Truth suffers in Human Rights Watch report on Venezuela

By the Venezuela Information Office

On September 18, 2008 Human Rights Watch released a report entitled “Venezuela: Rights Suffer Under Chávez.” The report contains biases and inaccuracies, and wrongly purports that human rights guarantees are lacking or not properly enforced in Venezuela. In addition, while criticising Venezuela’s human rights in the political context, it fails to mention the many significant advancements made by the government on other essential human rights, such as access to education, healthcare, nutritious food, clean water and housing.

MYTH: “Discrimination on political grounds has been a defining feature of the Chávez presidency.”

FACT: Human Rights Watch deems the 2002 coup against the elected government “the most dramatic setback” for human rights in Venezuela in the last decade, but criticises President Chavez’s own public condemnations of the unconstitutional overthrow as examples of “political discrimination” against the opposition. On the contrary, President Chávez last year pardoned political opponents who backed a failed 2002 coup against his democratically elected government. “It’s a matter of turning the page,” Chávez said. “We want there to be a strong ideological and political debate — but in peace.”[i] In this spirit, the government has often welcomed input from the opposition, for example, inviting the leaders of student protests to address the National Assembly.

MYTH: The Chávez administration has an “open disregard for the principle of separation of powers – specifically an independent judiciary.”

FACT: Human Rights Watch wrote in an earlier report that “When President Chávez became president in 1999, he inherited a judiciary that had been plagued for years by influence-peddling, political interference, and, above all, corruption…In terms of public credibility, the system was bankrupt.” Under Chávez though, Human Rights Watch admitted that access to justice in Venezuela was improved by the expansion of the court system.[ii] Also, the World Bank found that “the [judicial] reform effort has made significant progress – the STJ [Supreme Court] is more modern and efficient.”[iii] Testament to the strength of democratic institutions in Venezuela is the ability of the National Electoral Council to uphold decisions unfavorable to lawmakers, such as the “no” victory in the December 2007 referendum on constitutional reforms.

MYTH: “[Chávez] has significantly shifted the balance of the mass media in the government’s favor… by stacking the deck against critical opposition outlets.”

FACT: As was true at the time of the 2002 coup against Chávez, Venezuela’s media is dominated by opposition voices. The “anti-government” media mentioned by Human Rights Watch still maintains the largest share of the nation’s public airwaves, and their frequently extreme criticisms of the government have included calling for the overthrow of elected leaders (as in 2002). There are no major pro-government newspapers in Venezuela. The new government-funded television and radio outlets, such as TVes – Venezuela’s first public broadcaster – and TeleSur – a regional network with support from multiple countries – have a much smaller reach than the private outlets. Furthermore, the government has never censored or “shut down” opposition media. The private channel RCTV faced a non-renewal of its broadcast license due to persistent legal violations including inciting political violence, but the station easily made the switch to cable.

MYTH: The Chávez government “has sought to remake the country’s labor movement in ways that violate basic principles of freedom of association.”

FACT: The Chavez government has actively promoted the formation of labour unions and bargaining by organised labour, but has not co-opted this sector. The National Workers’ Union (UNT) was founded in April 2003 by workers supportive of government policies. In 2008, the government responded to an ongoing labour dispute between steelworkers and the foreign-owned firm Sidor by intervening to negotiate a settlement, and when this was found to be impossible, the government reasserted state control over the Sidor plant in response to workers’ demands. The steelworkers themselves were also allowed to purchase a share of the business themselves and thereby assert more control over the company.

MYTH: The Chávez government has pursued an “aggressively adversarial approach to local rights advocates and civil society organizations.”

FACT: The Chávez administration has encouraged local leaders to create community councils that let localities identify and address their own problems — from garbage collection to school construction. The concept comes from the belief that local groups know what is lacking and know what they want for their communities. Community councils democratise local government and give people the funding and capacity to make decisions for themselves. Also subject to local decision making are many of the social missions that are designed to help reduce poverty in the most marginalised areas of the country. Health clinics, educational centres, subsidised food markets and other initiatives rely on local volunteers and are accountable to these communities.

CONCLUSION

The Human Rights Watch report “Venezuela: Rights Suffer Under Chávez,” provides an incomplete and biased account of Venezuela’s human rights record during the last decade.

It overstates the issue of political discrimination, accusing the Chávez government of targeting opponents, when in fact it has pardoned supporters of the coup and promoted open dialogue. The report is also wrong on the separation of powers and the media. The branches of government provide strong checks and balances, and institutions have improved since Chávez was first elected. No censorship of the media occurs, and the opposition still dominates the airwaves. In terms of civil society, labour organisations and community groups enjoy more support from this administration than ever before.

Venezuela has a strong record on human rights. Many of the important guarantees set out in the 1999 Constitution have indeed been enforced, particularly those relating to the fundamental needs of citizens, such as food, shelter, healthcare, access to education, employment, social security and the right to participation in cultural life.

Human Rights Watch details none of the impressive progress made in these areas. For example, the UN Development Program has found that Venezuela has already achieved some of the Millennium Development Goals, and is on track to complete the others by 2015. Notably, the country has seen a 54% drop in the number of households living in extreme poverty since 1998, and its overall poverty has fallen by 34%.[iv] Facts such as these provide a much more complete picture of the human rights situation in Venezuela.

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[i] “Chávez pardons accused coup backers” Ian James, Associated Press, December 31, 2007.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-12-31-1482318110_x.htm

[ii] Human Rights Watch, “Rigging the Rule of Law: Judicial Independence Under Siege in Venezuela,” June 2004, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/venezuela0604/

[iii] World Bank, Project Information Document, Report AB510, December 9, 2003, http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000104615_20040226144554

[iv] Instituto Nacional de Estadística http://www.ine.gob.ve/pobreza/LIgrafico2sem.asp

The full Human Rights Watch report on Venezuela can be found here.

[The Venezuela Information Office is dedicated to informing the American public about contemporary Venezuela, and receives its funding from the government of Venezuela}

Witch Hunting Muslims In The Name Of Fighting Terrorism

Source:- http://www.countercurrents.org/tribunal240808.htm

By Peoples Tribunal On The Atrocities Committed Against Minority In The Name Of Fighting Terrorism

24 August, 2008
Countercurrents.org

Hyderabad, August 24, 2008: A three-day People’s Tribunal concluded here today after recording testimonies of over 40 victims who have been arrested, harassed and tortured by police and State security agencies in violation of standard legal procedures in the name of fighting terror.

This fight against terrorism, victims emphasized, has veered more around witch hunting of Muslims rather than curbing terrorism, thus robbing people of their liberty and freedom and making them more insecure than ever before. The real culprits, they said, often roam freely whereas the poor and gullible Muslims are picked up and thrown into jails at whims and fancies of the powers that be.
Victims after victims, who have undergone harassment and torture without any evidence permissible in the court of law against them, deposed before the tribunal — comprising country’s eminent personalities including former judges, lawyers and renowned social activists – and narrated their tales of woes to the shock and anguish of hundreds of audience.

The security-centric State is empowering itself ever more while robbing citizens of freedom and security. The underlying theme emerged that invariably, only people from one community are arrested; only organisations of one sort are blamed and motives too similar are rattled most of the times. The State agencies responsible for such crimes exercise incredible impunity and are never questioned.

The deponents comprised primarily those who were arrested by the police on various charges of acts of terrorist violence and related crimes, but were later let off due to lack of evidence. Those who are accused of such crimes and are in jails were represented by their close relatives. Invariably, all those who deposed, belonged to Muslim community. In addition to verbal testimonies, some of the deponents also submitted copies of documents pertaining to the cases.

After hearing them carefully, the jury issued its interim report emphasizing that a large number of innocent young Muslims have been or are being victimized by the police on charges of terrorism in gross violation of law. The People’s Tribunal showed that police, intelligence agencies and even judiciary are constantly compromising civil liberties and constitutional rights all over India. Innocent people are being arrested, illegally detained, tortured and forced to confess complicity in terrorist acts with which they have no connection whatsoever. It seems that the Indian state has become an apparatus that willfully ignores the basic human rights of minorities in the country.

It would also appear from the testimonies, that many times the police rushed to the press immediately after nabbing some person and dole out the stories of their success and relate the progress of the investigations. The media without any means or wherewithal to check the stories and racing against deadlines reproduced this police version ad verbatim. The result of this was that the public would often get the impression and assume that the culprits and even the mastermind of an act of terrorist violence had been arrested. They would thereby reach the conclusion that they were safe from further acts of violence. This myth would only be shattered after another fresh bout of terrorist act.

The direct fallout of this high voltage publicity, it would seem from the testimonies, is that the accused would often times fail to get proper legal support. At least two lawyers appeared before the tribunal narrating their tales of woe after they took up the case of persons who were accused of acts of terrorism by the police. The lawyers told the jury that at the local bar association passed resolutions that no one from the local bar would represent the accused and neither would any one from outside come and do the same. These two lawyers who defied the ban were beaten up.

It is the collective responsibility of society, the tribunal emphasized at the end of three days, to ensure that the merchants of terror are punished but at the same time society has to take care that deep rooted prejudices do not develop against certain sections – so much so that these sections start wondering whether they are part of this society at all or not.

Peoples Tribunal On The Atrocities Committed Against Minority In The Name Of Fighting Terrorism
22-24 August 2008 at Hyderabad

Jury Members

Justice Sardar Ali Khan,
Justice S.N. Bhargava,
Mr KG Kannabiran,
Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer,
Mr Prashant Bhushan,
Mr Ram Puniyani,
Ms Rooprekha Varma,
Mr Lalit Surjan,
Mr Kingshuk Nag

Depositions and statements recorded in over 40 cases from across the country

Interim observations:

The testimonies showed that a large number of innocent young Muslims have been and are being victimized by the police on the charge of being involved in various terrorist acts across the country. This is particularly so in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, though not limited to these States.

In most of the cases, the persons picked up are not shown to be arrested by the police until many days after their arrest in gross violation of the law. Their families are also not informed about their arrest. In many cases, they have been tortured in Police custody and made to “confess” and sign blank papers. The police has been often humiliating Muslim detenues on the ground of their religion. The testimonies show widespread communalization of the police across states in the country.

In most of these cases, the Courts are routinely allowing police remand and not granting bail, merely on the police statements that they are required for further investigation. They do not examine whether there is any evidence against the accused. Unfortunately, the media too uncritically publicizes the charge and allegations leveled by the police. This has resulted in the destruction of the lives and reputations of a large number of persons so picked up by the police who have later been found to be innocent.

When the police chargesheets the victims, the trials go on almost interminably during which poor victims are virtually defenceless since they are often not even able to get lawyers. In some cases, Bar Associations have been preventing lawyers from appearing on behalf of persons accused by the police of such terror offences. However, though this is gross contempt of Court, the Courts have not taken action against such Bar Associations and lawyers who are coercing other lawyers in this manner.

Even when the victims are acquitted or discharged on being found innocent, they are not compensated for the destruction of their lives and reputations. Even when the case against the victims is found to be totally cooked up, no action is being taken to hold the concerned police officials accountable. This has led to an impunity among the police officials as a result of which they are casually and callously picking up and victimizing innocent persons, particularly Muslims, sometimes to extract money from them.

It was been reported by the victims that those citizens who are picked up by the police officers for interrogation and are subject to repeated harassment and torture, are implicated in false cases even after release or acquittal and are further subjected to mental and physical torture.

Unfortunately, the Courts are going along with this behaviour of the police and are virtually ignoring allegations of torture in police custody. Hardly anyone is being held accountable for the torture and third degree methods that are being routinely practiced in police and even in judicial custody.

Unfortunately, the Human Rights Commissions which should have taken suo moto cognizance of such victimization and violation of human rights of these people have by and large been treating even complaints about this with casual indifference. They either do not take up such cases on the ground that they are the subject matter of court proceedings or just ask for a routine police report without getting any independent investigation done on such serious charges of human right violations.

This victimization and demonisation of Muslims in the guise of investigation of terror offences, is having a very serious psychological impact on the minds of not only the families of the victims but also other members of the community. It is leading to a very strong sense of insecurity and alienation which may lead to frightful consequences for the nation.

Interim Recommendations

1. State Human Rights Commission and National Human Rights Commission and State Minority Commission should take up such matters seriously and should come to independent finding itself and awarding adequate compensation in suitable Cases. It should not wait for somebody to approach the commission but should take action Suo-moto . They should utilize their own agency to find out the truth. The malafide prosecution of innocent persons is also a serious violation of Human Rights which must be vigourously pursued by the Human rights Commissions.

2. The courts must not routinely grant police or judicial custody but must examine at that stage whether there is any credible evidence against the accused. The Courts should keep in mind that no reliance should be placed on the alleged confession of the accused even for consideration of bail/remand.

3. Whenever any person is released by the police for want of evidence against him the Courts should award adequate compensation for the destruction of his life and reputation. In such cases the courts should examine if the prosecution was malafide, and if it is so found, the police officials involved must be held accountable and the compensation payable to the victim must be recovered from the officers concerned.

4. Cr.P.C should be amended to make it obligatory on the Courts to award adequate compensation to the innocent victim who is discharged or acquitted due to lack of evidence or was falsely implicated.

5. There ought to be separate department/wing for investigation who should be given specialized training on modern scientific basis, in line with the recommendations of the National Police Commission, duly endorsed by the Supreme Court. Independent police complaints authorities must be immediately set up at all levels in line with the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Police Reforms case.

6. The trial courts be provided with a medical officer who can immediately examine any accused complaining of torture in Police or judicial custody. The courts must immediately, on any complaint being made, order such examination and take stringent action if the allegation is found true. The number of Trial courts must be greatly increased to ensure speedy conclusions of Trials. Investigations must also be concluded within the shortest possible time and extensions of time must not be routinely given. An adequate cadre of competent defence lawyers must be created to defend those accused who cannot afford their own lawyers. An independent statutory office of public prosecutors must be created.

7. The Police during interrogation or investigation cannot get blank papers signed by the accused; Police officers found indulging in such practice must be severely punished. Narco analysis is a psychologically and physically third degree method of investigation which is not even scientifically proven. It must not be allowed on persons particularly without consent.

8. Persons including officials of Bar Associations seeking to prevent lawyers from representing accused persons must be hauled up for Contempt of Court for interfering with the adminstration of Justice.

9. Special sensitization programmes should be organized for the Judiciary and Police regarding Human Rights.

10. The Governments should provide adequate compensation to the relatives of the person who died due to police firing at Mecca Masjid. No discrimination should be made based on religion or caste or place of residence. Employment should also be provided to the dependents of the deceased.

11. The Media, both Print as well Electronic should be very careful not to publicize mere allegations or claims of the police which can irreparably damage reputations of innocent persons without subjecting them to basic scrutiny.

12. In cases where all the bread earners of a family have been arrested by the police, the families of the victims, especially minor children and desolate women are rendered penniless and helpless and are driven to starvation. In such cases, until and unless the accused are convicted by courts, the State must provide regular financial help to the extent that the education of children is not disrupted and the family is not starved.

13. India must immediately sign the International Criminal Court Treaty known as the Rome Statute which has been signed by most countries.

On Ajay TG’s Release

Those of you who have been following the happenings in Chhattisgarh, most prominently with Binayak Sen and Ajay TG will be pleased to hear that Ajay TG was released on Aug 5 on bail. You can read all about this case at www.ajaytg.net and at www.releaseajaytg.in Please keep a watch out for the continuing campaign at the above websites and of course the mother of them all — www.binayaksen.net
The Committee for the Release of Ajay TG has just sent out the following note:
COMMITTEE FOR THERELEASE OFAJAY TG
HABIB TANVIR | ARUNA ROY | KAMAL CHENOY | DR BANWARI LAL SHARMA | USHA RAMANATHAN
HARSH MANDER | SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN | SUDHIR PATTNAIK | RANJAN PALIT | AMAR KANWAR
www.releaseajaytg.in

That Ajay Tg was finally released from prison late this evening on the 5th of August 2008.

That the combined efforts of several activists , friends , film makers , journalists and organisations put enough pressure on the Chattisgarh police to accept that they did not have any evidence against Ajay TG.

That the Chattisgarh police failed to file the charge sheet against Ajay TG within the mandatory 90 day period . Ajay was therefore granted statutory bail .

That the police have not closed the case. The bail order placed conditions on Ajay which required him to present a personal bond of Rs Fifty Thousand, two sureties of Rs. 25,000 each, submit an affidavit of a list of his movable and immovable property, appear at the local police station on the 2nd Monday of every month and denied him the right to travel outside India without the permission of the court.

That we condemn the attempt of the Chattisgarh police to intimidate Ajay TG and keep him in a state of fear and silence.