Chavez of Venezuela expresses support for Syria's Assad

[Turborama]

Source: International Business Times.

April 26, 2011 10:07 AM EDT
Bashar al-Assad might be deeply hated by the people of Syria and a pariah in much of the world, but he can count on at least one friend.

According to a report from Middle Eastern news service Zawya, the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez has expressed his support for the Syrian leader and blasted efforts by western leaders to remove him from power.

Chavez reportedly blamed the violence in Syria on unnamed foreign influences, without providing any supporting evidence.

The Zawya report quoted Chavez as saying terrorists are being infiltrated into Syria and producing violence and death -- and once again, the guilty one is the (Syrian) president, without anyone investigating anything.” Chavez also attacked what he described western “imperialism” as the real motivation for the movement against Assad.

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/138095/20110426/assad-syria-chavez-venezuela-libya.htm

---

Riiiight, that sets the stage for where a few people I know will be performing with regards to their support of the pro-democracy activists in Syria.

[Archae]

1. I'm not surprised...

Chavez just loves autocratic strongmen, like Ahmeananutjob, Castro, Mubarak, etc.

[Turborama]

2. You forgot one of his biggest fans....

Gaddafi, who named a soccer stadium after him: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/02/qaddafi-s-friends-in-cuba/21024/

[naaman fletcher]

4. The worst of them all

although he doesn't get much press, is the president (dictator) of Belarus. Another Chavez pal.

[Arctic Dave]

5. So does the United States.

As long as they are ours.

We should be the last government in the world castng stones.

[naaman fletcher]

7. I didn't know our government was casting stones.

This seems, rather, to be the opinion of DUers, who I assume are also against when the US supports dictators.

[Arctic Dave]

8. When the president speaks up about it and codemns what other countries leaders do

I would say it goes far beyond DU. Funny how some "dictators" get a tsk tsk and other get their countries blown up by our missiles.


Yeah, I'd call that hypocrisy.

[naaman fletcher]

10. Perhaps I am blind,

but I don't see anything in the article about the President saying anything on this matter. Could you please point me to what you are talking about?

[virgogal]

3. Sean Penn will be pleased.

[Renew Deal]

6. Why is Chavez attracted to guys like this?

I think it shows how dark he is at his core.

[Keith Bee]

9. Yes

Once in a blue, even Dubya gets one right.

[EFerrari]

13. Chavez always says the same thing in these situations.

He supports the sovereignty of the country in question and says the US should stay out of it.

Every time.

[dipsydoodle]

11. Not LBN - Posted in LBN 27th March

Here's an original news item dated March 26th :

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110327/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_syria

For whatever reason International Business Times decided to reprint it 4 weeks later.

Here's the DU post in LBN from then : http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=4788664

[Turborama]

23. That could explain the lack of response when I've posted articles about Syria's brutal retaliation..

... to the pro-democracy protests and the subsequent funerals.

I said "could" because I'm still trying to figure out a reason why what's been unfolding there has generally been ignored.

ETA: I hadn't seen the previous article and this was the 1st I'd heard about Chavez' defense of Assad.

[Turborama]

24. You were wrong, actually. It was LBN worthy. It's an article about Chavez defending Assad AGAIN.

Venezuela's Chavez takes Syrian leader's side

CARACAS, Apr 26, 2011 (AFP) -

=snip=

Chavez, a close Assad ally in Latin America, criticized the "imperial madness" of the international community which, according to him, seeks to attack Syria under the pretext of defending its people.

"They're starting to say: 'Let's see if we sanction the government, we're going to freeze their assets, we'll blockade them, throw bombs on them, in order to defend the people.'

"Wow, what cynicism. But that's the empire, it's imperial madness," he said.

When Chavez talks about "the empire," he is usually referring to the United States.

Full article: http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidANA20110426T041925ZIVG88

(sanctions and asset freezing hadn't been discussed until after the massacres that occurred this weekend)

[PurityOfEssence]

12. King of the Contrarians

Ego Chavez. Still, he's done wonderful things for his people...

[EFerrari]

14. If you're leading a Latin American democracy

it's not a big leap to say any crisis will only get worse when the US becomes involved. lol

[SkyDaddy7]

15. I would not call Venezuela a "Democracy" today. nt.

[JackRiddler]

16. And you would be wrong.

[SkyDaddy7]

27. If you are cool calling a country without a...

free press a "Democracy" then I guess one can define "Democracy" to be anything one wants.

[JackRiddler]

28. As Venezuela has an active free press, I'm not sure what country you mean.

[SkyDaddy7]

29. Active "Free Press" if it is Pro-Chavez!

Seriously, why defend EVERYTHING Chavez does? Of course, he has done some really good things for his people, especially those who need help but he is ruining those acts with obvious moves to hold onto power as long as he can! That is not what the leader of a TRUE DEMOCRACY does!


If George Bush & the Republicans Party passed the same laws my guess is you would hit the streets with the rest of us! So, we should not give Chavez a pass simply because he has done things we like.


From Human Rights Foundation:
"Other human rights organizations condemning this new crackdown on independent media in Venezuela include the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the Inter-American Press Association. Since 2007, the Venezuelan government has denied the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights access to the country to monitor the human rights situation in situ. According to the freedom of expression in the world index, prepared annually by Freedom House, Venezuela and Cuba are currently the only two countries considered “not free” on the American continent."

http://www.humanrightsfoundation.org/media/020210.html


New laws governing radio, television and the internet in Venezuela "could be very dangerous," anti-censorship campaigners warned Wednesday, two days after the controversial laws passed.

"It could be a license to crack down on any kind of dissent in the media,"


http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-22/world/venezuela.media.laws_1_internet-service-providers-venezuela?_s=PM:WORLD

[JackRiddler]

32. The bias in the studies is obvious enough.

"Freedom House, Venezuela and Cuba are currently the only two countries considered “not free” on the American continent."

In that case, to hell with Freedom House. Honduras had a military coup in 2009. Mexican journalists live in fear of their lives as large parts of the country have devolved into a murderous narco-state. Colombian death squads kill dissidents. If that's (Soros funded) Freedom House's list, then it's an ideologically motivated lie. The difference between the examples they name and the worse ones they leave out is US policy.

Venezuela has an active free press. Some of that press participates in the opposition's dirty war on Chavez and yet is allowed to continue to operate.

The most incredible example is the broadcaster that participated in the US-backed attempted coup against the elected government in 2002. They conspired to set up a dictatorship in Venezuela. The incredible part is that they were allowed to continue broadcasting for five years until their license expired under the law. This is what's considered suppression of the press, in the eyes of the anti-Chavez propagandists. A US network that had attempted the overthrow of the US government would have had its executives and reporters lined up for military tribunals at Guantanamo.

The opposition owns the private broadcasters and is anti-Chavez. They have no traction with the majority of the people and no scruples, therefore they turn to fabricating their oppression for a US audience, like yourself. They find willing ears in the US government fronts and Soros organizations you mention.

Reporters Without Borders, a less biased group than the others you mention, ranks Venezuela well ahead of Colombia and Honduras in press freedom, and on the same level as Mexico. This too is bias on behalf of the ones perceived as "pro-Western," but it puts the lie to the idea that Vz is a special case. When you single out Vz for attack, you endorse in a US-sponsored destabilization campaign.

As for "supporting everything Chavez does," don't put words in my mouth. You are using cheap rhetoric.

In a world of mostly bad states, Venezuela is a democracy. Chavez has won half a dozen clean elections. Oil wealth is spent on the people, after many decades of oligarchy. The oligarchy hates that and conducts a dirty war against the government. Vz doesn't have a perfect human rights record but ranks better than some of its neighbors. There is only one reason that there is a daily bashing of Venezuela here and not of Colombia. And that is Vz's designation as an ideological enemy by the US government.

[EFerrari]

17. And you would be wrong.

Their government is more democratic than ours is. Their elections are cleaner and there is no war on labor there.

[txlibdem]

18. Truth

And the only people in his country who hate him are the wealthy land thieves who had control of something like 50% of the land in Venezuela, and other wealthy industrialists who can no longer abuse the workers, etc.

I could only hope that we had a government like Hugo Chavez' here in the USA.

[joshcryer]

20. Tell that to the 700+ kicked off of the campaign rolls in a Katherine Harris style move.

:puke:

[JackRiddler]

33. No link for your unspecific assertion means it's propaganda until proven otherwise.

[sabrina 1]

31. Venezuela is a democracy.

When you make a statement like that, you display extraordinary ignorance of the facts.

Every leader of a Latin American democracy today will condemn the interference of the US in the affairs of other countries. Latin America has a long, tragic history of US interference and support for their worst dictators and the backing of coups against democratically elected leaders. Today, Latin American countries are finally bringing their US backed regime members to justice for crimes against their own people.

The US supports the brutal Bahrain government, the brutal dictator of Uzbekistan, the Saudis, they supported the dictator Mubarak and Ben Ali of Tunisia, the Yemeni government and almost every other dictator in the world over the past six or more decades.

It's truly laughable to see anyone from this country point to Chavez for stating that the US should stay out of the business of other countries, while most Americans have zero ideo of the suffering and death and destruction caused to millions of people around the world because of US interference in the affairs of so many countries.

No one wants the US involved in their business. The Arab Spring rebellions are as much against the US, (see Egypt right now eg) as they were against the US's friendly dictators they are toppling.

Chavez is absolutely right to condemn the interference of the US in the affairs of any of these countries.

Every country, like Iraq eg, that has had any experience with US interference, shudders at the thought of US intervention. We are hated around the globe right now, sadly. But with very good reason.

[bhikkhu]

19. Term limits may be one of the best ideas around...

I think there is a clear pattern of well-intentioned people going steadily downhill under the corrosive effects of power.

[COLGATE4]

21. Poor Hugo. Still just a One-trick Pony. Desperate for international

attention (of any kind), he thrusts himself into the day's news, delivering himself of another fatuous pronouncement.

[EFerrari]

22. Yes, because he WROTE this article.

LOL

[Turborama]

25. Chávez defendió a Assad y dijo que en Siria hay infiltrados para generar violencia

26/04/11 - 11:57
El presidente venezolano saludó a su par sirio y le envió su apoyo. Y criticó la "locura imperial" de la comunidad internacional. Cientos de sirios murieron por la brutal represión del gobierno a las marchas en su contra.

El presidente venezolano, Hugo Chávez, volvió a desatar la polémica al denunciar que el gobierno de Siria, en el ojo de la tormenta por la brutal represión que viene ejerciendo sobre las manifestaciones populares en su contra, es víctima de un complot para justificar futuras acciones en su contra.

"Desde acá saludamos al presidente Bachir Assad. Están infiltrando terroristas en Siria y bueno, produciendo violencia y muertos y, una vez más, el culpable es el presidente, sin que nadie investigue nada", advirtió Chávez anoche en el Palacio de Miraflores, luego de encabezar una reunión del Consejo de Ministros.

De acuerdo con el mandatario, el objetivo de las potencias occidentales es buscar pretextos para promover sanciones, congelar bienes y atacar a Damasco. EN ese sentido, criticó la "locura imperial" de la comunidad internacional.

Full article: http://www.clarin.com/mundo/Chavez-Assad-Siria-infiltrados-violencia_0_469753241.html

---

Google Chrome translation...

Assad defended Chávez and said that in Syria there infiltrators to provoke violence
26/04/1911 - 11:57

Venezuelan President greeted his two Syrian and sent their support. And he railed against the "imperial madness" of the international community. Hundreds of Syrians were killed by the brutal government crackdown on the demonstrations against him.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez again sparked controversy by denouncing the government of Syria in the eye of the storm by the brutal repression that has been practicing on the popular demonstrations against him, a victim of a plot to justify future actions against him.

"From here I salute President Bashir Assad.'re Infiltrating terrorists in Syria and well, resulting in violence, death and, once again, the culprit is the president, no one investigate anything," Chávez warned last night at the Palacio de Miraflores, then to head a Cabinet meeting.

According to the president, the objective of the Western powers are seeking pretexts to promote sanctions, freeze assets and to attack Damascus. In that sense, criticized the "imperial madness" of the international community.

Full article: http://www.clarin.com/mundo/Chavez-Assad-Siria-infiltrados-violencia_0_469753241.html

[Turborama]

26. BBC from today: "On Monday, President Chavez expressed his support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad

, blaming "terrorists" for the protests in the town of Deraa."


Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13203703

[Diclotican]

30. Turborama

Turborama

I feel sorry for mr Assad this days.. He was a man who never really wanted all this power he got when his dad made he his "crown prince" of sorts.. He was, as I know it, a rather decent doctor, who had a living practice, and was known as a quiet, decent doctor who did good in his profession... He was never really happy about his rice to power, and if he had the chance, he would be happy go back to his profession rather than sit on the guilded prison he are in now...

On the other hand, he have to play a dangrous cat and mouse game between the different interst in Syria.. And also the powers outside his country, who would love to destroy what Syria are today.. Not just US and the Western powers, but also the extrems in arabic country, who hate the Assad government more than they hate the West.. Syria are one of the few country in the region, where you can worship your religion in peace, as long as you dosen't want political power. If you just play by the rules, you can worship judaism, cristianity in its different forms, islam, and even some old religions who are older than judaism and christianity.. And the antiqity, and the respct for the past, is far better preserved in Syria than in secular Tyrkey, where a lot of ancient history, and also bysantium history, and the different cultures who had made Turkey posible is repressed or tried destroyed from the face of the Earth

Syria, under the Assads is not that bad as many belive it to be, as long as you keep yourself from politic.. But of course Syria are in desperate need of MODERNIZERING, and a more open country is absolutely a must for the future... But compared to the rest of the near-middle east, even Syria of today, is far better off, than most of the rest...

But Syria have a lot of problems, who have to be solved if Syria have to be modernized as a country.. Mr Assad is maybe not the most dangrous man in this plot.. The different Security apparatours, some who are more or less outside government control are far more dangrous than the legit government of Syria.. Assad have at least told the world, he want to reform... That is far more than most of the Arab world is telling..

But Syria is a great distraction for what is happening in the rest of the arab world, where government after government are trying their best to quell every chance of a democratic future in the arab world... That be from the government itself, or from organisastions who want a "pure islamic understanding".. Democracy and liberty for all, have a dangrous life in the arabic world, and it is more than posible, that it can be killed off, long before it can make roots

Diclotican