Monthly Archives: June 2010

Jun
29
2010
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Engel slams Chavez on ‘genocidal’ slur

June 29

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Latin American subcommittee slammed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for calling Israel a “genocidal” state.

Chavez, who is hosting Syrian President Bashar Assad this week, described their countries as having “common enemies”: “The Yankee empire, the genocidal state of Israel.”

U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said Chavez needed to distract attention from his own problems.

“If my country had the one of the highest murder rates in the world, the highest inflation rate in Latin America, and an economy which is expected to shrink by more than 6 percent this year, I, too, would be talking about anything but what’s going on at home,” Engel said. “I guess that’s why Mr. Chavez is attacking the Israelis and why Foreign Policy Magazine just ranked him the 17th worst dictator in the world. And I guess that’s why he’s hanging around Bashar Assad … No. 12.”

B’nai B’rith International also condemned the remarks.

“This meeting was a political move by Venezuela to form an additional partnership with another Middle East state sponsor of terrorism,” B’nai B’rith executive vice president Daniel Mariaschin said, referring to Chavez’s closeness to the Iranian regime. “We call on the civilized world to unite together and oppose this language in the strongest of terms.”

 
Jun
29
2010
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In Venezuela Twitteres, bloggers, and forum members in the eye of the justice

This blog post was written by Marianne Diaz, Venezuelan lawyer and fiction writer, blogger for Amnesty International on Human Rights issues, she focuses on gender, poverty and work issues, and freedom of speech and information. This entry was originally posted by Global Voices Advocacy.

The long wave of interventions to banks in Venezuela, has led, inevitably, to lots of rumors about which banking institution is soon to be intervened. The Federal Bank, seized last week, is the twelfth bank intervened by the government since November 2009.

A week ago, venezuelan Vice-President, Elias Jaua, declared that President Hugo Chávez ordered the Ministry of Interior and Justice to initiate a thorough and systematic investigation in order to identify the sources of the rumors about the instability of private banking. Jaua stated that generation of rumors is a “crime punishable by imprisonment from nine to 11 years” and warned that participants of “digital forums that have become centers of political conspiracy” will be punished. Meanwhile, the Minister for Interior and Justice, Tarek El Aissami, said “We are on the trail of those responsible for manipulation and terrorism.“

Likewise, the chairman of the Banking Association of Venezuela, Juan Carlos Escotet, supported the measure, and warned that online social networks “in no way can lend themselves to spread rumors that are expressly provided as a crime under the General Banking Law.” Escotet added that those who generate such information, “by any means, Twitter, text messages, or through any media” would be committing a crime. The above mentioned General Banking Law states the following:

Artículo 448.Las personas naturales o jurídicas que difundan noticias falsas o empleen otros medios fraudulentos capaces de causar distorsiones al sistema bancario nacional que afecten las condiciones económicas del país, serán penados con prisión de nueve (9) a once (11) años. Art. 448. Any natural or juridical person who spreads fake news or uses other fraudulent methods capable of causing distortions to the national bank system which affect the economic conditions of the country,will be punished with prison, from 9 to 11 years.

Although it’s evident that with every right comes a responsibility, several users have manifested their disagreement with this announcement, specially because of its consequences over the online behavior, caused by fear. We may recall that Chavez’s previous threatens against those bloggers who published information about the black market of dollar in Venezuela, led to the self-shutdown of the most popular blogs on the subject in the country. However, the venezuelan twitter community remains very unpleased with this measure.

Apparently, it’s not the law itself what is bugging twitterers and bloggers, but the government’s alleged disproportion in choosing which behaviors apply it to, and that it seems that lately, citizen’s online behavior is more of a concern than hunger, poverty and insecurity. However, it might be the suitable moment to remember that several websites, such as Noticiero Digital, already had policies regarding suspension of their forum users who speaked about banking rumors.

If anything, this isn’t the first time something similar happens. Last year, in Guatemala, a citizen was arrested for the crime of “fiscal panic“, and in Seúl, a blogger was also imprisoned for spreading financial rumors.

 
Jun
29
2010
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Chávez working to expand ties to terrorism

U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers, the ranking Republican of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, blasted Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez’s comments this weekend, where Chavez called Israel a “genocidal state” that “will be put in its place.”  Chavez’s comments came during a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is on a tour of Latin American countries this week.

Mack said: “For Hugo Chavez, nothing beats a public appearance to draw Venezuela closer to another state sponsor of terrorism, threatening the United States and its ally, Israel. This past Saturday, Hugo Chavez met with Syria’s president, spreading the same anti-freedom and anti-Semitic message that ties Venezuela to Iran. His hateful rhetoric against Israel and his unfair targeting of Venezuela’s Jewish community amounts to state-sponsored anti-Semitism, and it must stop.

“Chavez is also working to expand Venezuela’s ties to Syria, a state sponsor of terrorism. This economic relationship, however, is nothing more than an opportunity to further spread their anti-freedom message throughout the hemisphere. Chavez’s close ties to Syria and Iran give these countries a foothold in Latin America.”

“U.S. law clearly states that a state sponsor of terrorism is one that repeatedly provides support to acts of international terrorism. Hugo Chavez has done so and is a clear threat to our hemisphere. That’s why the United States must add Venezuela to the list of state sponsors of terrorism without delay, and why we must continue to stand with the people of Venezuela as they fight for freedom from Chavez’s iron fist.”

Mack is a sponsor of legislation (H.Res.872) calling on Venezuela to be designated a state sponsor of terrorism. He is also the sponsor of a resolution (H.Con.Res.124) expressing Congress’ support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan Jewish community.

Article originally published by News-Press.com