“HUGO OF VENEZUELA BARS FOREIGN AID”

FROM THE -
JOURNALS of Monte Friesner ~ Thursday December 23, 2010 >

Financial Crime Consultant for WANTED SA >

WANTED SA has learned this morning that a congress dominated by President Hugo Chavez's allies passed a law barring foreign funding for nongovernment organizations and political parties, adding to a series of measures that critics say aim to stifle dissent.

The law approved by the National Assembly late Tuesday puts in jeopardy human rights groups and other organizations that get money from abroad, providing for fines up to double the amount received.

It is one of many controversial laws Chavez's government is pushing through in the final weeks of an outgoing congress that had only a token opposition presence. A new legislature with a much larger opposition bloc takes office Jan. 5.

Human Rights Watch condemned the "Law for the Defense of Political Sovereignty and National Self-determination," saying it not only blocks funding for human rights activists but also "severely limits their ability to foster public dialogue with foreign experts who are critical of Chavez's policies."

According to the language of the law, it targets groups that defend "political rights," and establishes penalties for inviting foreigners who publicly give "opinions that offend institutions of the state" or high-ranking officials. Organizations can be fined for such statements, and political parties can be fined and barred from elections for five to eight years.

Carlos Lusverti, who heads Amnesty International in Venezuela, said the law is vaguely worded and puts NGOs at risk. He said his branch receives much of its funding from chapters in other countries.

"If we're going to work only with what our local fundraising gives us ... our activities are going to be severely reduced," Lusverti said. Other warn that some groups could disappear altogether.

Chavez has said the measures are needed to prevent foreign intervention, particularly by the U.S. government and U.S.-based organizations.

"How are we going to permit political parties, NGOs ... to continue to be financed with millions and millions of dollars from the Yankee empire?" Chavez said last month.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided millions of dollars to Venezuelan organizations for programs that it says aims to promote democracy. Other groups that have funded programs in Venezuela include the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute.

The National Assembly also passed a law Tuesday that would allow for the suspension of lawmakers who leave their political party while in office. That aims to counter the kind of defections that have happened during the current legislative session, when about a dozen legislators broke with Chavez.

"They're putting a straitjacket on the parliamentarians who are to come," said Ismael Garcia, one of the defectors.

Other recently approved laws impose regulations on the Internet, bar some kinds of online messages, make it easier for authorities to revoke the licenses of TV or radio stations and give the president powers to enact laws by decree for 18 months.

Under one law, banks are declared to be of "public utility," increasing the government's powers to intervene in the sector.

The National Assembly is also discussing a measure to centralize government control over autonomous universities, and some students have protested what they call an attempt to take over campuses that have been a bastion of opposition.

Newly elected opposition lawmakers said in a joint statement that the laws are dismantling democracy and represent a "coup d'etat by the state." They called the laws unconstitutional, saying they give Chavez "absolute control."

Chavez on Wednesday dismissed accusations that the laws are driving Venezuela toward "dictatorship," reiterating that one key motivation behind the decree powers is to speed housing solutions after recent floods and landslides. The leftist leader, who is up for re-election in 2012, insists he is respecting democratic norms.

The president has long clashed with some NGOs and has called for measures to crack down on U.S. funding.

His government recently ran political cartoons on state TV vilifying Carlos Correa of the NGO Espacio Publico, depicting him with a suitcase stuffed with dollars from the U.S. government.

When Correa appeared at the National Assembly on Dec. 16, he was struck in the face with a hurled object and received death threats, according to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.

In 2008, Human Rights Watch's Americas director, Jose Miguel Vivanco, and another colleague were expelled from Venezuela after the government accused them of illegally meddling in the country's affairs.

In a statement, Vivanco said the new law "gives the Chavez government legal cover to expand its long-standing practice of bullying local human rights defenders."

The crackdown on foreign funding may also been seen as hypocritical by opposition politicians who criticize Chavez's aid to allies such as Nicaragua, Bolivia and Caribbean countries — including both oil shipments on credit and other donations.

Venezuela has apparently given its own aid to nongovernment organizations as well. The Official Gazette reported in May that the National Assembly approved the equivalent of $3.6 million for donations to "nonprofit institutions" to cement "cooperation alliances ... with countries of Asia, the Middle East and Oceania

WANTED SA kindly thanks Westlaw, Arutz Sheva, Associated Press, and all the Parties, Press, Journalists, Law Enforcement and Securities forces who have contributed to this article and their sincere opinions and statements.