[R-G] Gregory Wilpert on John Kerry's Attack on Venezuela

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

*****   A Rebuttal to Senator Kerry's Statement on Venezuela
Monday, Mar 22, 2004
By: Gregory Wilpert - Venezuelanalysis.com

Senator Kerry's press statement was issued on March 19, 2004.

Italic text is Senator Kerry's statement. Plain text is Gregory 
Wilpert's rebuttal.

_With the future of the democratic process at a critical juncture in 
Venezuela, we should work to bring all possible international 
pressure to bear on President Chavez to allow the referendum to 
proceed._

It is not up to President Chavez whether there is a referendum. 
Venezuela's constitution clearly establishes rules that must be 
followed for a referendum to be called. The president has nothing to 
do with this procedure. If Kerry has any evidence that Chavez is 
preventing the referendum process from proceeding, then he should 
spell out what it is that he has done.

_The [Bush] Administration should demonstrate its true commitment to 
democracy in Latin America by showing determined leadership now, 
while a peaceful resolution can still be achieved._

U.S. interference in Venezuela's referendum process will distort and 
damage Venezuela's democracy more than help it. If there is outside 
interference, it is more likely that the results of the process will 
not be recognized as legitimate  by one of the sides in the conflict 
and this would probably lead to violence, not to "a peaceful 
resolution."

_Throughout his time in office, President Chavez has repeatedly 
undermined democratic institutions by using extra-legal means, 
including politically motivated incarcerations, to consolidate power._

How does Kerry know that the incarcerations of some protestors were 
politically motivated? As the cases stand right now, it has not been 
clearly established that any of the arrests that have occurred during 
the recent spate of violent protests involved people who were 
innocent of all charges. As the cases proceed and come to trial, 
there will be plenty of opportunities to find out if this was the 
case. To prejudge the arrests as Sen. Kerry does, does not help.

_In fact, his close relationship with Fidel Castro has raised serious 
questions about his commitment to leading a truly democratic 
government._

If relationships with undemocratic rulers are enough to question a 
leader's commitment to democracy, then the commitment to democracy of 
just about every president in U.S. history must be questioned.

_Moreover, President Chavez's policies have been detrimental to our 
interests and those of his neighbors._

Exactly what "our interests" is is of course a much disputed issue. 
If it includes Venezuela's opposition to the WTO and the FTAA, then, 
indeed, President Chavez' interests have been detrimental to U.S. 
interests. However, many in the U.S. and in Latin America would argue 
that these institutions are not in the U.S. interest, but only in the 
interest of transnational corporations, such as the one that Senator 
Kerry's wife is heiress to (Heinz Ketchup). Besides, governments are 
not there to pursue U.S. interests anyway, no matter where they are; 
only national and human interests.

_He has compromised efforts to eradicate drug cultivation by allowing 
Venezuela to become a haven for narco-terrorists, and sowed 
instability in the region by supporting anti-government insurgents in 
Colombia._

Sen. Kerry stands in direct contradiction with U.S. government 
testimony that says that the Venezuelan government has been very 
cooperative with US drug enforcement agencies. More drugs have been 
intercepted by the Chavez government than any previous government. 
While this could reflect in increase in drug trafficking in 
Venezuela, it proves that Venezuela's government has far from 
"compromised efforts."[1]

Even the head of the U.S. Southern Command, Gen. James Hill, who is 
directly involved in plan Colombia and the U.S. anti-drug trafficking 
effort, has denied that there is any evidence of connections between 
the Venezuelan government and "anti-government insurgents" in 
Colombia.[2] If Senator Kerry has any evidence of such connections, 
he should provide them to the U.S. military so that they might be 
properly informed.

_The referendum has given the people of Venezuela the opportunity to 
express their views on his presidency through constitutionally 
legitimate means._

Perhaps it would have been good to mention at this point that the 
recall referendum was proposed by President Chavez and his party when 
the country's constitutional assembly wrote the new constitution. 
This fact directly contradicts Sen. Kerry's questioning of President 
Chavez' democratic credentials.

_The international community cannot allow President Chavez to subvert 
this process, as he has attempted to do thus far._

Without mentioning concrete examples of President Chavez' supposed 
efforts to "subvert" the referendum process, Sen. Kerry's statement 
is pure innuendo that intends to slander a head of state.

_He must be pressured to comply with the agreements he made with the 
OAS and the Carter Center to allow the referendum to proceed, respect 
the exercise of free expression, and release political prisoners._

First, the agreement Sen. Kerry refers to here was not made with the 
OAS and the Carter Center, but with the opposition. The OAS and 
Carter Center acted as facilitators for this agreement. Second, the 
agreement does not mention the recall referendum at all. Rather, it 
calls on both sides to reject violence and to support the 
constitution. While there has been some debate in Venezuela as to who 
started the violent protests, there is much evidence that members of 
the opposition sought out a violent confrontation with state security 
forces. As for respecting the right to freedom of expression, there 
is complete and total freedom of expression in Venezuela, more than 
at any point in Venezuela's history. Finally, with regard to 
political prisoners, this is a term that Venezuela's opposition uses 
for them, but one which internationally recognized human rights 
organizations have yet to adopt. As such, Senator Kerry is placing 
himself as a solid supporter of Venezuela's opposition, which does 
not bode well for future relations between the government of 
Venezuela and a possible President Kerry.

_Too often in the past, this Administration has sent mixed signals by 
supporting undemocratic processes in our own hemisphere -- including 
in Venezuela, where they acquiesced to a failed coup attempt against 
President Chavez._

Actually, the Bush administration's signals with respect to 
undemocratic processes has not been mixed at all: as long as the 
undemocratic processes favor the Bush administration's policy 
interests, it will support them. It is Senator Kerry who is sending 
mixed signals by issuing a statement like this, one which does not 
give Venezuela's referendum process a chance to play itself out, 
which makes unsubstantiated claims about the Chavez government, and 
which encourages a recall referendum even when it is not yet clearly 
established that the requisite number of Venezuelan citizens want one.

_Having just allowed the democratically elected leader to be cast 
aside in Haiti, they should make a strong statement now by leading 
the effort to preserve the fragile democracy in Venezuela._

Allowing a "democratically elected leader to be cast aside" in 
Venezuela via a possibly fraudulent recall referendum process would 
be little different from what happened in Haiti. It would destroy 
what has actually become a more vigorous democracy in Venezuela than 
ever. More people are involved in Venezuela's political institutions 
now than before, from land reform committees, to local participatory 
planning councils, to public accountability efforts ("contraloria 
social"). This week thousands of candidates are being nominated for 
August regional elections of governors, mayors, state legislators, 
and city council persons. There have been absolutely no limitations 
on anyone's ability to participate.

The only reason Venezuela's democracy is in danger is because 
opposition forces have never accepted President Chavez as the 
legitimately elected president and have tried to undermine his 
presidency via a coup attempt and a politically motivated shut-down 
of the country's all-important oil industry - an act that would have 
been considered completely illegal in any country in the world (and 
for which no one in Venezuela has been imprisoned). It is due to 
these acts of the opposition that President Chavez and his supporters 
are so suspicious of the signatures that were recently collected for 
the recall referendum. The best way to ensure that Venezuelan 
democracy remains strong is by making sure that all sides agree that 
the referendum is legitimate. This is the main reason why the process 
has been taking so long.

By issuing this statement, Senator Kerry is clearly taking sides in 
Venezuela's conflict and is supporting the opposition. As such, he is 
placing himself to the right of President Bush, who has so far only 
supported Venezuela's opposition more or less covertly.

[1] The U.S. Embassy in Venezuela says the following about the 
Venezuelan government's efforts: "Against this upsurge in activity of 
Colombian narcotrafficking organizations operating in Venezuela, the 
Government of Venezuela (GOV) has attempted to pass expansive new 
legislation, refine the focus of its small force of criminal 
investigators and public prosecutors, and worked with the USG toward 
the development of improved intelligence, investigative, 
interdiction, and judicial capabilities. GOV drug enforcement 
officials are dedicated, professional, and sincere in their efforts 
to combat narcotrafficking and drug abuse in Venezuela." The report 
also states that, "USG narcotics control efforts and programs 
underwent significant expansion in Venezuela in 2001." 
(http://embajadausa.org.ve/wwwh1695.html)

[2] "U.S. General Sites Progress in Colombia", The Miami Herald, 
October 9, 2003, Page 16A

Original source / relevant link:
John Kerry's website

<http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/print.php?artno=1136>   *****

*****    Kerry Statement on Venezuela
March  19,  2004

With the future of the democratic process at a critical juncture in 
Venezuela, we should work to bring all possible international 
pressure to bear on President Chavez to allow the referendum to 
proceed. The Administration should demonstrate its true commitment to 
democracy in Latin America by showing determined leadership now, 
while a peaceful resolution can still be achieved.

Throughout his time in office, President Chavez has repeatedly 
undermined democratic institutions by using extra-legal means, 
including politically motivated incarcerations, to consolidate power. 
In fact, his close relationship with Fidel Castro has raised serious 
questions about his commitment to leading a truly democratic 
government.

Moreover, President Chavez's policies have been detrimental to our 
interests and those of his neighbors.  He has compromised efforts to 
eradicate drug cultivation by allowing Venezuela to become a haven 
for narco-terrorists, and sowed instability in the region by 
supporting anti-government insurgents in Colombia.

The referendum has given the people of Venezuela the opportunity to 
express their views on his presidency through constitutionally 
legitimate means.  The international community cannot allow President 
Chavez to subvert this process, as he has attempted to do thus far. 
He must be pressured to comply with the agreements he made with the 
OAS and the Carter Center to allow the referendum to proceed, respect 
the exercise of free expression, and release political prisoners.

Too often in the past, this Administration has sent mixed signals by 
supporting undemocratic processes in our own hemisphere -- including 
in Venezuela, where they acquiesced to a failed coup attempt against 
President Chavez.  Having just allowed the democratically elected 
leader to be cast aside in Haiti, they should make a strong statement 
now by leading the effort to preserve the fragile democracy in 
Venezuela.


<http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0319d.html>   ****
-- 
Yoshie

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