STAFFDEL MEACHAM MEETS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 003241 SIPDIS SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPT PASS TO AID/OTI RPORTER E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/2031 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM VE SUBJECT: STAFFDEL MEACHAM MEETS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY REF: CARACAS 2991 CARACAS 00003241 001.3 OF 002 Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor, for Reason 1.4(b). ¶1. (U) Carl Meacham, visiting Staffer for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, visited Caracas October 22-24. This cable addresses Meacham's meetings with several members of Venezuelan civil society, with whom he discussed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's ongoing global study on the atmosphere for civil society and democratic promotion. Meacham also focused on strategies to address the proposed International Cooperation Law and harassment facing certain NGOs. Meacham's agenda also included an Embassy Country Team Briefing, breakfast with key members of the diplomatic community, a meeting with electoral NGO Sumate, an audience with the BRV's Vice Minister for North American Affairs, and a meeting with National Assembly Deputy Saul Ortega, reported septels. -------------- UCAB AND AN NGO ROUNDTABLE -------------- ¶2. (C) Meacham met October 23 with the Andres Bello Catholic University's (UCAB) Maria Gabriela Ponce. UCAB is in the spotlight due to its opposition to many government policy initiatives, notably changes to the law on higher education. UCAB also was an original participant in the ill-fated Electoral Registry Audit. With regards to the International Cooperation Law, Ponce commented that the original impetus for the law was the elimination of electoral NGO Sumate. Ponce continued, however, to say that with Chavez, if one NGO is bad, all are bad. "There is no gray," said Ponce; everything is black or white. ¶3. (C) Norma Perez, Project Manager for the Pan-American Development Foundation (PADF),a USAID/OTI partner, hosted a roundtable with Meacham, Emboffs, and three NGO representatives: Humberto Prado of the Venezuelan Prison Observatory; Carlos Correa, Director of NGO Espacio Publico; and Ewald Scharfenberg, Executive Director of the Venezuelan Institute for Press and Society. Meacham pressed the NGOs for suggestions in where the United States Congress might be able to help address the threat to NGOs emanating from the proposed International Cooperation Law. The short answer from NGO representatives was, in the current regime, it is not possible. All agreed the best role the United States could play in the current environment was to push other diplomatic missions to become more involved. Specifically, they named Canada, England, France, and Germany. Correa emphasized that a team effort was needed. ¶4. (C) Meacham indicated he was seeking concrete evidence to help build the case for an active posture in the U.S. Congress with respect to Venezuela's stance on NGOs. In a word, he asked NGO representatives to describe their current standing in front of the Chavez administration. Perez answered, "endangered"; Correa replied, "threatened." -------------- HUMAN RIGHTS NGOS -------------- ¶5. (C) Meacham met individually with prominent human rights NGOs Provea and Cofavic on October 24. Meacham primarily discussed with Provea Director Marino Alvarado the obstacles the proposed International Cooperation Law would present to the continued operation of his and other NGOs. The proposed entity that would catalog foreign investment in NGO operations would do more than just catalog, said Alvarado, but would regulate and hold decision-making and veto authority. Alvarado indicated that most NGOs would not be opposed in principle to some sort of BRV clearinghouse requiring disclosure of finances. What was objectionable, Alvarado said, was the concept of having to re-register before the BRV as a civil society entity and be subjected to programmatic scrutiny. Alvarado also suspects that efforts to force NGOs to "re-register" their existence would likely lead to BRV stalling tactics, forcing extant NGOs to operate underground. This eventuality would provide the BRV a pretext to say certain NGOs are operating illegally, since they were not properly registered. CARACAS 00003241 002.3 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Liliana Ortega, Cofavic's Executive Director, detailed for Meacham the ongoing personal harassment she faces at the hands of the BRV, including threats of bodily harm. She explained that the BRV is again accusing her of fabricating the threats to her and is trying to get Venezuelan courts to overturn the IACHR ruling that the BRV must provide protective police detail for Ortega. (NOTE: Provea's Alvarado believes he has not received such severe harassment because his work focuses more on economic and civil rights, not political rights. Reftel discussed a theory that Alvarado is surreptitiously receiving BRV funding not to pursue certain cases. END NOTE). Ortega added that she expected the National Assembly to pass the International Cooperation Law before the end of the year. ¶7. (C) Cofavic, the Venezuelan Prison Observatory, Espacio Publico, and the Venezuelan Institute for Press and Society (IPyS) all receive USAID funding through PADF. IPyS also receives funding from NED. Neither Provea nor UCAB receive any U.S. funding. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) With regard to the International Cooperation Law, the message Meacham received from civil society was decidedly that, at this time, the best way to help is not to help - at least not visibly nor vocally. NGOs are clearly concerned about their futures, but believe direct U.S. involvement would lead to even greater politicization of this issue and seal their fate - a position with which we have sympathy. We will continue to push the greater diplomatic community to maintain its more public stance on the issue. ¶9. (U) Meacham has cleared on this report. BROWNFIELD