Venezuela's Non-Violent Resistance 60 Days Later: #12F - #12A

"Today, we citizens went out massively and peacefully into the street in Caracas to once more find a brutal regime crackdown." - Maria Corina Machado, April 12, 2014 over twitter

Some of the Venezuelans killed since February 12, 2014

 Sixty Days later and Venezuelans by the tens of thousands are out in the streets marching on April12, 2014 for the future that they want. The march was organized by the student movement. What sparked these protests that have gone on for two months: violence and insecurity in Venezuelan society and the government's response which has involved shooting and torturing students.

Mildred Manrique: "Opposition march to Plaza Venezuela #12A 1:06pm"

Remembering Day 1: 
On February 12, 2014 a national youth day in Venezuela student protesters were shot in the head and killed by government agents. Robert Redman, Juan Montoya (Juancho) and Bassil Alejandro Da Costa were all extra-judicially executed by collectives and officials of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin) in an effort, apparently to use terror,  to shutdown the nonviolent student marches. Juancho, a member of a collective was caught in crossfire and killed by a government functionary. Others were tortured and one of the young detainees was raped with an assault rifle. The death toll now in the political protests is above 40 and scores of Venezuelan students have been detained and some disappeared.
 

Robert Redman (in circle) carrying shooting victim Bassil Dacosta on February 12

What did you do?
Sixty days later and the question raised by Robert Redman still moves many Venezuelans. Robert Redman, in the picture above carrying shooting victim, Bassil Alejandro Dacosta on February 12, 2014 was himself shot in the head and killed later that same day in Caracas but not before tweeting: "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?" He was 31 years old.

The struggle for freedom and justice continues in Venezuela using nonviolent means. History has demonstrated how effective this method can be and Venezuelans are writing a new chapter today. Please take a moment to do your part and sign this petition.

Solidarity of the Shaken: Cuban, Ukranian & Venezuelan Activists Join Together in Solidarity

Democratic Resistance from Cuba, Ukraine and Venezuela

 

JOINT STATEMENT FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY

We members of the nonviolent resistance in Cuba, Venezuela and Ukraine recognizing that:

 Over the past 42 years the overwhelming majority of democratic transitions were the result of democratic civil society organizations utilizing civic action and other forms of civil resistance, such as strikes, boycotts, civil disobedience, and mass protests;

Ours is a struggle for fundamental freedoms recognized the world over:  the freedom to dissent; freedom of speech; freedom of association; freedom to protest peacefully; and freedom to elect our leaders in free and fair multiparty elections;

Anti-Democratic regimes are sharing experiences and worse practices to combat nonviolent civic movements and hang on to power;

Dictatorships are collaborating internationally and through international institutions to undermine human rights and democratic norms.

We condemn the occupation of Ukraine by the neo-Soviet regime in Russia.

We call on civil society in the regimes that support aggression against Ukraine to join forces and help achieve freedom.

We demand respect for human rights and the unconditional release of political prisoners in Venezuela and Cuba.

We demand an end to repression against Venezuelan youth who peacefully demand freedom and justice.

We demand an end to repression and torture practices against civic resistance in Cuba.

We demand an end to the presence and action of military and intelligence forces of the Havana regime in Venezuela.

We ask that international organizations open investigations into the killings of the following human rights defenders in Cuba: Oswaldo Payá, Harold Cepero, Laura Pollán, Juan Soto Garcia, Wilman Villar and Orlando Zapata Tamayo.

Therefore we resolve to:

Learn from each other’s experiences in order to achieve a democratic transition and consolidation in our respective countries.

Collaborate to defend human rights and democratic norms in our respective countries and through international institutions.

Report and bring to justice the criminals that against our peoples have committed acts against humanity.

Leave this declaration open for other countries fighting for their rights to join it.

April 8, 2014

Dmytro Potekhin                                                        

Expert in Nonviolent Resistance                  

Ukraine

                                                                          

Kennedy Bolívar   

Representative of the Junta Patriótica Estudiantil Popular  

Venezuela     

   

Bertha Antúnez  

Representative of  Jorge Luís García Pérez “Antúnez”  

Frente Nacional de Resistencia Cívica OZT y Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana  

Cuba

 

En castellano

Amnesty petition calls on Venezuelan Govt to investigate/prevent further human rights violations

Amnesty: 37 dead, 500 injured and 2,000 detained - Venezuela must put the rights of the people first. 

Venezuelan Protests: human rights at risk, people at risk

By Amnesty International

Sign this petition to call on the Venezuelan government to investigate and prevent further human rights violations and abuses in the context of protests and open a dialogue with all parties to find an agreed solution.

Since the beginning of February 2014, Venezuela has been shaken up by violence triggered by demonstrations against and in favour of the government. The unrest has already resulted in the death of over 37 people, including at least six members of the security forces. More than 500 people have been injured and over 2,000 have been detained. Most people arrested have been conditionally released pending investigations but they face charges that could lead to years in prison.

There are indications of excessive use of force by the security forces, as well as reports of violence by armed pro government groups and by anti government protesters. Some detainees have reported ill-treatment and torture.

Over the last decade, Venezuelan society has been increasingly divided by polarization. The current political crisis risks undermining any progress made in recent years in standing up for the rights of those most marginalized in the country. This must be a wake-up call for the government.

The answer to this crisis is the unconditional respect for the human rights, and the strengthening of the institutions that underpin the rule of law. The time to act is now.

Please sign petition here: https://campaigns.amnesty.org/campaigns/protests-in-venezuela#1

Message from Venezuelan Opposition Leader to Castro and Maduro: Get Out and Resign

@MariaCorinaYA Here I send you my article today in @ElUniversal "Resign" 
 

Maria Corina: "Direct from airport, join students protesting in tents in front of UN in Ccs!"

 Resign
by María Corina Machado / El Universal

I leave the Congress of Brazil, emotionally moved for exercising the duty and the honor of speaking as a member, on behalf of all Venezuelans. It coincided with a tribute to parliamentarians that 50 years ago were expelled by the dictatorship from the Congress, accused of  "treason to the nation for criticizing their country abroad ." This could have influenced the enthusiasm with which the deputies, standing, shouted: "Venezuela", "democracy", "brave" and "freedom" as I withdraw from the plenary.

The operation of the regime to prevent the world knowing about their cruel violations of human rights, popular sovereignty and freedom of expression, has been costly and useless. Parliaments, newspapers and homes from every continent call the Venezuelan regime for what it is: a dictatorship.

Until two months ago, the regime led to believe that we had resigned ourselves. Venezuela awoke. The Cuban orders to suppress every "little candle " with the fury of paramilitary criminal gangs, PNB (The Bolivarian National Police) and the  GNB (Bolivarian National Guard) provoked more outrage and energy for the deepest and most widespread civic movement in our history. The regime crossed a red line and now for foreign actors, indifference is complicity.

A people is in the street, decided to advance irreversibly and without delay in the transition to democracy. A country that demands a change, not just of policy or rulers, but in the values, ​​in the model of society, and that are determined to do so through democratic means under the Constitution. For them we won't accept a new deception with a call for dialogue that seeks to demobilize protests or give the semblance of legitimacy. As for the public powers, we declined the offer of cosmetic quotas. Imposing a total restructuring of the CNE , the Attorney General, the Ombudsman and the Comptroller, just for starters.


Two years ago , in a public letter to Fidel Castro, I told him, "Cmdr Castro, stop interfering in the internal affairs of Venezuela. Do it willingly or the democratic forces in Venezuela will make him understand as was done 50 years ago" The Castros already understood that Venezuelans will fight to win democracy, national sovereignty and freedom. As a member of the National Assembly and citizen, I say, Mr. Maduro:  the time has arrived for you also to understand: Resign.

Original en Castellano

Tempest in a Teapot: "Cuban Twitter"

When news reporting becomes the news

Unfortunately the Associated Press seems to have crossed a line from non-reporting of what the Castro regime does to human rights defenders and editing conversations with dissidents that seek to downplay their role in the struggle for Cubn freedom to producing an article with inaccuracies and an editorial slant in line with that of Castro's official news agency Granma.

In an interview with Hank Tester, John Suarez told the NBC6 journalist that the Associated Press report "read like communist Cuban propaganda" and that:

"It seems to be a tempest in a teapot. You had a project that was around for less than three years, maybe 2 and a few days which the purpose was to provide uncensored content to Cubans, providing avenues to express themselves is a positive thing that requires no apology."

While disagreeing with David Shipley at Bloomberg View on his views towards sanctions in Cuba, he does offer an excellent analysis of the "Cuban twitter" non-controversy: 

First, this was not some kind of super-spooky deal. Not many “covert operations” get reviewed by the Government Accountability Office: As it noted last year, the U.S.'s efforts to promote democracy in Cuba “have included a greater focus on information technology, particularly on supporting independent bloggers and developing social networking platforms.” The GAO found nothing unlawful about the program.
Promoting democracy and human rights is squarely in USAID’s bailiwick -- it's right there on its website, on a page titled "Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Strategy." The idea that USAID is some kind of vestal virgin dispensing surplus wheat and well pumps ignores the “U.S.” before the AID.
None of this is to say that humanitarian aid programs should be used as a cover for intelligence programs. What the Central Intelligence Agency did in Pakistan -- use a vaccination program to try to locate Osama bin Laden -- was outrageous and wrong. But USAID’s democracy assistance programs are designed to strengthen the ability of citizens to peacefully resist and undermine authoritarian and abusive governments. In Cuba -- which has an aggressive intelligence service that actually had an agent within USAID -- a certain amount of subterfuge is necessary for those programs to be effective and to protect their intended beneficiaries.
The biggest weakness of USAID's Cuba program was that the agency wasn't prepared for its success. When the messaging platform began growing beyond easy control, the agency's concerns about disclosure and cost led to its shutdown. Maybe the agency should have put some of those government lawyers to work creating a less ad hoc structure that would have provided stable financial support while maintaining a more formal arms-length separation from the U.S. government.

 Sad to see how far the Associated Press, in this article departed from its fundamental values and its "abhorrence of inaccuracies, carelessness, bias or distortions."