USAID/OTI WATCHDOGS START TO SHED LIGHT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000175 SIPDIS SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPT PASS TO AID/OTI RPORTER E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM VE SUBJECT: USAID/OTI WATCHDOGS START TO SHED LIGHT CARACAS 00000175 001.3 OF 003 Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor, for Reason 1.4(b). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) In October of 2005, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) began implementation of a USAID/OTI funded project to develop a grants program to support watchdog organizations. Although the Bolivarian "Revolution" is failing its citizens in many ways, there are few reputable organizations dedicated to documenting this failure. PADF has funded 9 NGOs to support projects focusing on documenting and reporting on the BRV's failures, namely: judicial independence, the right of association, violent crime, the prison situation, self-censorship of the media, harassment of journalists, women's political rights, human rights, and BRV support to micro-entrepreneurs. These are all sectors where the BRV is not living up to relevant articles of the constitution or international agreements, and these watchdog organizations are documenting those failures. These NGOs' ability to continue observing, documenting and presenting the deteriorating situation in Venezuela will depend on further funding for 2007-2008. Currently, USAID/OTI is slated to phase out this program at the end of the fiscal year. End Summary. -------------- The Observatories -------------- ¶2. (C) USAID/OTI entered into a cooperative agreement with PADF to provide economic resources to well established organizations to carry out watchdog monitoring and analysis of the real situation in nine different areas of Venezuelan life. These organizations spent the better part of 2006 carrying out careful collection of data and analyzing that information. The first half of 2007 will be dedicated to presenting that data to Venezuelans and the international community. Following is a summary of each of the projects. A full cable will be dedicated to each as the organizations present their results. ¶3. (C) Judicial Independence: The Venezuelan judicial system is effectively totally controlled by Chavez, as was made completely clear during the January 2006 state of the union address when all the Supreme Court justices stood and chanted "Oh, Ah, Chavez will not go" (the Chavista chant during the August 2004 recall referendum). Consorcio Justicia is focusing its observation on the procedures of civil and criminal cases as they relate to due process and rule of law (stipulated in international agreements such as the American Convention on Human Rights, among others). These procedures include being tried in a timely fashion, being tried in freedom, the right of appeal, and the right of a free and fair trial. According to initial information, the courts focusing on criminal and civil matters are overworked, understaffed and operate in deteriorating facilities. Individuals awaiting trial are often times not allowed to be tried in freedom, and the wait time for trials goes well beyond reasonable and the time permitted by international law. ¶4. (C) Right of Association: One of the Bolivarian government's greatest claims is that it is inclusive and participatory. The NGO SINERGIA is carrying out a study of the different mechanisms of participation in Venezuela, including the now famous "communal councils", to analyze their structure, their modus operandi and effectiveness. They are also reviewing spontaneous forms of association, such as street protests (over 1200 a year) and the BRV's response to them (violent repression of protests has CARACAS 00000175 002.3 OF 003 increased four-fold in 2006, and protest leaders are often put in prison). ¶5. (C) Violent Crime: Violence in Venezuela has increased dramatically in recent years. The security situation has deteriorated to the level that the national government has forbidden the police or the National Statistics Institute to release data on violent crime. At the same time, local offices and businesses report the government is reducing funding to local police forces. The organization LACSO, a consulting group working on social issues, has carried out a statistical analysis of the situation, based on interviews of several thousand people nationwide, with a special focus in 4 of the most important cities. The initial results demonstrate that the situation is worse than presented by the BRV, and is one of the worst in the continent. ¶6. (C) Prison Situation: The prisons in Venezuela are notoriously violent. In 2006 over 400 inmates were killed and another 900 injured in prison violence, largely in prison riots or fighting for power between inmates. This is by far the most violent prison system in the hemisphere, and one of the worst in the world (based on number of murders, strikes, hostage taking of family members, and other indicators). The Venezuelan Prison Observatory has taken the responsibility to document the violence and general conditions in the prisons, and to advocate nationally and internationally for improving the situation. ¶7. (C) Media Self-Censorship: Through the NGO Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, this observation effort will identify the level of self-censorship in the Venezuelan press due to judicial threats of closure, violence, fines and other threats. The largest advertiser in the country is the BRV, and many smaller newspapers and stations rely on this advertising to stay afloat. The BRV is using this economic lever to put pressure on the editorial line of the press. This study will be increasingly interesting in analyzing the effect of the closure of RCTV upon other media outlets. ¶8. (C) Harassment of Journalists: In partnership with the NGO Espacio Publico, a study is being done on threats to journalists. These threats include violence, telephone threats, as well as judicial threats and actions such as accusing journalists of defamation or other criminal acts. Initial indicators are that the harassment of journalists is increasing. ¶9. (C) Women's Political Rights: The NGO CISFEM is carrying out a study of the political situation of women in the country. Historically, women have not voted in the same numbers as men, nor have they held public office or carried out other public activity, likely due to the dominance of the men in this "machista" society. Chavez has promised to change this. This observation effort will qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the role of women in government and political life, as well as abuses of their civil and political rights. ¶10. (C) Human Rights: COFAVIC is one of Venezuela's most important human rights organizations. It has received a grant to continue to document and report on the deteriorating situation of human rights in the country. They will be training regional partners to produce a report regarding the violation of civil and political liberties by BRV security forces, mainly focusing on extrajudicial killings. ¶11. (C) Situation of Micro-Entrepreneurs: Over 50% of Venezuela's working population labors in the informal sector, scraping out a living selling illegally imported clothing, pirated CDs and other items in makeshift booths on the streets. This project, carried out by the NGO CESAP, will focus on better understanding the way they live and work and CARACAS 00000175 003.3 OF 003 the nature of their relationships and interaction with the BRV through BRV sponsored micro-credit programs and cooperatives. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶12. (C) The Bolivarian "Revolution" is nourished by misinformation, lies and manipulations. The state controlled media apparatus works tirelessly to confuse, pollute and distort the view of reality in Venezuela, which keeps Venezuelans and the international community off balance and confused. This project seeks to shine a flashlight into the dark corners of the revolution, to collect and document information and make it public, domestically and internationally. This will help deconstruct some of the mythology around Chavez and his revolution, and demonstrate that the lives of the Venezuelans really aren't better, no matter how much lip service is paid to their cause. It will also serve to document important abuses so that, at the appropriate moment, information will be available to judge the BRV accordingly. Finally, this project is supporting nine important civil society organizations that are authentically independent, and from our perspective are a ray of hope in the increasingly radicalized atmosphere here. ¶13. (C) This assistance effort will have to be terminated this year should no further funding materialize. In that event, important observations planned for 2007-2008, such as a study on political discrimination in Venezuela by use of the famous "Maisanta List" database of those who signed the recall referendum, and documentation of grass roots level purges of non-party members from "communal councils", will have to be abbreviated. BROWNFIELD