ON THE DEATH OF THE VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ/NO HERO/NO DICTATOR
It’s the same North American Empire
But we are glad, that that one is no more
Adios Signor Bush
Quote from Chavez on the election victory of President Obama 2008
”I have said it already, I am convinced that the way to build a new and better world is not capitalism. Capitalism leads us straight to hell.”
BRAINY QUOTE/QUOTES HUGO CHAVEZ
http://www.brainyquote.com/ quotes/quotes/h/ hugochavez177590.html
”“The Devil is right at home. The Devil, the Devil himself, is right in the house. And the Devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the Devil came here. Right here. And it smells of sulphur still today. Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the Devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world.” – on George W. Bush, who appeared before the UN General Assembly a day earlier in 2006.
CNN
ON ”DEVIL” GEORGE W BUSH AND MORE: FAMOUS QUOTES BY HUGO CHAVEZ
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/on- devil-george-w-bush-and-more- famous-quotes-by-hugo-chavez/ 376954-2.html
“Christopher Columbus was the spearhead of the biggest invasion and genocide ever seen in the history of humanity.”
CNN
ON ”DEVIL” GEORGE W BUSH AND MORE: FAMOUS QUOTES BY HUGO CHAVEZ
Dear Readers,
It was to be expected,that the death[1] of the colourful Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez [2] caused passionate reactions by friend or enemy.
His Western political adversaries emphasized his ”dictatorship” and oppression
of the freedom of opinion [3], a critic, that is partly shared by human rights organisation
Human Rights Watch [4]
Chavez leftist supporters [publicists/organisations] and politicians like Latin American leaders like Fidel Castro [Cuba], Morales [Bolivia] and Correa [Ecuador, who granted
Julian Assange political asylum], admired his social engagement and anti imperialism [5], which sometimes led to exaggerated admiration
Chavez was also praised by politicians, who had their own reason to be anti Western, like
the Iranian president Ahmadinejad, the Surinam president and ex dictator D Bouterse [6] and
the president of Belarus, Lukashenko [all the three were present at Chavez’ funeral]
The Western hostility, bitterness and cynism was predictable, since Chavez was not only a yearlong critic of the American and Western/Israeli allies political and military conduct, with regard to Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza etc [7], but also a critic of the capitalistic system,
which he regarded as the root of Evil [8]
FROM IDOLIZATION TO CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
THE SNOWWHITE EFFECT
It’s unavoidable, that a political leader like Chavez, defender of the rights of the poor [9],
challenger of the USA [10] and famous because of his fierce speeches and quotes [11], provoked passionate reactions, pro or contra.
I already mentioned the exaggeration, as well on pro and contra Chavez side
For the Western politicians, especially the American president Obama [12] he was a
tyrant, who bought popularity with his social programs
For his leftist admirors he was a kind of saint [13], often without any critical remarks on his
policy in Venezuela or his bizarre choice of political friends like the Surinam president and ex dictator D Bouterse [14], the president of Belarus, Lukashenko, the Syrian president Assad,
former dictator Kaddafi etc
Now it is cancelled [15], but there was a plan to display Chavez permanently in a glass coffin [16], which is very bizarre
Who is Chavez?
Snowwhite? [17]
President Ahmadinejad [Iran] made it even worse by stating, that Chavez ”will return”
on the according to Biblical traditions [and Islamic and Jewish] coming End of Times [Last Judgment] together with Jesus and the Mehdi [18]
Some bizarre idolization………………..
However, to do right on Chavez, one needs to look ”with your feet on the ground” at the different aspect of his policy, considering the
way he rised to political power, his social policy, his anti imperialism and the choice of his international
political friends.
BACKGROUND
CHAVEZ
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Chavez, born in 1954 as the son Indian parents, who were class teachers, had a military background.
He entered military service upon his graduation from the Venezuelan Academy of
Military Sciences in 1975.
Thereafter he held a variety of post, command and staff positions.
His military career would last untill 1992 [19]
During his military career he would develop a growing dislike of corruption among the military hierarchy [and later political corruption too] and
torture like methods of the army, especially in the ”war against terrorism” 1976-1977 style in the combat against leftist guerilla groups
His first assigment was as a commander of a communications platoon attached to
a counter-surgery force-the Manuel Cedeno Mountain Infantry Batallion, headquartered
in Barinas and Cumana in 1976, it was tasked with suppressing a guerilla insurgency staged
by the Red Flag Party. [20]
In 1977 Chavez was appointed as a communications officer at the Center of Tactical Operations in San Mateo, it was there that Chavez first received first hand and hands-on
experience in counter surgency tactics [21]
It was then [during that 1977 period], that he developed sympathy for leftist guerilla
groups like the Red Flag Party [22], due to his dislike of military corruption, military torture methods in the struggle against guerilla movements, as he saw in the case of Red Flag [23] and the inequality between the rich and the poor despite the big oil profits.[24]
In 1977, he founded a revolutionnary movement within the armed forces, the Venezuelan
People’s Liberation Army [ELPV],
which was followed by the Bolivarian Revolutionary Army, later redesigned the Revolutionary
Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200] [25]
In 1992 he committed a failed coup [26], trying to overthrow the government of
president Carlos Andres Perez, was convicted and pardoned by Perez’ successor, president Rafael Caldera.[27]
PRESIDENCY OF CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ
Of course there is never a justification for a military coup, but it needs to be said, that
there was nothing good to tell about the presidency of Perez [28]
I already mentioned army torture practices against leftist guerilla groups, for which he was responsible during his first government period [1974-1979] [29]
But there is more to it:
During his anti neo liberal 1988 election campaign for his second predicency, he described the
IMF as ”a neutron bomb that killed people, but left buildings standing” and said that World
Bank economists were ””genocide workers in the pay of economic totalitarianism” [30]
However, when he came to power, he accepted an IMF [International Monetary Fund
proposal known as the Washington consensus [31]
The implementation of those neoliberal reforms, and in particular the liberalisation of petrol prices, which caused an immediate increase in the cost of petrol to consumers and rises in fares on public transport, resulted to mass protests in Caracas [capital of Venezuela].
Pérez crushed the protest with the national guard, causing a large number of deaths—estimates range from 500 to 3000, which made him a mass murderer. [32]
The state of emergency was declared.
The mass protest is now referred to as the Caracazo [33]
He never faced any charges for torrure [34] or the Caracazo mass murder [35], but he
was impeached in 1993 because of charges of corruption [36]
His trial concluded in May 1996, and he was sentenced to 28 months in prison [37]
PRESIDENT CHAVEZ ”EL COMMANDANTE”
Back to Chavez.
Chavez has been in power as a president from 1999 till 2013, by winning
the elections again and again, with a short interruption of several days due to a US backed anti Chavez right wing coup in 2002 [38]
After being released from prison in 1994, he founded a socialist political party ”the Fifth Republican Movement” [39]
He joined the Venezuelan elections in 1998 [40], to be chosen as a president
His inauguration took place at 2 february 1999 [41]
In 1999 he subsequently introduced a new constitution, which provided guarantees of social justice, increased the rights of marginalized people, the possibility of referenda and the accountability of politicians. [42] and was reelected in 2000.
Despite his anti imperialist and revolutionary rhetoric, at first his reform policy was moderate, by appointing some conservative, centrist and centre-right figures to government positions as well
On the other hand, from the beginning he started his social welfare program, repairing
roads and hospitals, offer free medical care and vaccinations, and sell food at cheap prices.[43]
However, the moderate policy turned out to be radical after 2002, with a coup against his
government [44] after he had tried to impose partly control over de State Oil Company,
Petrolos de Venezuela [45]
However without any result, because after driven out initially, he regained power within four days thanks to
mass protests of his supporters [46]
He had to fulfill an important task yet, to the regret of the Venezuelan rich and the USA.
CHAVEZ
SOCIAL CHANGES
BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION
”He will be remembered as a man who lived and died for his people, as a paratrooper, a tank commander, a president. Hasta siempre Comandante. Presente.”
George Galloway, British leftist politician and activist, at the death of Chavez
Was Chavez a man, ”who lived and died for his people” , as George Galloway states
rather pathetically [47] and did he really deserve such admiration and praise [I ignore Galloway’s military terms]?
Yes, his achievements with regard to social programs were great, although he didn’t want
to end capitalism in Venezula [48], but that’s another story.
However under his government, human rights violations took place.
But before mentioning that, first the social changes under Chavez.
After the anti Chavez coup d’etat of 2002, the real work could begin.
Out of admiration for the Latin American independence fighter Simon Bolivar [49], Chavez called his social reform program the Bolivarian Revolution [50]
The Bolivarian Revolution contains among else
South American economic and political sovereignty [51], which resulted in the
foundation of the Bolivarian Alliance [52]
In 2005,Chavez called the whole concept of the Bolivarian Revolution
”Socialism of the 21 Centrury” [53] and in 2007, Chavez party
the Fifth Republican Movement, would be fused with other social movements into the
United Socialist Party of Venezuela [54]
But the principles remained the same:
Social justice and anti imperialism
CHAVEZ CHANGES IN VENEZUELA/THE BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION
The Bolivarian Revolution, as founded by Chavez, has as main components social
changes, anti imperialism and South American economic and political sovereignity [55]
However, as far as it went, it’s goal was not abolition of the capitalistic system [56]
Venezuela is largerly dependent of its oil productivity [57]
Therefore it’s of great importance, who controls the oil business.
One of the most important meaures, Chavez took was placing the state oil
company under direct State control.
Untill then it had operated autonomously, like any other multinational [58]
This was crucial, because the financing of the social programs was made possible by the
oil revenues [59]
He also promoted land reforms and nationalized several other key industries.
Free medical care, low food prizes, registration for the poor to use the right to vote,
programs for education, housing and clean water, it all happened. [60]
The social programs or ”Bolivarian Missions”
Chavez is to be applauded for the social programs he developed to create a society
with more social and economic equality.
His social programs, also called ”Bolivarian Missions” [driven by rank and file organizarions][61], contained reforms in
health care, education and housing.
The Bolivarian programs had several names:
Mission Robinson, Mission Ribas, Mission
Sucre [Education], Mission Energia [Environment], Mission Mercal [Food and Nutrition],
Mission Barrio Adentro [Healthcare], Mission Habitat [Housing], Mission Identification [provision of a national identity card for access to social programs], Mission Guaicaipuro
[land titles and human rights of indigenous people], Mission Zamora [Land reform], Mission Vuelta al Campo [plan to encourage poor and unemployed Venezuelans to return to the countryside], Mission Arbol [Plan to recover Venezuelan forests by planting 100 000
trees in five years] [62]
All those missions were of high benefit to the poor [63]
Poverty has been reduced from 70.8 per cent [1996] to 21 per cent [2010] [64]
In 1995, the number of poor in Venezuela was 55 per cent.
By 2009, this came down to 25 per cent.
When Chavez came to power, the unemployment rate in Venezuela was 15 per cent.
By 2009, it was down to 7.8 per cent. [65]
Now a great deal of the poor population could lead a dignified life [66]
Venezuela today has the fairest income distribution in Latin America
ANTI IMPERIALISM
Anti imperialism was an important component of the Bolivarian revolution.
Above all, Chavez was a courageous challenger of the USA [67], being the only Superpower
in the world and the most powerful imperialist country.
His goal was to free as well Venezuela, South America and also the rest of the
world from the USA/Western imperialist influence.
His fight against the USA started with his anti imperialist election manifesto [68]
Of course the conflict was intensified by the nationalization of the Venezuelan State oil company, not exactly the fullfilment of the dream of neo liberal capitalist USA.
And the clashes between Chavez and the West/USA would go on.
On international level he criticized passionately and fiercely the American war against Afghanistan [2001], calling it ”fighting terrorism with terrorism” [69] and as to
be expected, the American attack against Iraq [70]
His speeches against the USA were fierce and passionate, his quotes
against the US president Bush legendaric [71]
When the black US president B Obama won the 2008 elections, he was one of the few political leaders, who didn’t give in to the Obama change euphoria, which had misled
some progressive people and activists also.
He declared, that it was still the same North American Empire [72] , which was shared by some
few people and organisations [73], who saw through the Obama euphoria
Chavez fought US/Western imperialism and it were not just words.
He tried to make South America more independent from US influence by founding
the Bolivarian Alliance [74] and had close ties with leftist South American countries like
Bolivia, Ecuador and also Cuba [75]
THE BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION/REPRESSION/CLASHES WITH INDIGENOUS RIGHTS
It is with a reason, when I called the Bolivarian Revolution ”Chavez changes”
Because however genuine the intentions, in fact the changes were decided by
Chavez and his political top.
When independent and autonomous initiatives from the underside of society [the poor] didn’t fit in the Chavez plan, he showed another, less pleasant side, which turned out to be repressive.
Violent police conduct against leftist or right wing demonstrators, brutal repression
of prison uprisings [76] and still worse, misuse of power against indigenous people,
took place.
Land rights of indigenous communities versus economic interests
The misuse of power against indigenous people was rooted in economic interests, which
clashed with their rights, that were not only guaranteed by the
Constitution, but also were one of the ”Bolivarian Missions”, called ”Mission Guaicaipuro” [77]
Since November 13, 2003 when President Hugo Chavez announced the increase in carbon exploitation to 36 million metric tons per year in the territories inhabited by different native ethnic groups.
Consequences were, that their land would suffer due to the expansion of meg-mining
in their region, which was a huge violation of their land rights and their right on existence.
One of the forefighters of the indigenous rights, an important activist of the Yukpa
community, Sabino Romero, was assassinated at 3 march 2013, the time he protested agaimst the above mentioned Chavez measure of exploitation of the indigenous lands, leading to
commercialization of oil, gas and minerals for the world market.
The circumstances of his death were unclear
However, there was already a bad political climate, since local bureaucratic Chavist
administrators, frustrating the agreements on fullfilling the rights of the indigenous people,
played a rule and divide policy, by which Sabino Romero and the Yukpa were isolated
from the solidarity of other social movements.
And then everything escalated, with the dramatic event of the killing of Sabino Romero [78]
He was not the only victim
13 Yukpa were murdered, all of them unsolved till today [79]
NO DICTATOR
Politicians and Western media often claimes, that Chavez controlled all power and
ruled de facto as a dictator. [80]
Although his rule certainly was tainted by authorian sides, the ”dictator” accusation not only was highly exaggerated, but definitely wrong.
Under a dictatorship there is mostly a one party system and when other parties are admitted, that’s mostly a farce, like during the presidency of Egypt’s former dictator
Mubarak [81], when he would win elections with ”85 per cent or more” of the votes [82]
That didn’t happen in the Chavez era [83]
In fact, the former American president Jimmy Carter of the Carter Center [84], which monitores
elections over the world declared, that the Venezuelan election process is ”the best in the world” [85]
Another striking example, that there was no dictatorship:
When Chavez lost a constitutional referendum in 2007 [86], he respected the result [87]
A dictator would never act like that.
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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
No, Chavez was not a dictator.
However he did limit freedom of expression by taking far-reaching measures.
In 2007 he closed RTCV [Radio Caracas Television], the radio and TV station of
the right wing anti Chavez opposition [88], which was followed two years later by
the closing of 200 other radiostations [89]
The argument for the prohibition of RCTV was enthousiasm for and complicity with
the anti Chavez coup in 2002.
This is unvalid for two reasons:
As far as known, RCTV was never put on trial for the socalled ”complicity” and another mega radiostation, Venevision van Gustavo Cisneros, which was also an enthousastic
supporter of the anti Chavez coup, stayed in the air after giving support to the
Chavez government for clearly opportunistic reasons [90]
Right wing opposition or not, freedom of expression is a fundamental right and the
prohibition of radio and TV station a very dangerous measure.
Moreover, those measures can used as a legitimacy to suppress all criticism, right wing
or leftist [91].
In suppressing the freedom of expression, the most extreme measure Chavez took was
the expulsion of Human Rights Watch from Venezuela on 18 september 2008 [92]
Direct cause was a critical report Human Rights brought out, which was titled ”A Decade
under Chavez” [93] in which Chavez was accused of a political witch hunt against his
political opponents with all sort of unfounded accusations [mostly supporting the 2002 anti Chavez coup] [94]
He was also accused of intimidation of political opponents and firing them,
especially from civil service and the national oil company and
according to Human Rights Watch, critical civilians should have been excluded from
social programs [95]
The government should have threatened opposition journalists and also trade unions and
other organisations, that didn”t walk the Chavez way [96]
The answer of the government on the Human Rights report, to expell the human
rights organisation, is not only an utter violation of human rights, but arises the suspicion of closing the eyes for injustice. [97]
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SHAME AND DISGRACE/CHAVEZ FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH DICTATORS
When you enter the camp of US enemies, you meet a complicated group with different ideologies and interests.
Then it’s of great importance to choose who’s your political friend and who not.
Of course I don’t mention economical ties, which can be necessary.
However, there is a difference between polite diplomatic ties and friendly, even intimate
ties.
With regard to that, the political choices Chavez made, were sometimes good, but often morally reprehensible and disturbing.
For example:
He had a good contact with the Bolivian president Morales [98], a genuine fighter
of social equality and as far as known, a far lesser human rights violator [99] than most political leaders.
On the other hand he also had intimate relationships with notorious villains and dictators
like the former Libyan president Khadaffi, the Syrian president Assad, the president of
Belarus, Lukashenko [100], the Zimbabwean president Mugabe [101] and the Surinam president and ex dictator D Bouterse [102]
Chavez had the guts to call president Assad a ”humanist and brother” [103] and stated,
that the Surinamese people should choose for president and ex dictator D Bouterse [104],
the man, who was responsible for the Decembermurders [105] and the war crimes [106] during
the Suriname Guerilla war between him and the Jungle Commando and his former body Guard R Brunswijk [107]
Because of Chavez good relations with dictator Lukashenko [Belarus] [108]
Because of Chavez eagerness to have a good relationship with China, he betrayed the
Tibetan struggle for freedom by calling their freedom movement an example of the US
Empire going to China [109] and mentioned Tibet as ”an integral part of China” [110]
He ridiculed the protests against the Olympic games in China as added that the protests against the Olympian games in China as a ”sabotage of US imperialists against China” [111]
EPILOGUE
Clearly Chavez deserves great appreciation for his engagement with the
social rights of the poor and underprivileged and his fight against US/Western imperialism.
Few had the guts to challenge war criminal and torturer president Bush [112] in the political arena the way Chavez did.
However, bad sides of his reign were the repression of the indigenous rights in Venezuela as the freedom of expression, although he was absolutely no political gangster or torturer,
which even his adversaries had to admit [113]
International his bad sides were uttered in his friendly and even intimate relations with political gangsters and dictators
as Kaddafi, Mugabe, Assad, Lushenko and ex dictator D Bouterse and
not to forget his defense of the Chinese repression in Tibet.
Because of his repression in Venezuela and his relations with dictators I can’t give him
the unconditional appreciation many leftist organisations or individuals gave him.
But what will be kept alive in the hearts of the Venezuelan people is the
hope on a humane and dignified existence, which Chavez and his movement
have set in motion.
The best way to express the feelings of the Venezuelan oppressed are the words of Malcolm X [114]
”‘We declare our right on this earth….to be a human being, to be respected as a
human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this
earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence with any means necessary”
MAY THE STRUGGLE FOR SOCIAL RIGHTS AND EQUALITY CONTINUE!
IN VENEZUELA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD
Kind greetings
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
NOTES
[1]
BBC
ICONIC VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT CHAVEZ DIES
6 MARCH 2013
VENEZUELA’S ”COMMANDANTE” HUGO CHAVEZ DIES
5 MARCH 2013
ALJAZEERA
VENEZUELA PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ DIES
6 MARCH 2013
[2]
THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ OBITUARY
BBC
OBITUARY
HUGO CHAVEZ
ALJAZEERA
OBITUARY
HUGO CHAVEZ
WIKIPEDIA
HUGO CHAVEZ
[3]
THE HUFFINGTON POST
HUGO CHAVEZ IS NO HERO
5 MARCH 2013
THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ: A STRONGMAN’S LAST STAND
2 OCTOBER 2012
THE WASHINGTON POST
OBAMA’S ATROCIOUS STATEMENT ON CHAVEZ DEATH
6 MARCH 2013
[4]
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
VENEZUELA: CHAVEZ AUTHORITARIAN LEGACY
5 MARCH 2013
[5]
THE GUARDIAN
TRIBUTES TO HUGO CHAVEZ FROM SOUTH AMERICAN LEADERS
6 MARCH 2013
THE HUFFINGTON POST
FIDEL CASTRO MOURNS LOSS OF CHAVEZ, CUBA’S ”BEST FRIEND”, IN GRANMA ”REFLECTIONS” EDITORIAL
11 MARCH 2013
BBC NEWS
CUBANS MOURN ”COMRADE CHAVEZ” AS ONE OF THEIR OWN
8 MARCH 2013
[6]
DWT ONLINE
”SURINAME LOSES A DEAR FRIEND IN CHAVEZ”
6 MARCH 2013
|
[7]
THE TELEGRAPH
VENEZUELA AND BOLIVIA BREAK DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL
15 JANUARY 2009
[8]
[9]
THE TIMES OF INDIA
CHAVEZ IS DEAD, BUT NOT CHAVISMO
9 MARCH 2013
BLOOMBERG
VENEZUEANS’ QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVED IN UN INDEX UNDER CHAVEZ
7 MARCH 2013
[10]
”Chavez’s election manifesto was anti-imperialist, specifically hostile to the US which had dominated Venezuela throughout the 20th century.”
……
……
”Chavez scourged Bush and the US invasion of Iraq at the UN, and began to build organisations of Latin American unity linking other “new left” governments in Bolivia and Ecuador.”
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ 1954-2013
[11]
BBC NEWS
CHAVEZ’ COLOURFUL QUOTATIONS
[12]
THE WASHINGTON POST
OBAMA’S ATROCIOUS STATEMENT ON CHAVEZ DEATH
6 MARCH 2013
[13]
THE INDEPENDENT
HUGO CHAVEZ DEATH IS A BODY BLOW FOR THE POOR AND OPPRESSED THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA
GEORGE GALLOWAY
5 MARCH 2013
THE GUARDIAN
CHAVEZ AND ME
TARIQ ALI
6 MARCH 2013
[14]
THE INDEPENDENT
FORMER COUP LEADER AND DICTATOR SWORN IN AS SURINAME’S NEW PRESIDENT
13 AUGUST 2013
[15]
CNN
OFFICIAL: VENEZUELA NOT EMBALMING CHAVEZ
16 MARCH 2013
[16]
CNN
WHAT’S BEHIND THE DISPLAY OF EMBALMED WORLD LEADERS
9 MARCH 2013
[17]
WIKIPEDIA
SNOWWHITE
[18]
”The Iranian leader has praised Chavez, comparing him to a saint and saying he will return on resurrection day.
In his condolences on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad also said he has “no doubt Chavez will return to Earth together with Jesus and the perfect” Imam Mahdi, the most revered figure of Shiite Muslims, and that he’ll help the two “establish peace, justice and kindness” in the world.”
THE WASHINGTON POST
IRANIAN PRESIDENT AHMEDINEJAD TO ATTEND CHAVEZ FUNERAL
7 MARCH 2013
[19]
WIKIPEDIA
MILITARY CAREER OF HUGO CHAVEZ
Source
WIKIPEDIA
HUGO CHAVEZ
[20]
WIKIPEDIA
RED FLAG PARTY
BANDERA ROJA [RED FLAG PARTY]
[21]
WIKIPEDIA
MILITARY CAREER OF HUGO CHAVEZ
[22]
”Corruption and human rights abuses, he later said, led him to sympathise more with the guerrillas he was supposed to combat in the mid-70s than with his own superiors, and he determined to form his own revolutionary organisation.”
THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ OBITUARY
[23]
‘After intervening to prevent the beating of an alleged insurgent by other soldiers, [48] Chávez began to have his doubts about the army and their methods in using torture”
WIKIPEDIA
HUGO CHAVEZ
”Corruption and human rights abuses, he later said, led him to sympathise more with the guerrillas he was supposed to combat in the mid-70s than with his own superiors, and he determined to form his own revolutionary organisation.”
THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ OBITUARY
[24]
”After intervening to prevent the beating of an alleged insurgent by other soldiers, [48] Chávez began to have his doubts about the army and their methods in using torture. [46] At the same time, he was becoming increasingly critical of the corruption in both the army and in the civilian government, coming to believe that despite the wealth being produced by the country’s oil reserves, Venezuela’s poor masses were not receiving their share, something he felt to be inherently un-democratic. In doing so, he began to sympathise with the Red Flag Party and their cause, if not their violent methods.” WIKIPEDIA
HUGO CHAVEZ
[25]
WIKIPEDIA
REVOLUTIONARY BOLIVARIAN MOVEMENT
WIKIPEDIA
HUGO CHAVEZ
[26]
WIKIPEDIA
1992 VENEZUELAN COUP DÉTAT ATTEMPTS
[27]
”Several military bases were seized, but Chávez failed to take the presidential palace, and Pérez escaped. The plotters were sentenced to lengthy jail terms, but the president was later impeached and his eventual successor, Rafael Caldera, ordered the cases against them to be dropped.” THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ OBITUARY
THE GUARDIAN
RAFAEL CALDERA OBITUARY
[28]
WIKIPEDIA
CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ
[29]
‘After intervening to prevent the beating of an alleged insurgent by other soldiers, [48] Chávez began to have his doubts about the army and their methods in using torture”
WIKIPEDIA
CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ
THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ OBITUARY
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[30]
This cooperation with the IMF came about weeks after his victory in the 1988 presidential election, and a populist, anti- neoliberal campaign during which he described the IMF as “a neutron bomb that killed people, but left buildings standing” and said that World Bank economists were “genocide workers in the pay of economic totalitarianism”. [3]WIKIPEDIA
SECOND PRESIDENCY OF CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ
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[31]
WIKIPEDIA
WASHINGTON CONSENSUS
[32]
WIKIPEDIA
SECOND PRESIDENCY OF CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ
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[35]
WIKIPEDIA
CARACAZO
[36]
WIKIPEDIA
SECOND PRESIDENCY OF CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ
[37]
WIKIPEDIA
SECOND PRESIDENCY OF CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ
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[38]
”The coup had apparently been planned for some six to nine months. The decision to try to overthrow Chávez came on the heels of what they hoped were a number of controversial laws Chávez passed that November attempting to strengthen government control over Venezuela’s national oil company, PDVSA.” WIKIPEDIA
2002 VENEZUELAN COUP D’ETAT ATTEMPT
[39]
WIKIPEDIA
FIFTH REPUBLIC MOVEMENT
[40]
WIKIPEDIA
1998 ELECTION
Source
WIKIPEDIA
HUGO CHAVEZ
[41]
WIKIPEDIA
HUGO CHAVEZ
[42]
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ 1954-2013
WIKIPEDIA
HUGO CHAVEZ
[43]
WIKIPEDIA
HUGO CHAVEZ
[44]
WIKIPEDIA
2002 VENEZUELAN COUP D’ETAT ATTEMPT
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
VENEZUELA: ANATOMY OF THE COUP D’ETAT
THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ OBITUARY
[45]
THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ OBITUARY
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
VENEZUELA: ANATOMY OF THE COUP D’ETAT
[46]
”But within two years, he faced major setbacks as opposition to his social agenda grew, culminating in massive protests and a coup in 2002. Although the military had been behind Chavez’s removal, his replacement, Pedro Carmona, would dissolve the National Assembly and suspend the constitution, leading the military to force Carmona himself to resign. In a series of musical chairs, Chavez’s vice president, Diosdado Cabello, was sworn in as president, after which he immediately restored Chavez to power. These events took place over four days.”
CNN
CHAVEZ; SURVIVOR AND VENEZUELA’S LING SURVIVING PRESIDENT
8 OCTOBER 2012
THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ OBITUARY
[47]
THE INDEPENDENT
HUGO CHAVEZ DEATH IS A BODY BLOW FOR THE POOR AND OPPRESSED THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA
GEORGE GALLOWAY
5 MARCH 2013
[48]
” I don’t accept that we are living in a period of proletarian revolutions. All that must be revised. Reality is telling us that every day. Are we aiming in Venezuela today for the abolition of private property or a classless society?
I don’t think so. But if I’m told that because of that reality you can’t do anything to help the poor, the people who have made this country rich through their labour – and never forget that some of it was slave labour – then I say: ‘We part company.’ I will never accept that there can be no redistribution of wealth in society.”
THE GUARDIAN
TARIQ ALI: HUGO CHAVEZ AND ME
6 MARCH 2013
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[49]
WIKIPEDIA
SIMON BOLIVAR
|
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[50]
”And between 2002 and 2005 the Bolivarian process took a new and more radical direction. The state oil company was placed under direct state control. Until then it had operated autonomously, like any other multinational.”
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ 1954-2013
WIKIPEDIA
BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION
WIKIPEDIA
BOLIVARIANISM
WIKIPEDIA
BOLIVARIAN MISSIONS
[51]
In recent years, Bolivarianism’s most significant political manifestation was in the government of Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez, who from the beginning of his presidency called himself a Bolivarian patriot and applied his interpretation of several of Bolívar’s ideals to everyday affairs, as part of the Bolivarian Revolution. That included the 1999 Constitution, which changed Venezuela’s name to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and other ideas such as the Bolivarian Schools, Bolivarian Circles, and the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela. Often, the term Bolivarianism is used specifically to refer to Chávez’s rule. The central points of Bolivarianism, as extolled by Chávez, [citation needed] are: ”South American economic and political sovereignty”
WIKIPEDIA
BOLIVARIANISM
[52]
WIKIPEDIA
BOLIVARIAN ALLIANCE FOR THE AMERICAS
[53]
In 2005, speaking at the World Social Forum, Chavez announced that Venezuela was constructing “21st century socialism”.
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ 1954-2013
[54]
WIKIPEDIA
UNITED SOCIALIST PARTY OF VENEZUELA
[55]
WIKIPEDIA
BOLIVARIANISM
[56]
THE GUARDIAN
TARIQ ALI: HUGO CHAVEZ AND ME
6 MARCH 2013
[57]
”According to the World Bank, oil accounts for more than 30% of Venezuela’s gross domestic product, 90% of its exports and 50% of fiscal income.”
CNN
CHAVEZ, SURVIVOR AND VENEZUELA’S LONG SERVING PRESIDENT
8 OCTOBER 2012
[58]
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ 1964-2013
[59]
”The irony of the Bolivarian revolution is that its undoubted social advances were made possible by the rising price of oil.”
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ 1954-2013
”Venezuela’s oil reserves are among the largest in the world, and he used much of the profits to benefit the poorest Venezuelans.”
LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY
HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELA’S FIREBRAND DICTATOR
”During his 14 years in power, Hugo Chavez nationalized most of the OPEC nation’s oil industry with the aim of putting its crude reserves – the biggest in the world – at the service of his power base, Venezuela’s poor majority.”
BUSINESS NEWS
VENEZUELA’S POST CHAVEZ OIL POLICY TO FOCUS ON CHINA, RUSSIA
15 MARCH 2013
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[60]
THE TIMES OF INDIA
CHAVEZ IS DEAD, BUT NOT CHAVISMO
9 MARCH 2013
THE INDEPENDENT
HUGO CHAVEZ DEATH IS A BODY BLOW FOR THE POOR AND OPPRESSED THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA
GEORGE GALLOWAY
5 MARCH 2013
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ 1954-2013
|
[61]
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ 1954-2013
WIKIPEDIA
BOLIVARIAN MISSIONS
[62]
WIKIPEDIA
BOLIVARIAN MISSIONS
BLOOMBERG
VENEZUEANS’ QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVED IN UN INDEX UNDER CHAVEZ
7 MAART 2013
THE TIMES OF INDIA
CHAVEZ IS DEAD, BUT NOT CHAVISMO
9 MARCH 2013
THE INDEPENDENT
HUGO CHAVEZ DEATH IS A BODY BLOW FOR THE POOR AND OPPRESSED THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA
GEORGE GALLOWAY
5 MARCH 2013
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ 1954-2013
[64]
COUNTERPUNCH
THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF HUGO CHAVEZ
14-16 DECEMBER 2012
[65]
THE TIMES OF INDIA
CHAVEZ IS DEAD, BUT NOT CHAVISMO
9 MARCH 2013
[66]
VENEZUELAN’S QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVED IN UN INDEX UNDER CHAVEZ
7 MARCH 2013
THE INDEPENDENT
HUGO CHAVEZ DEATH IS A BODY BLOW FOR THE POOR AND OPPRESSED THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA
GEORGE GALLOWAY
5 MARCH 2013
[67]
”Hugo Chávez did what few other Developing World leaders have dared: he stood up to Euro-American imperialism.”
THE HUFFINGTON POST
WHY CHAVEZ MEANS SO MUCH TO MILLIONS
6 MARCH 2013
[68]
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ: 1954-2013
[69]
”Chavez had reaped the ire of the Bush administration when, during a speech condemning the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, he asked if bombing Afghanistan in retaliation was a good idea? Chavez called it “fighting terrorism with terrorism,”
COUNTERPUNCH
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
CHAVEZ. LEST WE FORGET
12 MARCH 2013
[70]
”
Chavez scourged Bush and the US invasion of Iraq at the UN, and began to build organisations of Latin American unity linking other “new left” governments in Bolivia and Ecuador. ”
THE SOCIALIST WORKER
HUGO CHAVEZ 1954-2013
[71]
”“The Devil is right at home. The Devil, the Devil himself, is right in the house. And the Devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the Devil came here. Right here. And it smells of sulphur still today. Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the Devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world.” – on George W. Bush, who appeared before the UN General Assembly a day earlier in 2006.
CNN
ON ”DEVIL” GEORGE W BUSH AND MORE: FAMOUS QUOTES BY HUGO CHAVEZ
[72]
It’s the same North American Empire
But we are glad, that that one is no more
Adios Signor Bush
Quote from Chavez on the election victory of President Obama 2008
[73]
THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF GREAT BRITAIN
OBAMA, NO REAL CHANGE
JANUARY 2009
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[74]
WIKIPEDIA
BOLIVARIAN ALLIANCE FOR THE AMERICAS
|
[75]
THE GUARDIAN
TRIBUTES TO HUGO CHAVEZ FROM SOUTH AMERICAN LEADERS
6 MAART 2013
|
THE HUFFINGTON POST
FIDEL CASTRO MOURNS LOSS OF CHAVEZ, CUBA’S ”BEST FRIEND”, IN GRANMA ”REFLECTIONS” EDITORIAL
11 MARCH 2013
BBC NEWS
CUBANS MOURN ”COMRADE CHAVEZ” AS ONE OF THEIR OWN
8 MARCH 2013
[76]
VENEZUELA 2006: CONTINUED REPRESSION OF POPULAR PROTEST
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
VENEZUELA: TWO DEAD IN STUDENT PROTESTS
2 NOVEMBER 2007
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
DOCUMENT-VENEZUELA: A SERIOUS INVESTIGATION INTO THE GRAVE EVENTS INTO THE PRISON
IN URIBANA IS URGENTLY NEEDED
30 JANUARI 2013
[77]
”
Indigenous rights
- Mission Guaicaipuro (launched October 2003) – carried out by the Venezuelan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, this program seeks to restore communal land titles and human rights to Venezuela’s numerous indigenous communities, in addition to defending their rights against resource and financial speculation by the dominant culture.”
WIKIPEDIA
Source
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WIKIPEDIA
BOLIVARIAN MISSIONS
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[78]
VENEZUELA: THE KILLING OF SABINO ROMERO
|
VENEZUELAN INDIGENOUS YUKPA LEADER SABINO ROMERO
ASSASSINATED
[79]
”That’s why there are 13 murdered Yukpa, all of them unsolved till today”
VENEZUELA: THE KILLING OF SABINO ROMERO
|
[80]
THE HUFFINGTON POST
HUGO CHAVEZ IS NO HERO
5 MARCH 2013
THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ: A STRONGMAN’S LAST STAND
2 OCTOBER 2012
LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY
HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELA’S FIREBRAND DICTATOR
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
CHAVEZ WAS LATIN AMERICA’S FAILED ROBIN HOOD
7 MARCH 2013
[81]
WIKIPEDIA
HOSNI MUBARAK
[82]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MUBARAK WINS 94 PERCENT OF VOTE
27 SEPTEMBER 1999
”While neither is a democratic contest, there is a difference — in intended effect at least — between Hosni Mubarak getting 88.6 percent of the vote in 2005 and Bashar al-Assad getting 97.62 percent in a “presidential referendum,” with no opposition candidates, as he did in 2007. ” FOREIGN POLICY
THE DICTATOR’S DILEMMA: TO WIN 95 PERCENT OR 99
13 FEBRUARY 2012
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[83]
WIKIPEDIA
HUGO CHAVEZ
[85]
GLOBAL ATLANTA
CARTER PRAISES VENEZUELA, SCOLDS U.S. ON ELECTORAL PROCESSES
17 SEPTEMBER 2012
THE GUARDIAN
WHY THE US DEMONISES VENEZUELA’S DEMOCRACY
3 OCTOBER 2012
FORMER US PRESIDENT CARTER:
VENEZUELAN ELECTORAL SYSTEM ”BEST IN THE WORLD”
”Venezuelans went to the polls on Sunday for the 15th time since Hugo Chavez was first elected in 1999: all of those previous elections were judged as free by international observers, including ex-US President Jimmy Carter, who described the country’s election process as “the best in the world”
THE INDEPENDENT
HUGO CHAVEZ PROVES YOU CAN LEAD A PROGRESSIVE, POPULAR GOVERNMENT THAT SAYS NO TO NEO-LIBERALISM
|
[86]
BBC
CHAVEZ DEFEATED OVER REFORM VOTE
3 DECEMBER 2007
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VOTERS REJECT CHAVEZ’CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES
3 DECEMBER 2007
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[87]
”When Chavez lost a constitutional referendum in 2007, he accepted the result.”
THE INDEPENDENT
HUGO CHAVEZ PROVES YOU CAN LEAD A PROGRESSIVE, POPULAR GOVERNMENT THAT SAYS NO TO NEO LIBERALISM
8 OCTOBER 2012
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
CONTRADICTORY LEGACY OF HUGO CHAVEZ
6 MARCH 2013
[88]
WORLD WAR 5 REPORT
CONTRADICTORY LEGACY OF HUGO CHAVEZ
6 MARCH 2013
[89]
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
PRESS FREEDOM UNDER ASSAULT IN VENEZUELA?
8 MARCH 2013
[90]
”Since 1961 the Organización Cisneros has owned Venevisión, the main commercial tv channel in Venezuela—best known abroad for its rabid opposition to Chávez during the 2002 coup, and ceaseless denunciation of his supporters as ‘mobs’ and ‘monkeys’.”
VENEZUELA’S MURDOCH
7 JUNE 2006
”After the Presidential Referendum of 2004, the pact was broken when the Cisneros group decided—for the good health of their businesses—that it was best to make peace with the government, a pact that was sanctified in a meeting held in the main barracks of Caracas between Chávez and Gustavo Cisneros with Jimmy Carter as the mediator. And from that moment on begins a honeymoon between “twenty-first century socialism” and this corporate gang, in which the engagement ring was the renewal of the Venevisión license for five more years—that began counting the same day that the RCTV signal ended. ”
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
FREE SPEECH IN VENEZUELA
”The analysis from El Libertario made clear that other Venezuelan media moguls, such as Gustavo Cisneros of Venevisión, also cheered on the 2002 attempted coup—as this June 7, 2006 piece from VenezuelAnalysis, “Venezuela’s Murdoch,” corroborates. Yet because Cisneros has since decided to bet on Chavez as the horse that happens to be winning at the moment, the regime has not moved against him as it has against RCTV.”
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
GENOCIDE IN IRAQ, PALESTINE’S FUTURE, FREE SPEECH IN VENEZUELA, ONE READER WRITES
29 JULY 2007
[91]
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
FREE SPEECH IN VENEZUELA
[92]
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
VENEZUELA: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DELEGATION EXPELLED
19 SEPTEMBER 2008
The same human rights groups that chastized Chávez’s arch-enemy Bush over Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay found plenty to criticize in Bolivarian Venezuela. Human Rights Watch released a statement upon his passing entitled “Chávez’s Authoritarian Legacy,” noting erosion of judicial independence and press freedom, “rejection of human rights scrutiny,” and embrace of “abusive governments.” Amnesty International has for years raised similar concerns. (See PDF of their 2011 annual report.) ”We recognize that redistribution of media conglomerate assets can be a democratization, and such principles arguably applied in the closing of RCTV, voice of the right-opposition, in 2007. But the closing of 200 radio stations in one fell swoop two years later seemed to be a stretch. Chávez also expelled Human Rights Watch from Venezuela in 2007. Now, expelling the DEA was one thing—that made us smile from ear to ear. But Human Rights Watch?”
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
CONTRADICTORY LEGACY OF HUGO CHAVEZ
6 MARCH 2013
[93]
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
A DECADE UNDER CHAVEZ
POLITICAL INTOLERANCE AND LOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA
18 SEPTEMBER 2008
[94]
‘Discrimination on political grounds has been a defining feature of the Chávez presidency. At times, the president himself has openly endorsed acts of discrimination. More generally, he has encouraged his subordinates to engage in discrimination by routinely denouncing his critics as anti-democratic conspirators and coup-mongers-regardless of whether or not they had any connection to the 2002 coup.”
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
A DECADE UNDER CHAVEZ
POLITICAL INTOLERANCE AND LOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Source:
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
A DECADE UNDER CHAVEZ
POLITICAL INTOLERANCE AND LOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA
18 SEPTEMBER 2008
”Government officials have removed scores of detractors from the career civil service, purged dissident employees from the national oil company, denied citizens access to social programs based on their political opinions, and denounced critics as subversives deserving of discriminatory treatment”
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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
A DECADE UNDER CHAVEZ
POLITICAL INTOLERANCE AND LOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA
POLITICAL DISCRIMINATION
Source:
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
A DECADE UNDER CHAVEZ
POLITICAL INTOLERANCE AND LOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA
18 SEPTEMBER 2008
[96]
” The government has threatened opposition journalists and media outlets with criminal prosecution and termination of broadcasting licenses.”
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
A DECADE UNDER CHAVEZ
POLITICAL INTOLERANCE AND LOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA
POLITICAL DISCRIMINATION
Source
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
A DECADE UNDER CHAVEZ
POLITICAL INTOLERANCE AND LOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA
18 SEPTEMBER 2008
[97]
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
CONTRADICTORY LEGACY OF HUGO CHAVEZ
6 MARCH 2013
”The Venezuelan government’s expulsion of two Human Rights Watch staff underscores the Chávez administration’s increasing intolerance of dissenting views, Human Rights Watch said today. ”
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
VENEZUELA: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DELEGATION EXPELLED
19 SEPTEMBER 2008
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[98]
WIKIPEDIA
PRESIDENCY OF EVO MORALES
[99]
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
INVESTIGATE CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTERS
29 SEPTEMBER 2011
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
BOLIVIA: AMEND LAWS FOR TRIALS OF EX LEADERS
4 MAY 2010
[100]
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
BELARUS: STOP INTIMIDATION OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
2 OCTOBER 2012
[101]
WIKIPEDIA
ROBERT MUGABE
[102]
THE INDEPENDENT
FORMER COUP LEADER AND DICTATOR SWORN IN AS SURINAME’S NEW PRESIDENT
13 AUGUST 2013
[103]
”Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez expressed support for Syria’s president on Saturday, calling him a “humanist” and a “brother” facing a wave of violent protests backed by the United States and its allies.”
THE GUARDIAN
VENEZUELA’S CHAVEZ: SYRIA’S LEADER A ”HUMANIST”
27 MARCH 2011
[104]
‘”I urge the people of Suriname to support this man,” Chavez said of Bouterse. “The Venezuelan people and my government support him.”
VENEZUELA’S LEADER PROMISES FUEL FOR SURINAME
26 NOVEMBER 2010
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[105]
WIKIPEDIA
DECEMBER MURDERS
|
”President Bouterse must not be allowed to walk away from his responsibility in the torture and death of 15 people in Suriname in December 1982, Amnesty International said today, ahead of the 30th anniversary of the killings. ”
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
SURINAME: FAMILIES OF BOUTERSE’S VICTIMS SEEK
JUSTICE 30 YEARS ON
6 DECEMBER 2012
[106]
WARCRIMES UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF
FORMER DICTATOR D BOUTERSE
WIKIPEDIA
MOIWANA
[107]
WIKIPEDIA
SURINAME GUERILLA WAR
[108]
LUKASHENKO ADDRESSES THE NATION OVER THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ
6 MAART 2013
[109]
”Tibet: The Last Straw
If Chávez fans had any doubts about where the firebrand politician stood on the question of international human rights, the Venezuelan leader has surely cleared up the confusion by defending China’s nasty crackdown in Tibet.
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
ENOUGH WITH THE HUGO CHAVEZ HERO WORSHIP
http://ww4report.com/node/5575
””The (U.S.) imperialists want to divide China. And they’re causing problems there in Tibet,” Chavez said in a speech Monday night. “They’re trying to sabotage the Olympics in Beijing, and behind that is the hand of imperialism.””
USA TODAY
CHAVEZ: U.S. ENCOURAGING TIBET VIOLENCE
24 MAART 2008
[110]
”Ridiculing attempts to protest the Olympic Games, Chávez said that Venezuela was strongly behind Beijing and Tibet was an integral part of China.”
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
ENOUGH WITH THE HUGO CHAVEZ HERO WORSHIP
[111]
””The (U.S.) imperialists want to divide China. And they’re causing problems there in Tibet,” Chavez said in a speech Monday night. “They’re trying to sabotage the Olympics in Beijing, and behind that is the hand of imperialism.””
USA TODAY
CHAVEZ: U.S. ENCOURAGING TIBET VIOLENCE
24 MAART 2008
”True to form, Chávez remarked, “The United States is behind all that is happening as it wants to derail the Beijing Olympics.” The Venezuelan leader added that the protests against the Olympic Torch were an example of the US “empire” “going against China” and trying to divide the Asian powerhouse. “America is the main force behind whatever is happening in Tibet,” Chávez said, “and its motive is to create problems in the Olympic games.”
WORLD WAR 4 REPORT
ENOUGH WITH THE HUGO CHAVEZ HERO WORSHIP
[112]
THE GUARDIAN
GEORGE BUSH CALLS OFF TRIP TO SWITZERLAND
6 FEBRUARY 2011
[113]
”Venezuela’s revolution has no gulags, no torture chambers, but in wasted potential lies tragedy. Here was a sublimely gifted politician with empathy for the poor and the power of Croesus – and the result, fiasco.”
THE GUARDIAN
HUGO CHAVEZ: A STRONGMAN’S LAST STAND
2 OCTOBER 2012
[114]
MALCOLM X QUOTES
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