IRELAND SUPPORTS EU ON VENEZUELA REFERENDUM

UNCLAS DUBLIN 001200 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/AND AND WHA/PDA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO SUBJECT: IRELAND SUPPORTS EU ON VENEZUELA REFERENDUM REF: STATE 168747 ¶1. On August 11, Post delivered reftel's requested demarche to Brian Muldoon, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) First Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean. Muldoon noted SIPDIS that Ireland had participated in extensive EU consultations on Venezuela and endorsed the August 3 EU declaration on the importance of the August 15 referendum. He observed that the EU declaration supported the observer mission that the OAS and Carter Center would perform. He added that Ireland concurred with the EU's decision not to play an observer's role, given the restrictions that the Chavez Government attempted to place on the size of the EU observer team, its freedom of publicity, and the duration of its mission. An observer team acting under such conditions would have lacked credibility, explained Muldoon. He added that Ireland, having no embassy in Caracas, would likely not make a national-level statement on the referendum. ¶2. An August 9 Irish Times report on Venezuela had a pro-Chavez slant, with the journalist comparing Venezuelan opposition activists in Miami to the anti-Castro Cuban population in the city. The report noted that, under Chavez, life expectancy in Venezuela had increased, infant mortality rates had dropped, school attendance had risen, and civil rights had expanded. The report concluded that the opposition faced an uphill battle to unseat Chavez. KENNY