Justice arrested in Venezuela – Obama administration silent

April 7, 2010 03:00


Standing silent as democracy atrophies in Venezuela is now not only immoral, but is becoming increasingly dangerous for all of Venezuela’s people.

Václav Havel at guardian.co.uk

The arrest of Oswaldo Álvarez Paz, a former president of Venezuela‘s Chamber of Deputies, governor of the Venezuelan state of Zulia, and presidential candidate, should concern the entire world because it demonstrates just how far President Hugo Chávez‘s regime is willing to stray from democratic norms. Standing silent as democracy atrophies in Venezuela is now not only immoral, but is becoming increasingly dangerous for all of Venezuela’s people.

Álvarez Paz has a worldwide reputation for being an honourable man devoted to democratic principles. He has bravely sought to alert the world to the persecution that opponents of Chávez and his regime constantly suffer, as well as to the decline of democracy in his country over the decade of Chávez’s rule. Indeed, his arrest on 22 March is compelling evidence of the truth of his testimony about the regime’s nature, and of the danger that it poses to Venezuelans, whose freedoms apparently are being systematically stripped, and to Latin American more broadly, owing to Chávez’s example to other would-be autocrats.

The seeming trigger for Álvarez Paz’s arrest appears to have been his statements on Aló Ciudadano (Hello Citizen), a talk show broadcast by the private TV Channel Globovisión. Álvarez Paz commented on a resolution passed by the National Court of Spain (Audiencia Nacional de España) about alleged relations between the Venezuelan government, the Colombian guerilla group Farc, and the Spanish terrorist group Eta. Álvarez Paz rightly called for these allegations to be examined.

But, after simply calling for the law to be enforced and criminal activity investigated, Álvarez Paz was arrested on charges of conspiracy, spreading false information, and incitement of hatred. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

The arrest is important evidence of the promiscuous abuse of the legal system by Chávez and his functionaries in order to persecute, intimidate, and silence those who criticise his government. It also corroborates reports published by international organisations and institutions such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House about the increasing deterioration of political liberties in Venezuela.

Under Chávez’s rule, a radical form of state-sanctioned lawlessness has taken hold in the country. You could say that Venezuela now exists as a “lawless legality”, a political system within which officials deny that in making or interpreting laws they are bound in any way by the spirit of justice that underpins those laws.

But the idea of arbitrary power exercised by any leader or political movement, no matter how much he or it claims to represent the poor and downtrodden – as Chávez does – is alien to all concepts of liberty. It is the legalism of the barbarian, and the instinctive political philosophy of all who are in revolt against democratic norms of behaviour.

The world must demand of Venezuela’s authorities that they release Álvarez Paz immediately.

FULL STORY



Help Make A Difference By Sharing These Articles On Facebook, Twitter And Elsewhere:

Interested In Further Reading? Click Here