12 months after 12F: The Youth Day when Maduro Executed Nonviolent Youth

"Today I was hit with a rock in the back, a helmet in my nose. I swallowed tear-gas, Carried the kid who died, and what did you do?" - Robert Redman, age 28, murdered later that same day by Maduro's security forces

Student movement organizing action today in Venezuela

Started a 24 hour fast at 7:00pm on February 11, 2015 in remembrance of Venezuelan students gun down by Maduro's state security beginning on February 12, 2014 while nonviolently protesting rising insecurity in their country.  It began on that day with Bassil Alejandro Dacosta, age 24 , who over Facebook the day before on February 11, 2014 had written: "Gentlemen, he who is here will go out tomorrow to find a better future." 

Bassil Dacosta murdered by Maduro's agents on February 12, 2014

 Hours later on February 12, 2014 he had been gunned down. One of the youths who carried him away to seek medical assistance, Robert Redman, age 28, reported later that day over twitter: ""Today I was hit with a rock in the back, a helmet in my nose. I swallowed tear-gas, Carried the kid who died, and what did you do?" That same day he was also gunned down by Maduro's security forces and murdered. The known number today stands at 43.

Robert Redman murdered by Maduro's agents on February 12, 2014

 Today, February 12, 2015 facing a regime that has now approved the use of lethal force against nonviolent protesters the stakes are higher than a year ago. Students and in many cases their parents and grand parents will be taking to the street today.


Maria Corina Machado explained why they are going out tomorrow:  

"Tomorrow February 12,  I will go out for the young heroes of yesterday and today, who started the protests that unmasked the regime and changed the history of our noble country. See you in Caracas at 10 am at Plaza The Three Graces. We will march to the San Pedro Church where Mass will be held for the fallen."

"March for the Fallen"

Hard to believe that it has been one year and still the murderers of these nonviolent student protesters have not been brought to justice. 28 out of the 44 killed in the 2014 protests in Venezuela were shot. They are remembered along with the continuing demand for justice.

All Eyes on Venezuela: Students Call National March for Independence Tuesday, June 24

Across the social networks the announcements are made that a national march for independence is being called by the student movement that will take place across the country on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. All eyes on Venezuela. Beginning tomorrow June 24, 2014 at 9:00am Caracas time.

Remember that the death toll during these protests by agents of the Maduro regime has reached 43.
Josue Farias died in Maracaibo on June 21, 2014. The 18 year old student was injured by a  bullet during protests at URBE on May 29, 2014.

 
 The International Democratic Network has shared this call to action through its twitter account with the above image and the following call:

"This Tuesday #24J join the #students in the #MarchForIndependence, #Venezuela it is our common cause."

Youth leader Ana Karina Garcia tweeted another image outlining the route of the march with the following call to action:

"This is the route #VENEZUELA will travel together on #24J for NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE #IWillGoOut24J & you?"

Finally in a series of tweets youth leader Juan Requesens beginning with a tweet that stated

 "TOMORROW #24J day of nonviolent protest at the national level, these are the gathering points:" and tweeted all of them along with times that they would be meeting up.

 The students are risking not only their freedom but their very lives for a free Venezuela the least that the outside world can do is be vigilant and denounce any abuses by the Maduro regime.

The student movement's "magic" weapon in Venezuela.

"Hate cannot triumph over hate only love can defeat it." - Venezuelan student movement 


The student movement in Venezuela is wielding a magical weapon that cuts without wounding, heals as it is applied and exalts them who use it. Maduro in Caracas and Raul Castro in Havana are desperately trying to destroy the weapon before it removes both Maduro and Castro's agents there from power. The paradox is that it is also a weapon that cannot be taken from the students. Maduro and Castro can only persuade them through appeals to emotion and the illusion of a short cut to victory for them to put down this "magic" weapon dramatically reducing their chances of success.

The word "magic" is used here in the terms as a power that is able to shape events through a mysterious force. This mysterious force that has great power is nonviolence. Nonviolence is the force and in practice it becomes nonviolent resistance to evil actions and systems.

In the video above the spokesman for the Venezuelan student movement makes a powerful observation: "Hate cannot triumph over hate only love can defeat it."

Their movement is civic and nonviolent. This is asymmetrical warfare and in that war, nonviolence is the opposition's magical weapon that gives it a strategic advantage over Maduro and Castro's tanks, fighter jets, and snipers.

Maduro and Castro's dictatorships understands this and tries repeatedly to break the nonviolent character of this movement by engaging in heinous acts against the innocent to strike terror in the populace and hatred in the opposition then infiltrating the opposition with provocateurs claiming that if they would only shift to violence that victory would be more quickly achieved.

It is a lie.

In abandoning nonviolence the opposition loses its asymmetric advantage and has little chance of success without the assistance of outside powers in an armed struggle. Even with outside support it only rises to 26%. On the other hand maintaining a nonviolent posture increases ones chances for victory to 53%  according to studies by Maria J. Stephan and Erica Chenoweth studying conflicts both violent and nonviolent over the past one hundred years. 

Why is the chance for victory only 53%? Because nonviolence is a powerful weapon but to defeat an adversary with any weapon you need to have both a big picture strategic vision of how to arrive at your goal and the tactics to carry them out. If the student movement in Venezuela has those two elements then their odds of success are even greater.

The temptation to self-defense to justify violence is another tool of tyrants. We have seen several nonviolent student protesters shot in the head by regime snipers while others have been tortured and raped. The purpose of these outrages are to appeal to emotion as mentioned previously.

Gene Sharp an expert in nonviolence offered the following analysis on the danger of violence overtaking a nonviolent movement:

Frequently in revolutionary groups there will be people inside of the movement who may offer opinions that are their genuine opinions. They may be the mouthpiece of your opponent -they may be actual employees of the intelligence services assigned to wreck this movement. To not only urge the opposition movement to use violence and create dissension within the resisters, but also to actually carry out violence in the midst of otherwise peaceful demonstrations. Or in extreme cases even to carry out the violence on a larger scale like political assassinations. Then blame it on the revolutionary movement and then have a rational and so-called justification for rounding up revolutionaries and jailing many people who had nothing to do with these activities. The people who are always pushing for violence and acts of sabotage really need to be isolated and because they well may be the agents of your opponent. Don't fall for that. The nonviolent struggle has to be continued on a nonviolent basis. Otherwise you destroy your own power capacity and with that the capacity to achieve your objectives."

Sharp has also spoken out about the short sightedness of appeals to international military support:

I think it is an unfortunate choice that people make. It is predictable that your opponent will have the means of violence, the means of oppression. If you get someone else to come and help you, they will come with their interests, and potentially turn your country into a battlefield. Even if they help defeat the oppressor, it will not result in empowerment. People will not be ready to fight the next oppressor who tries to take over the country.    

The future of Venezuela is being decided and the ability of the student movement to remain nonviolent while carrying out their strategic vision for the change they seek using civic non violent means will be an important factor in the final outcome.