CHAVEZ TAKES AIM AT HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000612

SIPDIS


NSC FOR CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD
USAID DCHA/OTI FOR RPORTER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2013
TAGS: PHUM PGOV VE
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ TAKES AIM AT HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS


Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B
) AND (D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) During his February 15 "Alo Presidente" broadcast,
President Chavez accused several human rights organizations
of receiving funding from the National Endowment for
Democracy (NED) through the Washington-based Center for
Justice and International Law (CEJIL) to help overthrow the
GOV. Several of the named NGOs issued statements rejecting
the accusation and demanding that Chavez retract his
statements. While publicly projecting an image of
fearlessness in the face of this frontal attack, the
organizations' directors privately acknowledge their worry
about the possible consequences of being labeled as traitors.
End Summary.


2. (U) During his February 15 "Alo Presidente" broadcast,
President Chavez accused several human rights organizations
of receiving funding from the National Endowment for
Democracy (NED) through the Washington-based Center for
Justice and International Law (CEJIL),itself a recipient of
NED funding. Chavez named the Human Rights Education and
Action Program (PROVEA),the Committee of Relatives and
Victims of the February 1989 Events (COFAVIC),the Support
Network (Red de Apoyo),and the Human Rights Office of the
Catholic Church (Vicaria),among others. Chavez claimed that
the NGOs, like Sumate, had accepted NED funding to
participate in efforts to overthrow the GOV. Vice President
Rangel followed up February 16 with a statement that the NGOs
had broken the law, citing a Supreme Court ruling that limits
the activities of organizations that receive foreign funding.



3. (U) PROVEA fired back with a February 17 press release
denying it has ever requested or received funding from the
USG. It also affirmed that doing so would not be a crime,
and it acknowledged its strong working relationship with
CEJIL. The NGO states that it has condemned all "ruptures of
constitutional continuity," including Chavez' own 1992 coup
attempt and the brief presidency of Pedro Carmona in April

2002. PROVEA also reminded the President that it has
requested protective measures favoring Chavez from the
Inter-American Human Rights Court, but that it would not be
deterred from its work "by threats from any government
official, current or future."


4. (U) PROVEA plans to invoke its right under Article 58 of
the Constitution to demand that the President rectify the
damage he has caused by making false statements. COFAVIC and
the Vicaria made similar statements on February 16 and
accused Chavez of "setting a very negative precedent,"
according to news reports.


5. (C) Carlos Correa and Liliana Ortega, directors,
respectively, of PROVEA and COFAVIC, told poloff February 18
that they are very concerned about the possible consequences
for their staff and activities as a result of being labeled
traitors by Chavez. According to Ortega, "the threatening
email and phone calls have already begun." Correa told
poloff that PROVEA had activated its normal security
procedures and is staying alert, "but so far we haven't been
subjected to any direct threats or violence."


6. (C) Jose Gregorio Guarenas, the Vicaria's general
coordinator, told poloff February 19 his staff is receiving
threatening email and phone calls, and that being singled out
by Chavez has "definite security implications," as they go
about their usual activities. He also told poloff that the
National Assembly (AN) appointed a committee February 18 to
investigate all of the human rights NGOs named by Chavez.
"The investigation will only magnify the danger for us," he
said.


7. (U) Amnesty International issued a statement February 18
insisting that Chavez respect the work of human rights NGOS,
emphasizing that international human rights treaties, to
which Venezuela is a signatory, form the basis for such work.


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COMMENT

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8. (U) In November 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that NGOs
that receive funding from foreign governments or whose
leaders are not Venezuelan are not part of civil society.
The ruling concludes that such NGOs may not represent
citizens in court or bring their own legal action, but it
does not criminalize the acceptance of foreign funding. All
of the organizations named by Chavez receive funding from a
variety of foreign sources and state that their financing is
public information.


9. (C) The common characteristic of the human rights NGOs
named by the President is their refusal to wink at certain
actions for political or monetary reasons. It is precisely
this institutional integrity and independence that threatens
Chavez and has led him to seize on the link to CEJIL and the
NED as a means to weaken a societal sector that he doesn't
control.
SHAPIRO


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2004CARACA00612 - CONFIDENTIAL