VENEZUELAN HARASSMENT OF NGOS - UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 002104

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR DFISK AND DTOMLINSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2031
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB KDEM SCUL VE
SUBJECT: VENEZUELAN HARASSMENT OF NGOS - UPDATE

REF: A. CARACAS 00339

B. CARACAS 00904

C. CARACAS 01059

D. CARACAS 01779

CARACAS 00002104 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor,
for Reason 1.4(b).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) The impending passage of the International Cooperation
Law represents a major step towards Chavista control of
Venezuelan NGOs. Even without the law's proposed regulations
and limitations on the activities of NGOs, the Chavistas are
instilling a high level of apprehension among organizations
specializing in democracy and human rights. Numerous
incidents over recent months exhibit BRV efforts to exert
their influence and threaten NGOs and their members. While
many think that both national and international reaction to
the law's planned incursion into NGO operations might prevent
it from passing, these organizations are far from breathing
easily.

--------------
"Encircled by Political Persecution"
--------------


2. (C) The National Assembly (AN) proposed in June the
enactment of a new law that would place restrictions on the
operations of Venezuelan NGOs, particularly in regards to
their acceptance of international funding. (Reftels (B) and
(D)). The proposed law would impose a tighter grip on yet
another sector of Venezuelan society, joining political
restrictions on the media, opposition, private property and
the judicial system for political revenge. Citing the danger
of "imperialistic" (read: US) influence on Venezuelan society
and sabotage of the Bolivarian government (Deputy Saul
Ortega, President of the AN's Committee on Foreign Affairs,
even went so far as to imply that some NGOs might act as
fronts for illicit activities such as drug trafficking and
terrorism),the law would seriously impede international
support for democracy and human rights initiatives. It would
also result in greater restrictions on the formation and
functions of national NGOs. The AN approved the first draft
of this law on June 13, and observers believe that the
legislature will arrive at a decision by mid-August.


3. (C) With or without the law, the BRV is already harassing
Venezuelan NGOs. NGO representatives report specific
incidents of harassment directly related to the activities of
their respective organizations. Examples of such incidents:

-- The director of the Universidad Central de Venezuela's
Human Rights Center told Emboffs he learned recently from a
contact within DISIP (Venezuela's security and intelligence
police) that he is on a government list of targets of planned
"accidents."

-- A human rights defender in Aragua State was assaulted by
armed thugs and told to drop a case she had brought on behalf
of a local girl who was repeatedly raped by members of her
community.

-- Alexandra Belandia, director of Grupo Cambio (see reftel
(C)),is the subject of a terrorism investigation for her
role in placing paper skeletons throughout the city of
Caracas in protest of the killings of three students who were
fleeing from a suspicious police checkpoint.

-- A human rights defender in Anzoategui State won a case
against five local police officers on charges of murder.
Subsequently, he had his car stolen, his house burglarized
and has received numerous threatening phone calls.

CARACAS 00002104 002.2 OF 003



-- In May, suspected Chavistas hacked into the website of NGO
Paz Activa and posted BRV propaganda. This was shortly
before a USAID-funded NGO forum to discuss the impending law
in which Paz Activa was one of two NGO organizers.

-- As noted in the 2005 Human Rights Report, Venezuelan
Prison Observatory Director Humberto Prado received telephone
threats after he announced his solidarity with prisoners
engaged in a national hunger strike.

-- Last year, the Caracas Metropolitan Police withdrew the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR)-ordered
bodyguards it had provided for COFAVIC director, Liliana
Ortega. The IACHR passed a resolution directing the
government to reinstitute Ortega's police protection, which
was only restored after she defended the IACHR order before a
local court.

-- Subsequent to Chavez' public accusations against Sumate
(see reftel (A)),representatives of two other NED (National
Endowment for Democracy)-funded NGOs, CESAP (Centro al
Servicio de Accion Popular) and Accion Campesina (a rural
development organization),were publicly accused by members
of the National Assembly of treason for having accepted NED
funding. The accusations were referred to the judicial
system, but only Sumate was formally charged.

-- Late last year, an American lawyer announced on television
the names of NED grantees for the second half of 2005. Two
of the NGOs, Kape-Kape (an indigenous development group) and
Consorcio Justicia (social and legal reform),were
subsequently grilled by DISIP; Kape-Kape's interrogation
lasted 12 hours. More organizations might have been summoned
were it not for the long Christmas break.

-- DISIP extensively questioned the director of Una Ventana a
la Libertad, a USAID-funded NGO implementing a human rights
education project. They were particularly interested in his
collaboration with the USG and made sure he understood that
he and his family were being watched. He continues to
receive threatening phone calls and receives IACHR-ordered
guard visits only twice a week to monitor his safety.

-- Members of the state government accused the Colegio de
Abogados de Lara State of being part of a scheme to finance
the opposition. This was due to their ongoing participation
in an Embassy program promoting workshops on topics such as
freedom of expression and international commerce, and their
hosting the local American corner.

-- The director of a preschool in Vargas State, Queriendo a
los Ninos, which benefited from a USAID-funded social impact
project, was called into Caracas for a contentious three-hour
meeting with the national director of SENIFA, the branch of
the Ministry of Health that supports day care centers.
Although SENIFA threatened to cut off all future government
support, the community's strong reaction assured that this
did not happen.

-- During a recent USAID meeting with a group of NGOs to
discuss programs related to social responsibility, one of the
groups (which has been working in low-income neighborhoods
for years) pointed out that USG funding has become much more
problematic as of late. Members of the community have become
afraid to work with these NGOs for fear of possible
retaliation.

-- A series of workshops to promote the role of students as
facilitators of dialogue (organized by FUNDEP (Fundacion
Educando Pais) at the Universidad Central de Venezuela) was
subjected to a leafletting campaign. The leaflets included a
threat that "participants in the USAID-funded program would
be identified and judged by the university community." The
students reported that attendance at the workshops was light,

CARACAS 00002104 003.2 OF 003


but that subsequent follow-up activities in a nearby
low-income neighborhood - which had active participation by
many members of the community, thus making it harder to
identify workshop participants - was heavily attended.

--------------
NGOs SPEAK OUT
--------------


4. (C) In recognition of these and other ongoing incidents of
harassment, as well as the increasing danger that the
International Cooperation Law presents, the Human Rights
Center of Universidad Central de Venezuela hosted a June 30
meeting of local NGOs to denounce the proposed law. Father
Luis Ugalde, rector of the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello,
challenged the hypocrisy of Chavista rhetoric in regards to
the BRV's attitude towards NGOs. He aptly pointed out that
efforts to hamper the work of human rights and democracy
organizations run contrary to the Constitution and its
Bolivarian vision of solidarity and social responsibility.
Host and Director of the Human Rights Center, Dr. Hector
Faundez, countered allegations that NGOs, as currently
regulated, could operate out of view of the BRV and accept
money for purposes of funding opposition campaigns. Measures
of control already provided for in separate legislation (such
as audits and declarations of income) would render such
questionable investments rather unlikely.


5. (C) Emboffs were pleasantly surprised by the extensive
representation present at this event, quelling initial
concerns that involvement would be limited to only a few of
the more vocal NGOs. The event organizers expressed
appreciation to several other foreign Embassies for their
support for the event (which in actuality was discreetly
funded by USAID) but made a tactical omission of any mention
of the USG.


6. (C) In separate meetings, the director of Una Ventana a la
Libertad, a prison reform NGO, told poloff that he was
distressed about the effects of government pressure, but that
there was also no indication of any NGOs significantly
backing down. Rather, he was certain that the work of NGOs
would simply become more "clandestino" in nature if the law
were to be passed (which, incidently, he did not think would
happen). The coordinator for NGO Foro Penal mentioned to
poloff that she assumes the proposed law will be enacted,
making the next step for NGOs to be to register (as would be
required) and then challenge the law under the BRV
constitution.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) The significance of the International Cooperation Law,
which may or may not be passed mid-August, lies in its
representation of the BRV's continuing efforts to lay a heavy
hand on the NGO sector. Passage would create even more hoops
through which NGOs would need to jump and would allow for
more incursions into those organizations' activities. It
would likely make direct USAID funding of NGOs impossible - a
serious problem in a country where USAID, even with its small
budget, is the major international funder of civil society.
While consensus says that the myriad Venezuelan NGOs will
continue to fight for their right to carry out business as
usual, at least some level of self-censorship is likely to be
occurring even now and will increase if the law is approved.
However, it does not matter whether or not the BRV sees the
law as merely a threat or as a tenable piece of legislation -
they do not need codification of harassment in order to
effectively intimidate civil society.
BROWNFIELD