HRF to OAS’s Insulza: “Do Your Job”

WASHINGTON (May 23, 2007) -- The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) issued a plea today in the form of a letter addressed to José Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), to do his duty and act decisively about the human rights crisis in Venezuela, days away from the shutdown of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) by the government of Venezuela.

Mass protests have filled the streets of Caracas as the Venezuelan president reiterates his decision to silence a major media outlet that has existed in Venezuela for more than fifty years. Seen as the pinnacle act of censure in the Venezuelan government’s escalating pressure against privately-owned media, RCTV will lose its broadcast license on May 27, as a direct punishment for airing opposition coverage. In the words of the Venezuelan president, RCTV is being shut down due to their “coup-plotting,” “fascistic,” and “bourgeois” characteristics.

HRF’s letter to Insulza stated: “You took an oath as Secretary General of the OAS to protect and preserve the democracies of the Americas, to fight against tyranny and ensure human rights are protected. Nothing is more fundamental to human rights than the right to free expression, and yet this is what is being desecrated in the oldest democracy in Latin America, Venezuela.”

“On May 28, RCTV’s signal will cease due to a presidential order, as will any pretense that the government of President Hugo Chavez is democratic, placing the country instead on the far fringe of international norms, as well as in violation of its own laws and the principle of the separation of powers, keystone of democracy.”

The letter makes reference to the repeated insults against Insulza. The Venezuelan president has referred to Insulza in graphic vulgar language and has called for his resignation. In addition, the Venezuelan president responded to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights by stating in a television address that it was an “Immoral-American Commission” and “they can go screw themselves.”

The letter from the Human Rights Foundation takes Insulza to task for blithely responding that the matter of RCTV is “best left to the Venezuelan courts.” Today, the highest court in Venezuela declared that all possibility of appeals for RCTV are closed. RCTV will cease transmission on May 27 at midnight.

“With this act the Venezuelan president crosses the dictatorial rubicon,” stated Thor Halvorssen, HRF’s President. “It is a very sad moment for those who believe in freedom of expression and who believe in the OAS Secretary General as a guarantor of human rights.”

HRF is an international nonpartisan organization devoted to defending human rights in the American hemisphere. It centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries; HRF’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. HRF’s International Council includes former prisoners of conscience Vladimir Bukovsky, Palden Gyatso, Armando Valladares, Ramón J. Velásquez, Elie Wiesel, and Harry Wu.

For more information about the RCTV case (including a short film on the attacks on media in Venezuela) please visit www.FreeRCTV.com.


Contact: José Miguel Insulza, Organization of American States, (202) 458.3500
Contact: Sarah Wasserman, Human Rights Foundation, (212) 246.8486, sarah@thehrf.org