NGO LAW ONE STEP CLOSER TO PASSAGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 001779 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR DFISK AND DTOMLINSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2031 TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB KDEM SCUL VE SUBJECT: NGO LAW ONE STEP CLOSER TO PASSAGE REF: CARACAS 1634 CARACAS 00001779 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor, for Reason 1.4(b). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The National Assembly took the legislatively significant step of approving "in first discussion" the International Cooperation Law, which seeks to control foreign financing of Venezuelan NGOs and bring the entire sector under Bolivarian control. Speeches from the pro-Chavez deputies said the legislation was aimed directly at groups receiving USG funds, labeling them as traitors and coup-plotters. Human rights and democracy NGOs are the specific targets. The law will now be sent "to the streets" for town hall discussions conducted by the National Assembly. NGO leaders told us they expect the law to be passed by mid- to late-July, though some still hoped that fear of a backlash would back the government off. The World Bank is planning a meeting June 19 with ambassadors and multilateral organizations to discuss a coordinated response to the law. End summary. -------------- Passed in First Discussion -------------- ¶2. (C) The National Assembly (AN) approved the first draft of the International Cooperation Law on June 13. The law, as reported in ref, would require all NGOs to register with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (BRV). In addition, international funding for NGOs would be funneled through a BRV entity that would decide whether the funding coincided with national development goals. According to National Assembly procedure, the bill will now be sent back to the International Relations Committee to incorporate observations made during the discussion. The all pro-Chavez Assembly has also added a step of consulting such legislation with "Street Parliaments," townhall-style meetings in poor neighborhoods facilitated by the AN. (Note: These meetings are merely symbolic, with only Chavez sympathizers participating, and have never resulted in substantive changes to the bill in question.) Committee head Saul Ortega told observers the Assembly aimed to pass the bill before the August recess, suggesting the AN will take action mid- to late-July. -------------- No Hidden Agendas: It's About Us -------------- ¶3. (C) The deputies made it clear from their speeches that many Venezuelan NGOs are suspected of subversive activity on behalf of the USG. Deputy Iris Varela, known as "Commander Matchstick" for her fiery discourse and red-colored hair, said, "Of course we are going to control the NGOs... here we have to control the activity of a group of organizations that, under the facade of an NGO and the defense of human rights, receive financing from the United States for political purposes and conspire against the Bolivarian Government." Saul Ortega said the new law would break the imperialist and neo-colonial conception of international aid, a possibility only because Venezuela is no longer a poor and mistreated country. Deputy Carlos Escarra accused the 70 NGOs that came together as the "Forum for Life" to criticize the law of being servile lackeys and participants in the April 2002 coup attempt. The AN would indeed consult with "the people" on the bill, Escarra said, but not with these traitorous NGOs. Separately, Ortega reportedly told foreign diplomats the law is strictly motivated by USG funding the electoral NGO Sumate. -------------- CARACAS 00001779 002.2 OF 002 NGOs React -------------- ¶4. (C) USAID officer sought reactions from key NGOs to the vote. Several expressed shock at the brazen rhetoric used by deputies, laying bare the government's true intentions. Andres Carrizales of the Press and Society Institute expressed concern over the ferocity with which the deputies attacked the Forum for Life NGOs, suggesting that such NGOs would be singled out for future persecution. Hector Faundes of the Central University of Venezuela's Human Rights Center said the law is part of a plan to close the remaining democratic spaces in the country. That said, he suggested that there are still fears in the government sector of a backlash for cracking down on NGOs, which could impede the bill's final passage. Liliana Ortega of the human rights NGO COFAVIC noted that the BRV already has significant rules in place to control NGOs; this law, she concluded, is meant to destroy them. ¶5. (C) Carlos Ponce, director of the NGO Consorcio de Justicia ("Justice Consortium"),told Polcouns and Poloff June 15 he was sure the bill would be passed within the next six weeks. He pointed out that the deputies had specifically focused on democracy and human rights NGOs as those needing regulation. He also noted that Vice Foreign Minister Maripili Hernandez had said in her opinion column June 15 that, given the virtual disappearance of political parties, opposition to Chavez was now hiding out in the form of NGOs, and, therefore, those NGOs needed to be subject to the same funding controls as parties. Ponce accepted that Sumate was a key issue for the BRV, but added that the government was also worried about the international outreach by other Venezuelan NGOs, which have, for example, led to five credible cases against Venezuela in the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and to tough criticism from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Ponce estimated that the total amount of funding to Venezuela's NGOs probably did not exceed US$4 million annually, calling into question why the BRV needed an elaborate control mechanism. He said harassment from tax and other governmental authorities were already adequate to make life difficult for NGOs. -------------- World Bank Convenes International Community -------------- ¶6. (C) Emboffs received word that the World Bank will convene a meeting on tentatively set for June 19 to discuss the bill. They will reportedly invite multilateral organizations present in Venezuela as well as certain embassies. We have yet to receive an invitation. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) The NGO law is a strategic effort by the BRV to control civil society. Like many Bolivarian laws, this one can be applied selectively to regime opponents so as to manage the international community. We note that most provisions of the law would be phased in over nine months after passage. The immediate desire by the Bolivarians may be to create a presidential campaign issue out of foreign financing to NGOs, especially given Sumate's role in trying to unite the opposition around a single candidate. Tactically, however, Chavez' thralls in the National Assembly may have gone too far with their thuggish rhetoric, making it easier to convince the international community of the dangers to democracy that this bill presents. This would be a good time to push the issue with sympathetic governments, taking care, of course, not make it appear as a USG-led effort. WHITAKER