PANAMA: CHAVEZ'S CLOSURE OF RCTV "SOVEREIGN"

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000901 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2017 TAGS: PREL PHUM ENRG ECON OAS VE PM SUBJECT: PANAMA: CHAVEZ'S CLOSURE OF RCTV "SOVEREIGN" DECISION, CANNOT "JUDGE" Classified By: Ambassador William A. Eaton. Reason: 1.4 (d) -------------- -------------- Decision to Close RCTV "Sovereign," Cannot be Judged -------------- -------------- ¶1. (U) "The decision to not renew RCTV's concession was a sovereign decision of the Government of Venezuela," Panamanian President Martin Torrijos told the press on May 25 during a press conference in Brazil. "Neither Panama nor any other country can judge whether or not the application of other countries' judicial norms constitutes a violation of human rights," First VP and FM Samuel said on May 30. Continuing, Lewis added, "Determining whether the refusal to renew a frequency concession constitutes a violation of human rights is not something that is not the responsibility of Panama or of the Organization of American States (OAS)." Repeatedly, Lewis has stated that neither RCTV nor the issue of press freedoms in Venezuela will be on "the agenda" of the OAS General Assembly that Panama will host June 3-5. -------------- -- "We are the hosts . . . and need to be careful" -------------- -- ¶2. (C) "We are the hosts of the OAS General Assembly, and we need to be careful about how we handle the RCTV issue and Venezuela," Lewis told Ambassador on the margins of a breakfast at Lewis' residence on May 31. "We cannot put Panama in the position of commenting on internal decisions such as Chavez's with respect to RCTV. We cannot come out and support RCTV." Lewis underscored twice that Panama was striving to maintain the focus on the this OASGA's theme of energy for development and opportunities in Panama. Panama had managed preparations for the OASGA to avoid conflict between the U.S. and Venezuela. By pursuing the theme of energy for development -- especially with the inclusion of discussion of alternative fuels such as ethanol, something anathema to oil rich Venezuela -- Lewis asserted that Panama had successfully diverted any pre-OASGA tension from a U.S.-Venezuela dynamic to a dynamic in which Venezuela had to wrestle with its own neighbors who had major interests in ethanol, most notably Brazil. Pressed as to why Panama embraced Chavez's action rather than tout its own experience regarding the need to defend freedom of expression as it emerged from dictatorship, Lewis said, "We cannot pat ourselves on the head and say how attractive our daughter has become." Should this issue arise during the Secretary's press availability with President Torrijos, Lewis instead asked that the U.S. draw attention to the important role protection of freedom of expression had in Panama restoration of democracy. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶3. (C) Torrijos and Lewis have gotten themselves into a jam with its remarks defending Chavez's closure of RCTV. We can only speculate whether Torrijos' and Lewis' remarks were the price that Panama agreed to pay to avert a Chavez visit to the OASGA. Domestically, Torrijos and Lewis have taken a beating as civic organizations, chambers of commerce, and press associations in addition to political leaders from across the opposition spectrum have roundly criticized them for their fickle posture on this matter. Many such commentators have questioned whether Torrijos' and Lewis' lackluster defense of freedom of expression suggests that the governing Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) has really come that far from its dictatorial roots. This issue may continue to resonate internally as opposition leaders raise the specter of a "civil dictatorship" by the PRD that dominates Panama's governmental institutions. Lewis clearly is desperate for a successful OASGA to the point of vainly hoping that the RCTV issue and Venezuela do not cast a shadow across the OASGA's proceedings. EATON