Tue Jul 17, 2012, 12:14 PM

Human Rights Watch attacks 'abuse of power' in Venezuela

Last edited Tue Jul 17, 2012, 12:32 PM USA/ET - Edit history (2)

Source: BBC

In 2008, HRW detailed its view of how President Chavez's government had "squandered a historic opportunity to shore up the country's democratic institutions and strengthen the protection of human rights in Venezuela".

Its latest report, entitled Tightening the Grip: Concentration and Abuse of Power in Chavez's Venezuela, argues that the human rights situation in the country has become even more precarious.

It focuses on the judiciary, the media and human rights defenders, drawing comparisons with the situation in the country four years ago.
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Analysis
Sarah Grainger BBC News, Caracas

Many of the cases mentioned in the report made headlines in their own right and readers will find little that has not already been said about President Chavez's handling of human rights issues.

The government's contempt for Human Rights Watch is no secret either. Two senior HRW figures were expelled in 2008 following the publication of a report on human rights under the current government. At the time, one pro-Chavez website said HRW displayed a "clear and obvious bias in favour of the opposition".

(edited because it looks like i accidentally posted more than 4 paragraphs)

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18867310

12 replies, 1590 views

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12 replies	Author	Time	Post
Human Rights Watch attacks 'abuse of power' in Venezuela (Original post)	naaman fletcher	Jul 2012	OP
Chavez Fan Club flames in 3-2-1...	Archae	Jul 2012	#1
LOL! The silence is deafening	BadtotheboneBob	Jul 2012	#2
I noticed.	Archae	Jul 2012	#3
So when they criticize Chavez,	JoeyT	Jul 2012	#4
Who said that?	joshcryer	Jul 2012	#5
A whole bunch of people	JoeyT	Jul 2012	#6
No matter whom HRW criticizes...	BadtotheboneBob	Jul 2012	#7
+1	Bradical79	Jul 2012	#11
HRW's credibility in the region took a hit with its Colombia bullshit.	Comrade Grumpy	Jul 2012	#12
I support HRW all the time. nt.	naaman fletcher	Jul 2012	#9
Are these the same people?	Bradical79	Jul 2012	#10
Whaaa - St Huguito abusing power?!1 Unimaginable!!!!!1 n/t	UTUSN	Jul 2012	#8

Response to naaman fletcher (Original post)

Tue Jul 17, 2012, 12:26 PM

Archae (26,381 posts)

1. Chavez Fan Club flames in 3-2-1...

Reply to this post

Response to Archae (Reply #1)

Tue Jul 17, 2012, 08:58 PM

BadtotheboneBob (356 posts)

2. LOL! The silence is deafening

Move along now... Nothing to see here...

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Response to BadtotheboneBob (Reply #2)

Tue Jul 17, 2012, 09:10 PM

Archae (26,381 posts)

3. I noticed.

Looks like Saint Hugo has peed in their cornflakes once too often.

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Response to naaman fletcher (Original post)

Tue Jul 17, 2012, 09:14 PM

JoeyT (4,549 posts)

4. So when they criticize Chavez,

they're telling the truth and nothing but. When they criticized Obama they were horrible liars and clearly a right wing hate group.

I don't particularly care about Chavez one way or the other, I just find hypocrisy amusing.

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Response to JoeyT (Reply #4)

Wed Jul 18, 2012, 01:22 AM

joshcryer (39,749 posts)

5. Who said that?

I think generally if you join the Latin American forum you'll find that kind of hypocrisy...

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Response to joshcryer (Reply #5)

Wed Jul 18, 2012, 06:25 AM

JoeyT (4,549 posts)

6. A whole bunch of people

when people posted links to HRW objecting to Obama signing the NDAA we were subjected to some of the silliest hair splitting I've ever seen to justify it.

So people's support for HRW mostly depends on who's being criticized. If we agree they're courageous tellers of truth, if we disagree they're a right wing hate group.

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Response to JoeyT (Reply #6)

Wed Jul 18, 2012, 07:14 AM

BadtotheboneBob (356 posts)

7. No matter whom HRW criticizes...

... I take notice. I believe they have a whole bunch of credibility. EOS

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Response to BadtotheboneBob (Reply #7)

Wed Jul 18, 2012, 12:55 PM

Bradical79 (416 posts)

11. +1

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Response to BadtotheboneBob (Reply #7)

Wed Jul 18, 2012, 12:55 PM

Comrade Grumpy (3,381 posts)

12. HRW's credibility in the region took a hit with its Colombia bullshit.

Once upon a time, HRW actually enumerated human rights violations by the Colombian state, the rightist paramilitaries, and the FARC. Those statistics--from Colombian human rights organizations--showed the state and the paramilitaries committing by far the most violations. But then, under pressure from its Western backers, HRW quit enumerating the human rights violations and instead used mushy language blaming all the actors. It essentially concentrated on kidnappings by the FARC while downplaying the systematic violence of the state and its de facto allies.

I keep that in mind as I evaluate HRW's critique of Chavez.

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Response to JoeyT (Reply #6)

Wed Jul 18, 2012, 11:09 AM

naaman fletcher (6,839 posts)