IS ANYONE KEEPING SCORE? HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000752

SIPDIS


NSC FOR TSHANNON AND CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD
USAID DCHA/OTI FOR RPORTER
DEPT FOR DRL JDAVIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2013
TAGS: PHUM KDEM VE OAS
SUBJECT: IS ANYONE KEEPING SCORE? HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
TALLY FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 4


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

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) Growing violence since February 27 has produced a
sharp rise in the number and types of human rights violations
throughout Venezuela. Several local human rights
organizations, Amnesty International, and the Inter-American
Human Rights Commission issued statements condemning the
violence and calling on the GOV to fulfill its duty to
guarantee security and protect the rights of all citizens.
The Democratic Coordinator (CD) maintains that only unarmed
demonstrators participate in opposition marches but
acknowledges that it does not control the actions of those
involved in spontaneous acts of civil disobedience. End
Summary.

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JUMP IN HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ALLEGATIONS
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2. (C) Growing violence since February 27 has produced a
sharp rise in the number and types of human rights violations
throughout Venezuela. Democratic Coordinator (CD)
spokesperson Rafael Narvaez said in a March 3 press briefing
that nearly 400 opposition demonstrators, some as young as
14, have been jailed without due process, 36 of them in
Caracas. The detainees, Narvaez said, have been beaten and
tortured with electric shocks, burning, and
near-suffocation. Lisette Behrens, a CD legal advisor, told
poloff March 2 she is helping represent six youths detained
and, she said, subsequently tortured by the National Guard
(GN) February 29. According to Behrens, the youths were
observing protests in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas
when they were arrested. Many detainees have been released
and have given accounts of their detentions to the media,
often accompanied by pictures of their alleged signs of
torture. Three judges who had been ordering the release of
detainees for lack of credible charges against them were
fired on March 2, according to media and opposition sources.


3. (U) The director of the Venezuela Symphonic Orchestra,
Carlos Eduardo Izcaray, was also taken and tortured by the GN
March 1 while observing the events in Altamira, according to
an email circulated by his father. Many other demonstrators
and onlookers have been seriously injured by tear gas, and
rubber and metal bullets, according to the CD and human
rights groups. Fourteen journalists have been injured or
attacked by security forces or GOV supporters while covering
political disturbances since February 27, according to
several media groups. COFAVIC, a human rights NGO,
confirmed March 4 that nine people have died from injuries
inflicted by security forces. Media and opposition reports
list a small but growing number of people (seven) as
"disappeared."

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LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD?
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4. (U) On March 1, several local human rights organizations
and Amnesty International (AI) issued strongly worded
statements condemning the use of violence by any party and
reminding the government of its responsibility to ensure
security and protect the rights of all citizens, particularly
the due process rights of detainees. The Inter-American
Human Rights Commission (IAHRC) followed with a statement on
March 3 expressing concern for the "serious violence" that
has occurred during demonstrations due to the use of
"excessive force" by security forces. The IAHRC called on
the GOV to preserve the rights of demonstrators, detainees,
and the media, and to maintain public order strictly within
the framework of human rights agreements. On March 4, AI
activated its worldwide urgent action alert network, asking
network members to remind Venezuelan authorities not to use
excessive force and to respect the right to peaceful
demonstration. The statement reiterated AI's condemnation of
violence and called on all parties to refrain from violent
actions.


5. (C) The CD's Lisette Behrens told poloff March 2 that
opposition marchers are always unarmed so as not to
invalidate constitutional protections for peaceful
demonstrators or give the GOV a chance to blame the
opposition if violence breaks out. (Comment: We believe some
marchers have carried weapons, and possibly used them.) But
she admits that the street barricades and other random acts
of civil disobedience that have erupted in Caracas and other
cities are not under the CD's control. Her clear implication
was that such protests are spontaneous expressions of deep
anger and frustration which can lead to violence, regardless
of the opposition's policy of peaceful protest.

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COMMENT
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6. (C) Our assessment is that the GOV was unprepared for the
length, breadth, and intensity of the demonstrations. In the
GOV mindset, there should not be large anti-GOV
demonstrations, since supposedly only a small group opposes
the GOV. In particular, the GOV has been clumsy in
responding to real or perceived opposition violence, and
clearly has, in many cases, not controlled its forces
sufficiently. We also believe that some in the opposition
are seeking to provoke GOV violence in the hopes that the
military or the international community will step in. While
we cannot certify all the allegations of abuse, the patterns
and trends are worrisome in terms of human rights and
political dialogue.
SHAPIRO


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2004CARACA00752 - CONFIDENTIAL