Venezuela: Close Chavez’s New Censorship Office

[Zorro]

<snip>

Venezuela should close a recently created office that grants the Chávez administration broad powers to limit public debate, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should also stop seeking to discredit human rights defenders and prosecuting critics.

On June 1, 2010, President Hugo Chávez issued a presidential decree creating the Center for Situational Studies of the Nation (Centro de Estudio Situacional de la Nación, CESNA), which has broad powers to limit public dissemination of "information, facts or circumstances" that it decides should be confidential.

In addition, Chávez has called for criminal investigations of human rights organizations that are alleged to receive funding from the United States. The government has also failed to provide protection for human rights defenders who have received threats and has prosecuted critics of government actions or policies.

"Chávez has created a new tool for controlling public debate in Venezuela," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "The new decree would allow the president to block the discussion of topics that are inconvenient for his government, blatantly violating the rights of expression and to information, which are at the heart of a democratic society."

<snip>

More at: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/07/21/venezuela-close-chavez-s-new-censorship-office

[Wilms]

1. This video will help in understanding what goes on in VZ.

You think Fox News is bad? Have a look at what Oligarch TV spews.

The War On Democracy by John Pilger
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3739500579629840148&ei=Gq3LSO-GLIHCjgKYjf22Ag#


Venezuelan Teabaggers want your support.

[ChangoLoa]

3. That would have helped in understanding a bit of what went on in Venezuela in 2001-2003.

I think you won't be able to find anything recent that sounds like those old TV footages from "The Revolution won't be televised" that J. Pilger retook. The situation has evolved a lot since those days.

[Wilms]

5. Good.

[Zorro]

4. So you're OK with Venezuela's new censorship office?

[Wilms]

6. Is that it's real name?

Or the name given by the right wing opposition trying to get the world to hate Chavez?

This is HRW screaming that Chavez wants to know who USAID, NED, et. al., is funding. I see he struck a nerve.

This articles alleges no wrong-doing with the new agency.

[EFerrari]

2. I'm still waiting for Jose's memoirs of Pinochet. n/t