Venezuela writer and intellectual Luis Britto defended the Chavez government against accusations of clamping down on press freedoms during a session held by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Iachr) in Washington last Thursday.
Following an announcement earlier in April that his government would be withdrawing from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IAHRC), Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez confirmed on Tuesday that his administration would also no longer recognise the IAHRC’s sister organisation, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACrtHR) with “immediate” effect.
Venezuelan government representatives at an Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) hearing in Washington, US, yesterday, said its claims regarding the “freedom of expression situation” in Venezuela are “biased” and “disrespectful” of Venezuela’s sovereignty.
By Joe Emersberger - Venezuelanalysis.com, May 6th 2010
In December of 2009, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) put out a 300-page report entitled “Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela” that re-hashes thoroughly debunked claims and contradicts itself by imposing a double standard on the Venezuelan government.
Venezuela’s Ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Alvarez, responded yesterday to a call by US Senators Christopher Dodd and Richard Lugar to open a debate on Venezuela’s human rights record, stating that such a move is “tantamount to intervention.”
According to an Inter-American Human Rights Commission report on Venezuela, Venezuela lacks freedom, violates human rights, represses protests, does not have an independent judiciary, and is undemocratic. However, Venezuelan government representatives responded that the report was just a political tool and President Chavez suggested that Venezuela would leave the commission.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights announced that the Venezuelan government did not violate the right to
freedom of expression, equality before the law, or private property of
two private television stations, Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) and
Globovisión.
