that they would otherwise be barred from receiving because of past criminal convictions.
November 4, 2005 Letter
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Congress Should Oppose Changes to Death Penalty Law
Letter to Senate and House Judiciary Committees
On October 31, 2005 Human Rights Watch urged Congress members to oppose the radical changes to death penalty law included in the House version of the Patriot Reauthorization Act (H.R.3199).
November 1, 2005 Letter
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U.S.: Reject Torture as Policy Option
Torture Debate Spotlights Importance of Global Ban
As Congress considers new legislation reinforcing the ban on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, a new book illuminates the practice of torture around the world and examines how recent policy shifts in the United States have undermined the global ban on torture.
November 1, 2005 Press Release
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U.S.: House Amendment Tilts Playing Field for Death Penalty
Radical Changes to the Federal Death Penalty May Soon Be Law
The House has slipped an amendment into the Patriot Act Reauthorization Act that would dramatically skew federal death penalty cases in favor of the prosecution.
October 27, 2005 Press Release
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U.S.: License to Abuse Would Put CIA Above the Law
Congress Should Reject Proposed Exemption From Ban on Inhumane Treatment
The Bush administration is now the only government in the world to claim a legal justification for mistreating prisoners during interrogations, Human Rights Watch said today.
October 26, 2005 Press Release
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Travel regulations undermine family values
By By Daniel Wilkinson, Senior Researcher, Human Rights Watch
Published in The Miami Herald
Among the many injustices Cubans endure today are restrictions on travel that prevent them from reuniting with family members abroad. These restrictions have torn young children away from their parents, destroyed marriages and kept exiles from visiting and caring for their aging or dying parents in Cuba. Cubans may expect such state control over their lives coming from a government that has systematically deprived them of the most basic freedoms for years.
October 21, 2005 Commentary
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U.S. and Cuban Policies Forcibly Separate Families
Both Governments Impose Inhumane Travel Restrictions
Both Cuba and the United States have imposed harsh travel restrictions that cause the forced separation of Cuban families, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
October 19, 2005 Press Release
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Families Torn Apart
The High Cost of U.S. and Cuban Travel Restrictions
This 69-page report shows how the travel policies of both countries infringe upon the internationally recognized right to freedom of movement, which includes the right to leave and return to one’s own country. In the case of parents and children forced to reside in different countries, the policies also violate the international prohibition on the involuntary separation of families.
HRW Index No.: B1705
October 19, 2005 Report
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Testimonies of Evacuees
Profiles of individual prisoner evacuees and their families who either should have been released by now, or who were released long after they should have been.
October 13, 2005 Testimony
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Louisiana: Justice Obstructed, Not Restored
Six Weeks after Hurricane, Arrests for Minor Offenses Turn into Indefinite Jail Time
Weeks after they should have been set free, hundreds of detainees arrested for minor offenses before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans remain behind bars, Human Rights Watch said today. More than a month after the storm, they have still not been brought before a judge.
October 13, 2005 Press Release
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United States: Thousands of Children Sentenced to Life without Parole
National Study by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Finds Majority Face Life for First Offense
There are at least 2,225 child offenders serving life without parole sentences in U.S prisons for crimes committed before they were age 18, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said in a new joint report published today.
October 12, 2005 Press Release
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Shine light on dark stain of U.S. prisoner abuse
By James Ross, senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch
Published in The Baltimore Sun
Military intelligence personnel encouraged guards to soften up detainees for interrogation by using various coercive methods, such as exhausting detainees to the point of collapse or subjecting them to extremes of heat and cold. Soldiers also severely beat detainees as a cruel form of "stress relief." In one case, a soldier broke a prisoner's leg with a metal baseball bat.
October 12, 2005 Commentary
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The Rest of Their Lives
Life without Parole for Child Offenders in the United States
The United States is one of the few countries where a crime committed by a juvenile regularly results in a life sentence without any possibility of parole. This 167-page report documents state and national trends in this type of sentencing and analyzes the race, history and crimes of the young offenders and is a joint project with Amnesty International.
HRW Index No.: 1564323358
October 12, 2005 Report
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What Was the Evacuation Plan for Orleans Parish Prison?
Letter to New Orleans Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman
Human Rights Watch requests a meeting with Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman because his public statements regarding evacuation plans for prisoners differed from what we found in our investigation.
October 8, 2005 Letter
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Louisiana: Detainee Abuse Requires Federal Probe
Prisoners Evacuated After Hurricane Describe Beatings by Officers
The U.S. Department of Justice should immediately investigate the alleged mistreatment of detainees at Louisiana’s Jena Correctional Facility, Human Rights Watch and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund said today.
October 5, 2005 Press Release
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United States: Salt Lake Improves Housing Rights
A Human Rights Watch report persuaded city and county housing officials in Salt Lake City, Utah to revise discriminatory housing policies. Our November 2004 report documented the denial of public housing to people with criminal records in the United States, condemning hundreds of thousands of poor people in the U.S. to homelessness or transient living.
October 5, 2005 Advocacy Impact

End Abuses against Inmates Who Were Evacuated after Katrina
Letter to Secretary Richard L. Stalder, Louisiana
There are credible reports of severe abuse by some correctional officers against prisoners who had been transferred to Jena from Jefferson Parish Prison after Hurricane Katrina forced their evacuation. Given the number of inmates who have said they have been victims of abuse or have seen others being abused and the consistency of their accounts, immediate action is warranted.
October 3, 2005 Letter
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Louisiana: After Katrina, Inmates Face Prison Abuse
State Corrections Department Should Promptly End Any Abuses
Inmates taken to the Jena Correctional Facility after evacuation from the Jefferson Parish Prison due to Hurricane Katrina claim that officers at Jena have beaten and mistreated them, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
October 3, 2005 Press Release
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Meet Minimum Water Requirements for Basic Health Standards in Virigina Prison
Letter to Warden David Robinson, Wallens Ridge State Prison
Human Rights Watch is extremely concerned about the water use limitations in place for prisoners in Wallens Ridge State Prison in Virginia due to drought conditions.
September 30, 2005 Letter
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U.S.: Proposed Waiver Could Keep Child Victims of Katrina out of School
Letter to the U.S. Secretary of Education
Letter to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings expressing Human Rights Watch’s concern regarding a proposed waiver to education requirements, which would affect children left homeless by Hurricane Katrina.
September 26, 2005 Letter
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I've got another 60 pages, if you'd like.

[DemFromMem]

33. What exactly is your point?

I'm not some GOP shill saying that US abuses should be excused because abuses happen in another country. Human rights violations are to be condemned whether we commit them or others. Are you saying that Venezuelan abuses are to be excused because we do bad things here? I'll be the first to condemn the current occupant of the White House so I don't understand what you're getting at.

[1932]

80. The constitution as it is written allows the government to "pack" court

Half those stories are about how that is an outrage. However, that's what the people chose. They don't want the judiciary to be an oligarchic anchor to the past. FDR felt the same exact way. If Venezuelans decided that they agreed with what FDR was trying to do and wanted their government to be able to do as much, how is that a human rights violation?

[Solon]

43. Not really an impressive list...

In comparison to the United States, it seems rather tame, for example, the various laws seem similar to FCC rules for public broadcast here. The abuses by the police, if true, are atrocious, however, in light of how the Miami and Seattle police have behaved here in regards to protesters, we have no leg to stand on to criticize his country's police. In addition to that, how much control does he directly have over said police, why not blame an overzealous mayor or police chief, after all we do that here in this country, should we blame Bush for Cincinnati's police killing black men for, well, being black? As far as the court packing, while it is rather disturbing, it most likely isn't any more disturbing than what FDR tried to do. As far as the prosecutions of conspirators in the coup, I think he showed remarkable restraint, considering the actions of the opposition and their media, he would have been well within his rights, in even a democratic country, to have pulled their licenses and locked up EVERYONE that advocated his overthrow. That was an illegal act, and even in the United States, that is NOT protected speech. Also, just curious, did you help fugitives like Pedro Carmona to flee the country? Really, what is the defense for helping people like that from fleeing justice?

[DemFromMem]

58. Do you really want the Bush Administration to be your standard bearer?

[JohnnyCougar]

62. Half of those articles are about only one thing!!

Chavez packed the court with his cronies...

...sounds like someone we know.

[1932]

79. Court proceedings are public records.

Can you point us to any of your cases so that we can look at the allegations your clients are making about Venezuela.

[bitchkitty]

105. Could you please post the link

from which you are cutting and pasting? I googled some of the headlines and am not finding this.

Thanks, appreciate it.

[enki23]

26. right wing talking points, probably. though perhaps indirectly.

there doesn't seem to actually be any evidence of an emerging dictatorship, other than that the true world elite don't like his populist politics, or policies. makes them nervous, what with all the morlocks humping around their own territories. you know. making their cars, and sewing their socks, and such. they have much to do, you know, and can't handle any more goddamed interference in their game of trading "information," much of it used to better lower the value of labor worldwide. labor, of course, being the only significant resource the vast majority of actual humans in the world has to trade.

or... maybe chavez hates us for our freedom. because we're just so goddamned free.

[DemFromMem]

31. Is Human Rights Watch shilling for the GOP?

http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=americas&c=venezu

I presume most of you know HR Watch as being a completely reputable human rights monitoring organization. They're doing great work criticizing the White House for torture at Guantamo by the way.

The tendency of Democrats to support this guy just because he and Bush hate each other is not encouraging. Bush IS like a broken clock. He's right every once in a while (though for the wrong reasons in this case).

If Chavez were an Allende, that would be another thing entirely.

[enki23]

32. get your canada right here:

Canada

US/Canada: Transfer of Maher Arar to Torture
Human Rights Watch Report to the Commission of Inquiry on Maher Arar
On June 7, Julia Hall, Senior Researcher for Human Rights Watch, testfied before a Canadian Commission of Inquiry that is investigating the transfer of Maher Arar to Syria, where he alleges he was brutally tortured. Arar, a Canadian citizen, was transferred by U.S. authorities to Jordan with the understanding he would be turned over to Syria. Hall presented a report written by Wendy Patten, former U.S. Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch, that detailed U.S. rendition policy. The U.S. government has come under increasing scrutiny for its policy of accepting assurances of proper treatment from countries that routinely use torture.
June 7, 2005 Background Briefing

'Diplomatic Assurances' Allowing Torture
Growing Trend Defies International Law
Governments in Europe and North America are increasingly sending suspects to abusive states on the basis of flimsy “diplomatic assurances” that expose the detainees to serious risk of torture and ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
April 15, 2005 Press Release
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Still at Risk
Diplomatic Assurances No Safeguard Against Torture
This 91-page report documents the growing practice among Western governments—including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands—of seeking assurances of humane treatment in order to transfer terrorism suspects to states with well-established records of torture. The report details a dozen cases involving actual or attempted transfers to countries where torture is commonplace.
HRW Index No.: D1703
April 15, 2005 Report
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Canada: Prime Minister Should Call on Tamil Tigers to End Child Soldier Use
Prime Minister Paul Martin should publicly call on the Tamil Tigers to end all recruitment of children in Sri Lanka and to release the children currently in their ranks, former Canadian foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy and Human Rights Watch urged in a letter made public today.
February 9, 2005 Press Release
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Canada: Tamil Rights Advocates at Risk
Human Rights Watch expressed concern today about possible threats to Sri Lankan Tamil human rights advocates in Toronto following a public forum on child soldiers in Sri Lanka at the Scarborough Civic Center on December 12.
December 20, 2004 Press Release
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Canada's Tamils must rethink LTTE support
By Jo Becker, Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch's Children's Rights Division
Published in The Toronto Star
Selvamani, a Tamil girl living in eastern Sri Lanka was only 15 when rebel forces began pressuring her to join them. "First they sent letters, then they began visiting my house," she said. "They told my family, `Each house has to turn over one child. If you don't agree, we will take a child anyway.'"
December 20, 2004 Commentary
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Canada's Darfur Imperatives
By Georgette Gagnon, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch's Africa Division
Published in The Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Paul Martin should use his trip to Sudan to advance his stated quest to define a new, more activist, international role for Canada, Georgette Gagnon argues in The Globe and Mail.
November 16, 2004 Commentary
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U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Investigation of the Maher Arar Case
Joint Letter from Human Rights Advocates
In 2002, the United States reportedly transferred Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, to Syria after having detained him in New York as he was en route from Tunisia to Montreal. On November 4 in Ottawa, Arar publicly asserted that, while held in Syrian prisons for 10 months, he was repeatedly tortured by being whipped with a thick electric cable and threatened with electric shocks. Human Rights Watch and other concerned groups are pressing the U.S. government to investigate Mr. Arar's case and the larger category of so-called "extraordinary renditions."
July 16, 2004 Letter
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Empty Promises
Diplomatic Assurances No Safeguard Against Torture
Individuals suspected of terrorism should never be returned to a country where they risk torture and ill-treatment. Promises of fair treatment by states with well-known records of torture are inherently unreliable, and governments that justify returns through such promises, known as “diplomatic assurances,” are violating the absolute prohibition against torture and eroding a fundamental principle of international law. The death penalty, however reprehensible, is legal and usually carried out publicly. But torture is illegal and practiced in secret. Governments routinely lie about whether they’re torturing people or not, and in some situations they may not even have adequate control to guarantee security. This 39-page report documents cases where governments returned or considered returning suspects on the basis of such formal guarantees, and raises concern that in some cases, those returned were, in fact, tortured or ill-treated.
HRW Index No.: D1604
April 15, 2004 Report
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Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism
Briefing to the 60th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights
The Commission on Human Rights should adopt a further resolution on the protection of human rights in countering terrorism that would reaffirm the importance of the respect for international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law in combating terrorism; request relevant mechanisms and bodies of the United Nations to continue monitoring counter terrorism measures; acknowledge the continuing gaps in the international human rights monitoring system with respect to these issues; urge that the Counter Terrorism Committee of the U.N. Security Council address human rights in its work; and establish a special mechanism to monitor the effect of counter-terrorism measures on human rights in countries worldwide.
January 29, 2004 Special Focus
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Labor and the FTAA: A Cautionary Tale
When trade negotiators and street protestors in Miami this week debate the impact of a Free Trade Area of the Americas on workers throughout the region, they should consider its precursor, the North American Free Trade Agreement, as a cautionary tale.
November 21, 2003 Commentary

U.S.: Alleged Transfer of Maher Arar to Syria
Letter to Department of Defense General Counsel Haynes
Directors of the leading human rights organizations write to the U.S. Department of Defense's General Counsel regarding the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was detained in the U.S. and then transferred to Syria where he alleges he was tortured. The directors urge the Department of Defense to investigate Mr. Arar's case, in light of U.S. law as well as obligations under international law.
November 17, 2003 Letter
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U.S.: Stop Handing Over Detainees to Torturers
President George W. Bush should end the transfer of detainees to countries that routinely engage in torture, such as Syria, if he is to fulfill his pledge to champion democracy and human rights in the Middle East and honor the United States' international legal obligations, Human Rights Watch said today.
November 7, 2003 Press Release
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Canadian Officials Should Challenge Kazakh Leader
Canadian officials should challenge Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbaev on the country’s deteriorating human rights record, Human Rights Watch said today.
June 25, 2003 Press Release
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Abusing the User:
Police Misconduct, Harm Reduction and HIV/AIDS in Vancouver
An anti-drug crackdown by the Vancouver Police Department has driven injection drug users away from life-saving HIV prevention services, raising fears of a new wave of HIV transmission in the city that is already home to the worst AIDS crisis in the developed world, said Human Rights Watch. In a 25-page report released today, “Abusing the User: Police Misconduct, Harm Reduction and HIV/AIDS in Vancouver,” Human Rights Watch documents instances of unnecessary force and mistreatment, arbitrary arrest, and other intimidation and harassment of drug users as part of a campaign commonly referred to as Operation Torpedo. The crackdown began on April 7 in the city’s impoverished Downtown Eastside neighborhood. Though drug traffickers are the ostensible target, drug users not charged with selling drugs have been driven to places where health workers cannot reach them to ensure access to sterile syringes and other HIV prevention services.
HRW Index No.: 1502B
May 7, 2003 Report
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WTO Summit: Don't Undercut AIDS Drug Access
Trade ministers at the upcoming WTO summit in Doha, Qatar should abandon threats of sanctions against countries trying to obtain medicines for health emergencies such as HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch said today. The WTO summit will take place from November 9 to 13.
November 7, 2001 Press Release
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Human Rights Watch Letter to the Trade Minister of Canada
We are writing to urge your leadership toward a commitment from the Canadian government to allowing all countries suffering from HIV/AIDS' devastation to make full use of TRIPS exceptions in their pursuit of access to affordable anti-AIDS drugs for their populations.
November 7, 2001 Letter

Canada: Child Soldier Global Report 2001
From the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
With parental consent and reliable proof of age, 16 and 17 year olds can be recruited into the Canadian Armed Forces. Legislative changes reflecting Canada’s commitment to the CRC-OP-CAC include, most recently, Bill S-18 which stipulates that under-18s in the Canadian forces, primarily at military college and in the militia, must not be deployed in hostilities. During the first year of training, recruits may submit a request to the commanding officer for release from service. Except for persons selected for deployment, release is usually authorised but candidates may incur costs if they leave. Most under-18s enter through the Regular Officer Training programme and will not incur costs provided they leave before year two of the advanced programme or before a year and a half in the preparatory programme.
June 12, 2001 Multi Country Report

NAFTA Labor Accord Ineffective
Future Trade Pacts Must Avoid Pitfalls
Mexico, the United States, and Canada have ignored critically important labor rights obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Human Rights Watch said in a comprehensive new study Trading away rights.The Unfulfilled Promise of NAFTA's Labor Side Agreement.
April 16, 2001 Press Release
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Canada/Mexico/United States -- Trading Away Rights: The Unfulfilled Promise
On the eve of the Quebec summit of Western hemisphere leaders, Human Rights Watch called for the creation of an independent oversight agency to spur remedial action for workers' rights violations."Trading Away Rights: The Unfulfilled Promise of NAFTA's Labor Side Agreement," analyzes the twenty-three complaints filed under the accord since it came into force in 1994. The complaints allege systematic workers' rights violations in all three countries - fourteen in Mexico, seven in the United States, and two in Canada.
HRW Index No.: B1302
April 1, 2001 Report
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[enki23]

34. france nears dictatorship status:

France

Closed-door Immigration Policy Is Shameful Vision
By Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, and Julia Hall, counsel and senior researcher in Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division.
Published in European Voice
European immigration policy has to do more than simply try to bar the door to migrants and asylum-seekers.
September 16, 2004 Commentary
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Iraq: Taking Journalists Hostage Is a War Crime
Insurgent Group Must Immediately Release French Reporters Chesnot, Malbrunot
Taking hostages is a clear affront to the core humanitarian prohibition against threatening or harming civilians in a conflict, Human Rights Watch said today. The hostage-taking of two French journalists by an Iraqi insurgent group constitutes a war crime.
August 31, 2004 Press Release
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Russia: Summit with Putin Should Address Human Rights
Letter to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and President Jacques Chirac
In the past year, expansion has brought the European Union ever closer to Russia’s border, but developments in Russia have moved it farther from European values in human rights. We are writing to respectfully urge you to raise these concerns at the highest level during your visit, and to signal that human rights will be a key concern for the European Union in the months leading up to the E.U.-Russia summit.
August 24, 2004 Letter
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Rwanda: Lessons Learned
Ten Years After the Genocide
In the ten years since the Rwandan genocide, leaders of national governments and international institutions have acknowledged the shame of having failed to stop the slaughter of the Tutsi population. Halting any future genocide will require not just exerting greater political will than seen in the past, but also developing a strategy built on the lessons of 1994.
March 29, 2004 Background Briefing
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Haiti: Security Vacuum in the North
Numerous Journalists and Government Officials in Hiding
French military forces must work with the Haitian National Police to quickly retake control of the Haiti’s northern region, Human Rights Watch said today. A large number of journalists and government officials from the region have gone into hiding out of fear for their safety.
March 22, 2004 Press Release
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European Union: Letter Calling for the Withdrawal of the Asylum Procedures Directive
In an unprecedented move, Human Rights Watch and other human rights and refugee organizations across Europe call on the European Union to withdraw proposals for new asylum procedures. The groups contend that the proposals violate member states' obligations under international law.
March 22, 2004 Letter

France: Headscarf Ban Violates Religious Freedom
By Disproportionately Affecting Muslim Girls, Proposed Law Is Discriminatory
(New York, February 27, 2004)—The proposed French law banning Islamic headscarves and other visible religious symbols in state schools would violate the rights to freedom of religion and expression, Human Rights Watch said today. The law, which forbids “signs and dress that conspicuously show the religious affiliation of students,” will be debated in the French Senate on March 2.
February 27, 2004 Press Release
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Tunisia: Chirac Should Raise Farhat Case
French President Jacques Chirac, on his official visit to Tunisia beginning December 3, should intervene to secure the release of Tunisian political prisoner Lotfi Farhat, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the French leader.
November 27, 2003 Press Release
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Letter to President Jacques Chirac
In a lengthy study that we are releasing February 27, Human Rights Watch has concluded that Algerian state forces are responsible for making "disappear" at least 7,000 persons during the 1990s, and that officials have not addressed this issue in the serious manner they promised. None of those "disappeared" by state agents has have been found, none of their families has received credible and verifiable information, and no one has been held accountable.
February 21, 2003 Letter

Western Europe: Rights Groups Condemn Racist and Anti-Semitic Violence
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are gravely concerned by the sharp increase in Western Europe of violent attacks on persons and property prompted by intolerance of religious, racial, cultural, and national differences. In particular, the two international human rights organizations strongly condemn the wave of racist attacks against Arabs and anti-Semitic attacks against Jews, and call on West European governments to redouble their efforts to combat racism in all its forms and to bring to justice suspected perpetrators of hate crimes.
May 10, 2002 Press Release
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Types and Manufacture rs of Remotely Delivered Antivehicle Mines
Human Rights Watch Fact Sheet, December 2001 (Prepared for the CCW Review Conference, December 2001, Geneva, Switzerland)
Twelve countries are reported to have manufactured at least twenty-seven different types of remotely delivered antivehicle mines: Bulgaria , China, the former Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Poland, Russia, United States, and Yugoslavia. Except Iran, all of these countries are party to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).
December 1, 2001 Campaign Document

The U.S. and France Should Release Files on 1965 ‘Disappearance’ of Mehdi Ben Barka
The U.S. and French governments should declassify files relating to the 1965 “disappearance” of Moroccan opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka, human rights organizations said today in letters to the French and U.S. authorities.
October 27, 2001 Press Release
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Argentina: Decision Not To Extradite Astiz Condemned
Human Rights Watch today condemned the decision of the government of Fernando De la Rúa in Argentina not to extradite former naval officer Alfredo Astiz, an intelligence agent during the country's period of military rule.
August 15, 2001 Press Release
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France: Child Soldiers Global Report 2001
From the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
There are indications of under-18s in government armed force, some several hundred per year.] The PKK, a Kurdish opposition group from Turkey, is known to have recruited children in France.
June 12, 2001 Multi Country Report

France Must Investigate Alleged War Crimes
Aussaresses Revelations Suggest Policy of Abuse, Says Rights Group
The French government should launch an official investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity by French forces in Algeria.
May 16, 2001 Press Release
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Letter to French President Jacques Chirac Calling for War Crimes Investigation
Dear President Chirac, Human Rights Watch respectfully calls on you to initiate an urgent, thorough and independent inquiry into allegations by retired General Paul Aussaresses that the French government ordered or tolerated the use of torture and summary executions against supporters of Algerian independence supporters in Algeria in the mid-1950s. Given statements of his own direct involvement, we also call on you to initiate criminal proceedings against Gen. Aussaresses.
May 14, 2001 Letter

Lettre envoyée au Président Jacques Chirac demandant l’ouverture d’une
Monsieur le Président de la République, Human Rights Watch voudrait très respectueusement en appeler à votre autorité afin qu'il soit immédiatement ordonné une enquête complète et indépendante au sujet des allégations formulées par le Général Paul Aussaresses d'après lesquelles le gouvernement français a ordonné ou toléré le recours à la torture et aux exécutions sommaires à l'encontre des militants indépendantistes en Algérie au milieu des années 1950. Le Général Aussaresses ayant révélé sa propre implication dans la commission de ces actes, nous vous invitons également à ordonner l'ouverture, à son encontre, d'une procédure judiciaire.
May 14, 2001 Letter

Tunisia: Court Ruling Imperils Rights League
Civil Society Activists Await April 30 Appeal
An impending appeals court ruling in Tunisia threatens to undermine the Arab world's oldest independent human rights organization, according to a report released today by Human Rights Watch and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. The Observatory is a joint program of the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organization against Torture.
April 30, 2001 Press Release
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Algerian General Accused of Torture Escapes Investigation
French Authorities Neglect International Obligations
Human Rights Watch expressed dismay with the French government's failure to prevent a former Algerian defense minister accused of torture from leaving the country.
April 28, 2001 Press Release
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France: Landmine Monitor Report 2000
Key developments since March 1999: France completed destruction of its nearly 1.1 million stockpiled antipersonnel mines in December 1999. France served as co-chair of the SCE on Technologies for Mine Action. The national commission to monitor ban treaty implementation became operational in June 1999. France contributed about US$2.7 million to mine action programs in 1999, including donations to the EU.
August 1, 2000 Multi Country Report

[enki23]

35. mexico: already turned into a dictatorship last year

Mexico: Fox’s Labor Reform Proposal Would Deal Serious Blow to Workers’ Rights
Letter to Mexico's Chamber of Deputies
Human Rights Watch sent a letter today to Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies, urging them not to put President Fox's labor law reform proposal to a vote. Instead, we are encouraging the development of a new proposal that would strengthen workers’ rights protections, particularly in two key areas -- freedom of association and pregnancy-based discrimination in hiring.
February 9, 2005 Letter
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Brief of Amici Curiae in Medellin v. Dretke
United States Supreme Court, January 25, 2005
Bar Associations and Human Rights Organizations argue that the Supreme Court should reverse the judgement of the Fifth Circuit and remand this action for review and reconsideration of the violation of Mr. Medellin's Vienna Convention rights in a manner consistent with Avena. In the Avena case, the ICJ definitively interpreted the Vienna Convention as mandating specific procedural relief in the case of Mr. Medellin and fifty other Mexican death row inmates in U.S. prisons who were not informed of their right to seek consular assistance.
January 24, 2005 Amicus Briefs

Mexico: Workers’ Rights at Risk Under Fox Plan
Mexican President Vicente Fox’s proposed labor reform package would deal a serious blow to workers’ human rights, Human Rights Watch said today.
December 9, 2004 Press Release
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Mexico: Anti-Torture Provisions Key to Justice Reform
A pending bill to reform Mexico’s justice system offers an historic opportunity to combat the widespread use of torture, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the Mexican Congress today. The Congress should pass the bill’s anti-torture provisions, but reject other measures that would undermine their positive impact.
December 8, 2004 Press Release
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Mexico: Guerrero's Indigenous Communities Report Lack of Teachers
The Mexican state of Guerrero should ensure that all children have full access to primary education, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Guerrero Governor René Juárez Cisneros. The school year begins this month across Mexico.
August 26, 2004 Press Release
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Mexico: Ex-President Charged in ‘Dirty War’ Killings
In an unprecedented move against impunity in Mexico, former Mexican President Luis Echeverría and other high-level officials were charged today with political killings from the 1970s, Human Rights Watch said.
July 23, 2004 Press Release
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Letter to the Governor of the State of Jalisco, Mexico
Human Rights Watch expresses deep concern about reports of human rights violations allegedly committed against civilians detained after a May 28 protest march in Guadalajara.
July 15, 2004 Letter
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Mexico: Probe Charges of Police Brutality in Guadalajara
Protestors at EU-Latin America Summit Allege Serious Abuses by Jalisco Police
The Mexican state of Jalisco should conduct a thorough investigation into allegations of arbitrary detention, inhumane treatment, and cases of torture against people detained after a May 28 protest march in Guadalajara, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Jalisco Governor Francisco Ramírez Acuña.
July 15, 2004 Press Release
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U.N.: New Expert to Help Protect Rights in War on Terror
Today’s decision by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights to appoint an independent expert on counterterrorism and human rights will help ensure greater rights protection in the global fight against terrorism, Human Rights Watch said today.
April 21, 2004 Press Release
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U.S. Violated Rights of Mexicans on Death Row
International Court of Justice Orders Judicial Review of U.S. Convictions
The International Court of Justice today affirmed the importance of protecting the rights of foreign citizens prosecuted in the United States, Human Rights Watch said. The court ruled against the United States in a case brought by Mexico concerning the U.S. failure to inform 54 Mexicans arrested on capital charges of their right to talk to their consular officials.
March 31, 2004 Press Release
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Help Mexico Put 'Dirty War' to Rest
Published in Los Angeles Times
When Mexican President Vicente Fox visits President Bush's Texas ranch this week, the two will discuss a range of issues that revolve around law enforcement — illegal drug traffic, border security and migration. But there is another critical area of law enforcement where the United States should collaborate with Mexico: providing documents that could help prosecute crimes from Mexico's "dirty war" in the 1970s and early '80s.
March 4, 2004 Commentary
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Mexico: Redouble Support for Special Prosecutor
Fox Should Ask Bush to Share Information on “Dirty War” Suspect
Mexico should redouble its efforts to arrest former officials charged with committing past abuses, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to President Vicente Fox today. While meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush later this week, Fox should request the United States to share information that could be useful to the Mexican special prosecutor investigating “dirty war” crimes.
March 3, 2004 Press Release
Also available in spanish
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Letter to President Fox
Dear Mr. President: We were encouraged to learn of the recent arrest and indictment of the former director of the Federal Security Directorate, Miguel Nazar Haro, to face charges brought by the Special Prosecutor for Social and Political Movements of the Past.
March 3, 2004 Letter
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Mexico: Special Prosecutor Obtains First Arrest
The arrest of former federal security chief Miguel Nazar Haro yesterday to face charges for past human rights abuses is a breakthrough for justice in Mexico, Human Rights Watch said today.
February 19, 2004 Press Release
Also available in spanish
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Mexico: U.N. Report Lays Groundwork for Rights Agenda
A United Nations report to be released today provides the roadmap for a national human rights program in Mexico, Human Rights Watch said today.
December 8, 2003 Press Release
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Mexico: Imminent Arrest of Ex-Police Officer for 1974 Abuses
The pending arrest of a former police office to face charges for past human rights abuses is a breakthrough for justice in Mexico, Human Rights Watch said today.
November 26, 2003 Press Release
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Labor and the FTAA: A Cautionary Tale
When trade negotiators and street protestors in Miami this week debate the impact of a Free Trade Area of the Americas on workers throughout the region, they should consider its precursor, the North American Free Trade Agreement, as a cautionary tale.
November 21, 2003 Commentary

Mexico: Highest Court Authorizes Prosecution of 'Dirty War' Cases
The Mexican Supreme Court decision to authorize the prosecution of the perpetrators of a 1975 case of forced disappearance is a major victory for accountability, Human Rights Watch said today. The court's ruling today opens the possibility for the prosecution of former officials implicated in the kidnapping of leftist activists in the 1960s and 1970s.
November 5, 2003 Press Release
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Mexico: Action Needed on Fox's Rights Agenda
President Vicente Fox should instruct state officials to cooperate with investigations into past human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said in a letter sent to Fox today. Substantive progress is urgently needed if Mexico is to carry out the human rights agenda articulated in Fox's recent state of the union address.
September 18, 2003 Press Release
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Mexico: Setback for Human Rights
The dismissal of Sub-Secretary for Human Rights Mariclaire Acosta is a serious blow to the credibility of President Vicente Fox's human rights agenda, Human Rights Watch said today. Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez announced late Monday that he was firing Acosta and eliminating her post.
August 12, 2003 Press Release
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[murray hill farm]

100. The positive news is that the term for president is 6 yrs...

and the term is about up for fox...he cannot run again. Mexico will hold elections next year...and it seems clear that mexcio will join its neighbors to the south...in their election of the next president.

[enki23]

36. et tu sweden?

Sweden

Not Worth the Paper They're Written On
Despite what the Prime Minister says, the rules of the game have not changed
By Steve Crawshaw, London Director of Human Rights Watch
Published in The Independent
In the days after the bombings of 7 July, there were many reasons to feel proud to be a Londoner. Politicians responded with dignity to the terrible events. People of all faiths stood together in the knowledge that those who had commissioned these crimes against humanity should be identified and prosecuted. The rule of law seemed to reign supreme.
August 13, 2005 Commentary
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Sweden: United Nations Confirms Sweden Violated Torture Ban
In two recent reports, Human Rights Watch has exposed the increasing reliance by Western governments on a practice called "diplomatic assurances," which enable those governments to return terror suspects to their home countries, many of which are known to practice torture.
June 1, 2005 Advocacy Impact

Sweden Violated Torture Ban with U.S. Help
U.N. Committee Rebukes Sweden for Sending Terror Suspect to Torture
Sweden violated the absolute ban on torture by expelling a terrorism suspect to Egypt, the United Nations Committee Against Torture ruled today. Sweden justified the transfer saying it secured assurances from Egypt that the suspect would not be tortured upon return.
May 20, 2005 Press Release
Also available in arabic
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Call for Action against the Use of Diplomatic Assurances in Transfers to Risk of Torture and Ill-Treatment
Governments in Europe and North America are increasingly sending alleged terrorism suspects and others to abusive states based on so-called “diplomatic assurances” of humane treatment that expose these individuals to serious risk of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (ill-treatment) upon return. Countries offering such assurances have included those where torture and other ill-treatment are often practiced, as well as those where members of particular groups are routinely singled out for the worst forms of abuse.
May 12, 2005 Memorandum
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Global Torture Ban Under Threat
Governments Cannot Hide Behind the Fig Leaf of Diplomatic Assurances
Western governments are undermining the global ban on torture by transferring suspects to countries known for routinely torturing prisoners, Human Rights Watch and seven partner organizations said today in a joint statement.
May 12, 2005 Press Release
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Egypt: Suspects Sent Back Face Torture
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, and Other Countries Have Rendered Suspects to Egypt
Scores of alleged Islamist militants have been sent back to Egypt, where they have faced torture and serious mistreatment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The United States is among the countries that have rendered such suspects to Egypt.
May 11, 2005 Press Release
Also available in arabic
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'Diplomatic Assurances' Allowing Torture
Growing Trend Defies International Law
Governments in Europe and North America are increasingly sending suspects to abusive states on the basis of flimsy “diplomatic assurances” that expose the detainees to serious risk of torture and ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
April 15, 2005 Press Release
Also available in arabic french german
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Swedish TV4 Kalla Fakta Program: "The Broken Promise", Part IV
(English Transcript) Monday, 22nd of November, 2004
This is the fourth part of a Swedish news program that investigates the expulsions of two Egyptian asylum seekers from Sweden to Egypt in December 2001. Reporters speak with many of the sources present at Bromma airport on the night of their arrest on December 18.
November 22, 2004 Press Release
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UK: Promises on Torture Don't Work
"Diplomatic Assurances" will not Protect Deportees
The British government has said it is seeking “diplomatic assurances” that terrorism suspects deported to their home countries will not be tortured there. It argues that, on receipt of such assurances, the men—many of whom have been held without trial for more than two years—could safely be deported. But experience shows that these assurances are an ineffective safeguard against torture, Human Rights Watch said today.
October 6, 2004 Press Release
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U.N.: Counterterrorism Body Neglects Human Rights
The United Nations Security Council has disregarded the critical role of human rights in its counterterrorism efforts, Human Rights Watch charged in a briefing paper released today.
August 10, 2004 Press Release
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Sweden: Torture Inquiry Must Be Under U.N. Auspices
Independent Panel Must Probe Abuses by Sweden, Egypt and U.S. Operatives
(New York, May 27, 2004)—An international inquiry under U.N. auspices is needed to credibly address allegations that two men expelled from Sweden to Egypt on an airplane leased by the U.S. government were mistreated and possibly tortured by agents of each country, Human Rights Watch said.
May 27, 2004 Press Release
Also available in arabic
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Swedish TV4 Kalla Fakta Program: "The Broken Promise", Part II
(English Transcript) Monday, 24th May, 2004
This is the second part of a Swedish news program that investigates the expulsions of two Egyptian asylum seekers from Sweden to Egypt in December 2001. Reporters speak with many of the sources present at Bromma airport on the night of their arrest on December 18.
May 24, 2004 Special Focus
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Swedish TV4 Kalla Fakta Program: "The Broken Promise"
(English Transcript) Monday,17th May, 2004
This Swedish news program reveals U.S. involvement in the expulsions of two Egyptian asylum seekers from Sweden to Egypt in December 2001. The men were excluded from refugee status in Sweden based on secret evidence that they were associated with terrorism, and were expelled based on diplomatic assurances from the Egyptian government that the two men would not be tortured and would be given fair trials. The two men allege that they were tortured and ill-treated by agents of the Swedish, U.S. and Egyptian governments in transit to Cairo and once returned to Egypt. One of the men was subject to an unfair trial upon return and alleged in court that he has been tortured.
May 17, 2004 Special Focus
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Sweden Implicated in Egypt’s Abuse of Suspected Militant
Egypt Violated Diplomatic Promises of Fair Trial and No Torture for Terrorism Suspect
The Egyptian military court conviction of accused terrorism suspect Ahmed Agiza, who was convicted on April 27, violated fair trial standards and failed to address his allegations that he was tortured, Human Rights Watch said today. Sweden expelled Agiza in 2001 after the Egyptian government promised that he would not be subject to torture or an unfair trial upon return.
May 5, 2004 Press Release
Also available in arabic
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Empty Promises
Diplomatic Assurances No Safeguard Against Torture
Individuals suspected of terrorism should never be returned to a country where they risk torture and ill-treatment. Promises of fair treatment by states with well-known records of torture are inherently unreliable, and governments that justify returns through such promises, known as “diplomatic assurances,” are violating the absolute prohibition against torture and eroding a fundamental principle of international law. The death penalty, however reprehensible, is legal and usually carried out publicly. But torture is illegal and practiced in secret. Governments routinely lie about whether they’re torturing people or not, and in some situations they may not even have adequate control to guarantee security. This 39-page report documents cases where governments returned or considered returning suspects on the basis of such formal guarantees, and raises concern that in some cases, those returned were, in fact, tortured or ill-treated.
HRW Index No.: D1604
April 15, 2004 Report
Download PDF, 360 KB, 39 pgs
Purchase online

Sweden: Call for Full and Fair Asylum Determination
Letter to Swedish Government on Behalf of Hanan Attia
Human Rights Watch is writing as a matter of urgent concern regarding the case of Hanan Attia. Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that Ms. Attia and her children were not afforded access to a full and fair asylum determination procedure when they first applied for asylum in Sweden, and that the national security concerns surrounding the case of Ms. Attia’s husband, Ahmed Hussein Mustafa Kamil Agiza, have unduly prejudiced any independent claims that Ms. Attia and her family might have to remain in Sweden.
December 18, 2003 Letter
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Human Rights Watch Mourns Anna Lindh
With the tragic death of Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, the human rights movement lost one of its most accomplished, principled advocates, Human Rights Watch said today.
September 15, 2003 Press Release
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Human Rights Watch Letter to Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh
Dear Foreign Minister Lindh: We have appreciated the willingness of the European Union to press Belgrade for meaningful cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ("the Tribunal"). We are writing today to convey Human Rights Watch's concerns about Yugoslavia's continued failure to cooperate with the Tribunal and in particular to provide an assessment of the draft Law on Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with the International Criminal Tribunal (the Draft Law) that is being considered in Belgrade.
June 19, 2001 Letter

Sweden: Child Soldiers Global Report 2001
From the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
There are no under-18s in the government armed forces, although children are known to participate in military training programmes from 15. There are reports of child recruitment in Sweden by armed groups from other countries.
June 12, 2001 Multi Country Report

Sweden: Landmine Monitor Report 2000
Key developments since March 1999: The Mine Ban Treaty entered into force for Sweden on 1 May 1999. From May 1999 through January 2000, Sweden destroyed 1.15 million antipersonnel mines, and nearly 2 million since 1998. Sweden contributed about US$11.5 million to mine action programs in 1999.
August 1, 2000 Multi Country Report

[Selatius]

38. Human Rights Watch condemns everybody

They've attacked the US government as viciously as they attack Chavez' government, so for you to cite HRW as the basis of your assertion that Chavez is the next Latin American dictator is a little disingenous because you failed to set the context of the report.

Tell me, of all those Venezuelans who had enough money to afford to flee a country entirely, what was their economic background? Were they among the majority of Venezuelans who live below the poverty line? Or did they come from the minority of the population that is comparatively well off? Were they even members of the top 1 percent as far as wealth is concerned?

[DemFromMem]

60. I pulled up HR Watch because it was convenient and I assumed

I would not have to debate their credibility. I'm especially bothered by the fact that DU'ers who supposedly have a higher sense of ethics and compassion than the typical Freeper would somehow try to sweep away well documented h.r. violations. So much for Jimmy Carter's legacy.

If HR Watch is not useful, then I suppose folks will also ignore Amnesty International Watch's reports at http://web.amnesty.org/library/eng-ven/index or a damning report at http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR530052004

or Resource Center for the Americas - http://www.americas.org/index.php?cp=region&co=43 - an anti-globalization, human rights organization or

our own State Department's annual human rights report - http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41778.htm - which is what we have to rely on primarily to document asylum cases.

I'm really disappointed that I have to have this kind of debate about the importance of human rights on a left wing blog.

If Chavez was not picking fights with Bush, I wonder how many people in our community would be jumping to his defense? A lot of awful people throughout history campaigned as friends of the poor and the working class. Just look at Juan and Eva from where * and Laura are spending the evening.

[mitchtv]

63. It seems to me that you have something to tell the left

you certainly wasted a lot of pages to say what? He is not necessarily a great friend? I'll give you that. And I ask who's fault is that? A decent approach may just bring results. I am of the left, and I believe the USA is close to dictatorship as well. Both sides need to see past the accusations, and deal with mutual respect and responsibility, to quote my old Union contract.Honesty and fairness; something the right is unable/unwilling to do.Hegemony is the goal of the PNAC gang in charge .

[High Plains]

66. Human rights violations need to be condemned...

no matter which country commits them. As the various posts above attest, no country is perfect.

That said, accusations of "packing the court" are pretty weak and loaded. And the accusations of attacks on the media have to be seen in the context of the medias role in the attempted coup against Chavez.

I support Chavez because of his orientation toward the poor. And he hardly qualifies as a Stalinesque figure. Still, if his police are beating people (if they are HIS police) or other apparent violations occur, he needs to be called to account.

Funny you mention Peron. A lot of people on the left supported Peron because he supported the poor. His movement eventually splintered into left and right wings. And his government did some nasty things to political opponents, but if you want to talk about great human rights violators in 20th Century Latin America, I don't think he'd make the cut. You might want to look at the rightist generals who came after him.

Both Peron and Chavez are examples of Latin American military populism. It's usually left-leaning and can be a progressive force, but it tends to have those authoritarian overtones.

[Selatius]

68. You're disappointed?

How do you think I feel? The kind of ideas I have are the kind that have historically gotten people who held the same ideas killed precisely because those ideas challenged the status quo. Of all the people here, I would think you'd understand, but apparently you don't. Not once did I even challenge the HRW report, but I was more than willing to point out your omission of context, and some others pointed that out as well, but you seem to get all offended at showing facts to provide balance. (See High Plains post about the corporate news media in Venezuela, for example)

If you think I'm going to defend Chavez' wrongs, you're sadly mistaken because I'm perfectly aware of them. It's dumb to think anybody is so perfect that he can keep himself clean of blood when its raining blood in Venezuela, but that's the nature of exercising power, and this is why I favor decentralization of decision-making power, something I disagree philosophically with Chavez precisely because such concentrated power opens the doors to gross abuses. I'd rather stand for the people of Venezuela before I stand for Chavez, but between Chavez and the folks who supported that dictator-for-a-day Pedro Carmona, I'd have to say Chavez is a shade better than the alternative of Carmona Co.

Take your disappointment elsewhere because I've had far more than enough disappointment in my little slice of the world in the last several years.

[Douglas Carpenter]

69. do you agree that your objection to Chavez is based on your ideology?

Obviously Hugo Chavez's human rights record is no where near as bad as say Columbia's or most of his Latin American neighbors or probably even the U.S.

Obviously there is no evidence that he is a going to completely nationalize the whole economy.

Obviously the vast majority of Venezuelans do not share the view of some of your clients.

Do you agree that opposition to him is purely ideological?

[DemFromMem]

75. No

If my ideology is tied to my belief in the preservation of human rights and civil liberties, then yes. I give to the ACLU to defend human rights in this country and I condemn human rights violations in other countries. And I take pro bono cases regularly to help people seeking political asylum. I have no trouble sleeping at night and I don't particularly think questioning my motives is justified.

As for what the vast majority of Venezuelans feel, that's irrelevant in my opinion. I'm not saying Chavez is a dictator - I said the country was drifting in that direction and I was worried about the future of democracy in the country. But lots of dictators are popular with the majority of the people. Some are even worshipped (through the active encouragement of the regime).

The question is how the leader treats the people that DON'T love him (or her).

Not to change the subject, but if you want to read an interesting novel about how a democratic country drifts into fascism, read Philip Roth's Plot Against America. It's an intriguing what if story about how a Republican Charles Lindbergh defeats FDR in 1940 and moves the US slowly and methodically into a police state. It's a chilling book and should serve as a lesson to those who would turn a blind eye to the Patriotic Act of a Bush or to the likes of a Chavez.

[Douglas Carpenter]

76. sorry, I am certainly not questioning your motives

I just wonder why Chavez if singled out.

I believe he is singled out by the U.S. because he does not accept the dogma of the "free market" which the U.S. (frankly under both parties) is shoving down the throats of countries all over the world, usually against the will of their people. I don't how many in the U.S. wonder why the developing world who in theory would be the greatest benefactors of this global trading system have to have this economic order forced on them. But perhaps this is not your ideology at all.

Anyway, no offense intended. It is good that you are taking cases and helping vulnerable people. That I can only respect.

[eridani]

71. Human rights are violated daily in every single country in the world

However, not all countries in the world are dictatorships. What people are objecting to is your linkage of human rights violations with "emerging dictatorship."

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

42. You are assuming things here.

I personally have been following developments in Venezuela for years. I don't give a flying fuck about his opinions on bush. I speak for myself but possibly others here might agree. Ever since he won his 1st election one of my best friends from Venezuela turned me on to what was going on there.

Try going into a Venezuelan party here in the States and mention that you agree with his policies and results that they have brought about. I did that. I was nearly lunched but after bringing up facts and showing that I know my shit these guys were completely disarmed. To the point where a few of them were coming around to my arguments. I hang out with these guys every week. We might not agree politically. But they respect the fact that I have shown interest in their country.

I have busted these guys in some of their hyped up bullshit and made them backtrack. Facts are facts. There's a lot of bad shit happening down there. The administration has had their fuck ups. But the opposition offers no alternative. The coup and subsequent lies and fabrications did not help either. The biggest massacre in Venezuelan history was caused by the impeached ex president who happens to be in deep with the opposition.

As the son of an opposition politician told me. He speaks to the poor. The problem is that those people are for the first time politically aware. The elite hates that. As he put it he is giving all kinds of freebies to a bunch of lazy bums. 1,000,000 more children learning to read and write is no joke. That ais a direct result of his programs.

I think people should criticize his administration when they screw up as I would any Democrat or Green in office. I have no problem with that. But there's a lot of ignorant drive by posts by disruptors that keep getting tombstoned. Let's not assume that we're a bunch of dumb asses cheering this guy simply because hew called bush a pendejo.

[libnnc]

48. Thank you for posting that--very informative.

When discussing "good governments" I ask these questions:

1. Do all citizens have access to free, quality education?

2. Do all citizens have access to free, quality health care?

3. Are the elderly, the very young and the very poor provided gov. assistance? Does the government allow people to starve?

4. Do all citizens have access to the ballot box?

So far, no one who speaks against Chavez can deny these questions.

They just don't "like" him.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

50. I'll be the first one to cringe by the way he phrases things every now and

But so do Democrats when they hear Dean. It's what happens when people are direct.

He's still that same guy from the hood but also very well read. That's why a lot of us can relate to him.

[1932]

82. You might want to talk the people translating what he's saying.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

83. I don't need to since spanish is my first language. n/t

[1932]

81. I like Chavez because he's progressive and anti-neoliberal. I could care

less what he says about Bush.

I've noticed a phenomenon at DU. A lot of people who have nothing else to say reply to every Chavez post with, "hooray for Chavez! He's sticking it to Bush!" no matter how irrelvent Bush is to what Chavez has done.

Then anti-Chavez posters say, "progressives only like him because he's sticking it to Bush."

I'm starting to wonder if it's the same group of people posting both those kids of posts.

Here are some stories about Vivanco:

Human Rights Watch's José Miguel Vivanco asserts that Venezuela ...
Venezuela Analysis, News and Views. Ongoing news and in-depth analysis about developments in Venezuela.
www.venezuelanalysis.com/audio.php?ano=1002 - 35k - Cached - Similar pages

Human Rights Watch Claims that Venezuela's State News Agency ...
Audio clip: Human Rights Watch's José Miguel Vivanco asserts that Venezuela ... However, the Venpres piece does no link at any point Mr. Vivanco to any ...
www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1082 - 50k - Cached - Similar pages

Venezuela: Official Press Agency Distorts Human Rights Watch’s ...
At a recent breakfast in Washington with Venezuelan authorities, Vivanco offered strong ... Vivanco specifically rebutted remarks made by Jesse Chacón, ...
www.venezuelanalysis.com/docs.php?dno=1007 - 39k - Cached - Similar pages

Do Foreign Governments Have a "Human Right" to Buy Venezuela ...
Human Rights Watch fixer Vivanco’s decidedly anti-human rights double standard ... Vivanco is not alone in having his panties all up in a bunch over the ...
www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1498 - 48k - Cached - Similar pages

Venezuela's Political Situation Discussed at US Senate Hearing
Human Rights Watch's Jose Vivanco said that Venezuela's press has been able to ... Vivanco further proclaimed that the press in Venezuela "has been able to ...
www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1300 - 58k - Cached - Similar pages

Human Rights Watch: Venezuela Enjoys Full Democracy and Freedom of ...
José Miguel Vivanco agrees with Jesse Chacón and Diosdado Cabello ... Human Rights Watch's José Miguel Vivanco asserts that Venezuela enjoys "the amplest ...
www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1077 - 39k - Cached - Similar pages

Venezuela Accuses US of Interfering in Internal Legal Proceedings
“Where are Human Rights Watch, José Miguel Vivanco, the Department of State, ... Americas Director for Latin America & the Caribbean José Miguel Vivanco has ...
www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1688 - 40k - Cached - Similar pages

Has Human Rights Watch Joined Venezuela’s Opposition?
This is one of the points where HRW director Vivanco should not be surprised that Vice-President Rangel considers the report to be a partisan attack. ...
www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1200 - 54k - Cached - Similar pages

Venezuela's Referendum: The Truth About Jimmy Carter
"Human Rights" Director Vivanco is among the most blatant early ... To force the Chavez government to conform to his declaration, Vivanco demanded that the ...
www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1213 - 58k - Cached - Similar pages

Venezuela: the Gang's All Here. A Replay of Chile and Nicaragua?
And yes, here’s José Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch. ... I don’t recall Vivanco holding too many press conferences to protest that perennial iniquity. ...
www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1208 - 48k - Cached - Similar pages

[arcos]

20. I don't agree with everything he does...

Yes, he is more authoritarian than what I would like, and his rhetoric is too hot for my taste, but the country is NOT becoming a dictatorship. Instead, Chavez and his party have won two presidential elections, one recall election, three congressional elections and three or four local elections. That's democracy... people want him and his policies, and that's because they are working.

I can't say I blame them after decades of corruption by right wing politicians.

[leesa]

56. He was elected by a large margin twice and is extremely

popular in his country. The economy is vastly improving since he has put controls on US and other countries gouging.

Why do you say these things that aren't true?

[Marr]

93. I do wonder what you mean by "brightest young minds".

I assume you mean the educated or the well-off. There was a similar exodus of privilidged people from Cuba back when Castro took over. Why wouldn't they leave? The system that had been rigged in their favor for so long was being quickly un-rigged. It's not like they had any actual loyalty to their country or their neighbors. They grabbed some cash, lit out, and just bitched about their faded glory from a comfortable distance.

[mdelaguna2000]

102. absolutamente

well put

[Tom Joad]

6. He stands against the neoliberal program supported by both Repubs and Dems

[libnnc]

7. I want to know too.

Honestly, why is socialism thought to be a "bad" thing in this country? It doesn't scare me. Anti-socialist DUers, tell me why Hugo Chavez should scare me.

[Bridget Burke]

16. Because Socialism can lead to Communism!

Fidel Castro! Booga, booga! (Are you scared yet?)

[libnnc]

18. nope. ain't skeerd yet.

Listened to Radio Havana last night.

Ain't skeerd. What else you got?

[Bridget Burke]

25. I probably should not have answered, since I'm not an anti-socialist.

('tho I'm sometimes anti-social.) I was just trying to act like one!

Comrade--plan your Cuba vacation here: www.cubaweb.cu/
(For when we're allowed to visit from The Land of The Free.)

[eallen]

30. Point to the socialized economies that are doing well?

I'd hate to see the Venezuelan economy go the way of Cuba's.

[libnnc]

37. and our sanctions against Cuba

have nothing to do with their economic problems?

Sell me something else.

[eallen]

40. Point to ANY socialized economy that worked well.

I can think of one. But it rests on a circumstance even more wholy artificial than Cuba's.

Would you like a list of formerly socialist economies that grew out of the dreadful poverty that caused, simply by adding some capitalism? China. Poland, and many others in east Europe.

[Greyhound]

73. The economies are not as good as we measure them

but the citizens that live in those economies are better off in many cases, and certainly better off than they would be in the Corporatist hell we're headed for. Capitalism is a great economic engine, but it has to benefit all of the participants and ours doesn't.
Our standard of living has slipped to 13th the last time I heard, and guess what? All the countries with higher SOL were socialistic.

[dpibel]

39. That would be a damnable shame

Can't happen, of course, since the US can't boycott Venezuala as it does Cuba, what with the oil being irreplacable and necessary, 'n all.

But it would be a hideous shame if the Venezualans got more accessible medical care than Americans, and had higher literacy rates than Americans, and that kind of awful stuff.

How much of the "way of Cuba's" economy has to do with socialism, and how much with the fact that the US is in permasnit?

[Solon]

41. Most of Europe. n/t

[eallen]

45. Virtually every European nation is capitalist.

Business is privately owned. Markets determine prices, including mostly the price of labor. Norway provides a good example. It relies on a vibrant capitalist economy, complete with equity, capital, and venture markets, the "creative destruction" of poor performing companies failing and new ones being started, with free trade to the rest of Europe, and reasonably free trade with much of the rest of the world.

You're confusing social programs, or social democracy, with socialism. The discussion here is about the nationalizing of the economy. You don't see that in the European market.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

46. Last time I checked Venezuela was still capitalist. n/t

[eallen]

49. It is indeed. If you want to invest in its stock market....

I can tell you how to do so.

The question was, what worries people about Chavez? The worry is that he might change that. Is that likely? I don't know. But I do know why people worry if that is his intent.

In other words, there are two different issues. (a) Does Chavez plan on socializing Venezuela's economy, ie, nationaling its businesses? (b) Why should anyone worry, even if he does? I don't know the answer to the first question. I know the answer to the second.

I optimistically hope that Chavez has an appreciation of the importance of Venezuela's capitalist economy, and is planning his reforms so as to keep it healthy.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

51. Hopefully he's striking a balance. The oil industry was already

nationalized (1976) when he took power. Part of the problem was that the revenues were benefiting very very few people. He seems to be changing that. This is what Venezuelans have told me. Even the ones that hate him. I do hope that his country can become an example for Latin America. I hope that the people can keep him honest.

[eallen]

52. I will keep my fingers crossed for them...

The oil industry is not a terrible one to have nationalized, especially if the supporting industries are private. It has a pretty well understood and stable business model.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

53. I get both good and bad feedback from Venezolanos.

Funny thing is one the people I know here that hated him the most. Sudenly stopped tlking about him. When I asked why she wasn't any more arguments with me regarding Ven. She said that interest rates had gone down and her family was doing well. Now they don't seem to hate him so much. Go figure. We'll see what happens.

[mitchtv]

59. He's even (gasp) making the Petroleros pay taxes!

ON TIME

[Solon]

54. You seem to confuse Socialism with Communism...

Social Democracies are a form of Socialism, of which there are varying forms. Most are mixed economies of varying degrees, but the biggest thing are the Nationalization of major industries, this can be a big benefit, like in the case of major resources, like oil, or steel, and is also useful in areas where market based capitalism is inadequate, like in natural monopolies, think water and gas delivery. The United States, as an example, has quite a few social programs, but would be considered a much weaker social democracy than most European countries. In the case of Venezuela, they didn't have practically ANY social programs up till Chavez entered office. He hasn't, in any statements or policies, declared any intention to nationalize any additional industries or businesses beyond the oil company that was alread owned by the state.

[eallen]

57. It hurts an economy less to nationalize resource extraction...

Providing the surrounding economy is capitalist, and the support industries, it doesn't much hurt an economy to nationalize resource extraction, because the business model is stable and well understood. In a healthy economy, these are a small part overall. For the US, all natural resource extraction accounts for 2% to 3% of the economy. Because Venezuela depends so heavily on its oil economy, it is at an interesting point, where that can be used either to grow the rest of its economy (the good case) or becomes the crutch that masks economic malaise (the bad case). The problem with the latter is that the oil won't last forever.

Different people use the word "socialism" in different senses. I'm not chauvinistic on any particular definition. If you want to say the US is socialist, because we have public schools and Medicaid, have at it. I approach this from the other end, that a capitalist economy is vital to a nation's wellbeing. Nations with a healthy capitalist economy, from Canada to Australia, are free to make a variety of decisions regarding social programs. Nations without, suffer.

[Solon]

44. For crying out loud...

He ISN'T doing that, instead he is following the way of most of Europe, creating a public social safety net and actually giving the PEOPLE of the country their RIGHTFUL shares of a PUBLIC company whose previous managers used the profits to benefit themselves alone. What is wrong with that, I mean seriously, if you oppose socialism that much you better protest the community owned banks in many towns here in this country, plus most utilities that are *GASP* owned by the City GOVERNMENTS, or run by them at least!

[eallen]

47. I hope you're right.

I don't know enough of the details about what Chavez is doing to say one way or another.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

13. Two things

(1) His land reforms for the peasantry; and
(2) His complaints re: the price Venezuela is paid for its oil

Make that three things:

(3) That communist plan where anybody can go to the doctor if they get sick.

That and the fact that people actually RESPECT Chavez.

On edit: bum typing

[liberaliraqvet26]

14. He stopped Pat Robertson's fake charities....

dead in their tracks. That makes him a "radical"

[ClusterFreak]

15. Nothing "radical" about a leader who lies his country into an illegal...

...and immoral war, either.

Chavez is called "radical" because he doesn't kiss Bush's ass.

[arcos]

17. He is radical because the status quo has been right wing...

So, of course he is a radical! But being a radical is not necessarily a bad thing.

[Joe Chi Minh]

22. Exactly. To the leaders of a bent society, normalcy seems bent.

It's why, in the West, despite 2000 years of Christian Gospel teachings, the poor, who are poor because they are generally more spiritual, have always been been made to feel ashamed of being poor.

[Joe Chi Minh]

21. If Chavez is radical, I doubt if he's as radical as Christ.

[callady]

23. Chavez IS a Radical

Radical means "to the root" and Chavez is getting to the root of the problem in his nation and in Latin America. He is gradually pulling out the diseased and cancerous roots that have festered for far too long.

Bye Bye El Norte
TATA to TINA

"We will now use our resources for our own people."
"We will use them sparingly"
"We will help others along the way"

Chavez IS a Radical.

Let us all be so.

:toast: to Hugo

[LSK]

24. hey, dont think, you think what you are told to think!!!

France is bad, Chavez is bad, Vietnam was the enemy!!!

:sarcasm:

[Gabi Hayes]

29. that's right, citizen!

[leesa]

55. He is kicking out US corporations and nationalizing the oil.

It is revitalizing their economy and giving incentive for other countries to do the same.

[LoZoccolo]

61. He keeps saying we have a plan to invade his country.

Transparent demagoguery. Why do we accept it from Chavez after repudiating Bush* for it?

[JohnnyCougar]

64. Cause Chavez isn't going to use that line to invade someone else.

Like Bush did.

[LoZoccolo]

74. Oh yeah, that makes it alright.

:wow:

[mitchtv]

65. perhaps

But How can you believe anything coming in from USA media?

[High Plains]

67. Yeah, the US never invades anybody.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

84. I have no idea why he would say that.

It's not like th US ambassador was involved with the coup plotters. It's not like what happened in Chile in '73 was not orchestrated by the US. Not like The Dominican Republic and Panama were not invaded with no regard to international law. So I'd say there's some precedent there.

What else, oh yeah according to John Perkins in "Confessions of an Economic Hit man" Venezuela would have been next covertly or even overtly if it wasn't for Iraq. The comparisons to Bush are just ridiculous.

What the man is doing is what Allende failed to do. Create an insurance policy by keeping the subject afloat. If something happens to him. Maybe our congress will not wait so many years as it did for The Church Commission.

[LoZoccolo]

85. It's OK to lie to the citizens of the country you lead...

...just in case it turns out to be true?

Are you seeing that this is what happened here with regards to Iraq?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

86. How is he lying? It seems you are replying to another post. n/t

[LoZoccolo]

87. See post #61. n/t

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

88. That means nothing. THe US is clearly a clear and present danger to

Venezuela. Iraq was not to the US.

[LoZoccolo]

89. What?

Don't play games. I've seen this sort of one before, when Bush* was trying to justify attacking Iraq. People would ask him why we're attacking Iraq when we hadn't found any weapons and they'd be met with this non-sequitor that we'd given him twelve years to disarm, as if it's already been established. It wasn't. Likewise, I ask you why it's OK for him to lie to people and you act like it's already been established. It's not.

I tell you, you play these kinds of games, you give certain people or ideas a pass on scrutiny and the next thing you know you are in bed with atrocity. People wonder how, for example, communist countries are supposed to be more democratic but end up as repressive dictatorships...well, excuse after excuse is made for overlooking this or that evil thing until people are drowing in it.

The second reason you shouldn't is that I know we only have a year until the election, and I refuse to engage with anyone who's going to waste my time playing these kind of manipulative games. Have some respect for my time, and for yourself for that matter.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

90. Man, get of here with that bullshit.

You're the one playing games. The US has tried to destabilize Venezuela for years. That is a fact. Iraq did NOTHING to the US. Were you also birching when Clinton wanted to pass draconian "anti-terrorism laws" after Oklahoma City? I hope so. He was overthrown once already and came back because the people wanted him. Many of the top coup plotters are still walking around as free men. Including top army brass. You are asking him say "thank you sir may have another".

You have no argument. You're also speculating as much as you say we are.

[LoZoccolo]

91. None of this speaks to my accusation.

So that's the end of it.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

92. Yes it does. Nah, the end of it is when I say so.

:evilgrin:

[Douglas Carpenter]

94. I would be quite surprised if the U.S. military and perhaps

intelligence services are not making intimidating maneuvers to at least give the appearance of possible military action. This was done countless times. After all, the U.S. has a far less than pristine record in Latin America on such matters.

I think Chavez who is certainly less than perfect but who has a record far, far better on human rights than say Columbia and many other countries is singled out because he stands up to the dogma of the so-called "free-market". This new world order is being forced down the throats of countries all over the world usually against the will of the vast majority of their people.

Hmm, if the "free-market" is so wonderful for the developing countries I wonder why the people who in theory would benefit most form this system usually don't want any part of it? Are they just stupid or do they know something we don't know?

p.s. I wish you well in your effort to help elect a Democratic majority. Even if they may not be my kind of Democrat, they are still far better than the alternative. That I definitely respect.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

95. Hey, stop playing games damn it.

Have some respect for yourself. :silly:

[Douglas Carpenter]

98. lol

[mdelaguna2000]

104. um... you rock.

(shallow statement of admiration) ... much of what you (and some others here) say resonates w/me from my limited reading on these matters.

[devilgrrl]

72. He's not playing the Corporatocracy game.

He wants Venezuela's resources to benefit Venezuelans not Halliburton, Bechtel, KBR, etc.

That is what this is all about.

He'll be painted as your run-of-the-mill commie pinko evil scum dictator. D'oh! He already has been painted that way! What was I thinking?

[1932]

77. The platform he's implementing is the same one his predecessor

ran on, and his predecessor was an 82 year-old second time president who was originally a chirstian moderate.

The only radical thing about Chavez is that he's doing what he promissed to do and he's doing ti effectively, and it's what the people want.

[BuyingThyme]

99. Thank you.

[mdelaguna2000]

103. some excellent defenses and explanations here

Thanks for this thread.

Very helpful for us Chavez enthusiasts (for his policies at home, not just opposition to Bush) who are just beginning to do our homework.

So sick of our demonizing media and the forces behind them.

[OxQQme]

106. Google up "Plan Balboa"

and let me know your thoughts.
Real threat to Venezuela, or Hugo paranoia?

[mdelaguna2000]

107. I don't feel qualified to evaluate this (Plan Balboa)...

but I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand as paranoia. Given the secrecy of our current government, verifying dark plans is not exactly easy. Didn't a previous post on this thread mention something about Venezuela being ranked as a target before we got embroiled in Iraq?

I did read on DU a few weeks ago that the U.S. has forces in Columbia, near Venezuela, supposedly to combat the drug trade.

Given the U.S.'s history of intervention in Latin America, and the perceived threat that Chavez poses to corporate interests in the region, it wouldn't surprise me if it was correct.

If a plan existed, and got aborted due to his public exposure of it, how would we ever know? As some have claimed on this thread - the spotlight is the safest place for him.