US embassy cable - 04CARACAS752

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 000752 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR TSHANNON AND CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
USAID DCHA/OTI FOR RPORTER 
DEPT FOR DRL JDAVIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2013 
TAGS: PHUM, KDEM, VE, OAS 
SUBJECT: IS ANYONE KEEPING SCORE?  HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS 
TALLY FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 4 
 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS 
FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (U) Growing violence since February 27 has produced a 
sharp rise in the number and types of human rights violations 
throughout Venezuela.  Several local human rights 
organizations,  Amnesty International, and the Inter-American 
Human Rights Commission issued statements condemning the 
violence and calling on the GOV to fulfill its duty to 
guarantee security and protect the rights of all citizens. 
The Democratic Coordinator (CD) maintains that only unarmed 
demonstrators participate in opposition marches but 
acknowledges that it does not control the actions of those 
involved in spontaneous acts of civil disobedience. End 
Summary. 
 
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JUMP IN HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ALLEGATIONS 
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2. (C) Growing violence since February 27 has produced a 
sharp rise in the number and types of human rights violations 
throughout Venezuela.  Democratic Coordinator (CD) 
spokesperson Rafael Narvaez said in a March 3 press briefing 
that nearly 400 opposition demonstrators, some as young as 
14, have been jailed without due process, 36 of them in 
Caracas.  The detainees, Narvaez said, have been beaten and 
tortured with electric shocks,  burning, and 
near-suffocation.  Lisette Behrens, a CD legal advisor, told 
poloff March 2 she is helping represent six youths detained 
and, she said, subsequently tortured by the National Guard 
(GN) February 29.  According to Behrens, the youths were 
observing protests in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas 
when they were arrested.  Many detainees have been released 
and have given accounts of their detentions to the media, 
often accompanied by pictures of their alleged signs of 
torture.  Three judges who had been ordering the release of 
detainees for lack of credible charges against them were 
fired on March 2, according to media and opposition sources. 
 
3. (U) The director of the Venezuela Symphonic Orchestra, 
Carlos Eduardo Izcaray, was also taken and tortured by the GN 
March 1 while observing the events in Altamira, according to 
an email circulated by his father.  Many other demonstrators 
and onlookers have been seriously injured by tear gas, and 
rubber and metal bullets, according to the CD and human 
rights groups.  Fourteen journalists have been injured or 
attacked by security forces or GOV supporters while covering 
political disturbances since February 27, according to 
several media groups.   COFAVIC, a human rights NGO, 
confirmed March 4 that nine people have died from injuries 
inflicted by security forces.  Media and opposition reports 
list a small but growing number of people (seven) as 
"disappeared." 
 
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LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD? 
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4. (U) On March 1, several local human rights organizations 
and Amnesty International (AI) issued strongly worded 
statements condemning the use of violence by any party and 
reminding the government of its responsibility to ensure 
security and protect the rights of all citizens, particularly 
the due process rights of detainees.  The Inter-American 
Human Rights Commission (IAHRC) followed with a statement on 
March 3 expressing concern for the "serious violence" that 
has occurred during demonstrations due to the use of 
"excessive force" by security forces.  The IAHRC called on 
the GOV to preserve the rights of demonstrators, detainees, 
and the media, and to maintain public order strictly within 
the framework of human rights agreements.  On March 4, AI 
activated its worldwide urgent action alert network, asking 
network members to remind Venezuelan authorities not to use 
excessive force and to respect the right to peaceful 
demonstration.  The statement reiterated AI's condemnation of 
violence and called on all parties to refrain from violent 
actions. 
 
5. (C) The CD's Lisette Behrens told poloff March 2 that 
opposition marchers are always unarmed so as not to 
invalidate constitutional protections for peaceful 
demonstrators or give the GOV a chance to blame the 
opposition if violence breaks out.  (Comment: We believe some 
marchers have carried weapons, and possibly used them.)  But 
she admits that the street barricades and other random acts 
of civil disobedience that have erupted in Caracas and other 
cities are not under the CD's control.  Her clear implication 
was that such protests are spontaneous expressions of deep 
anger and frustration which can lead to violence, regardless 
of the opposition's policy of peaceful protest. 
 
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COMMENT 
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6. (C) Our assessment is that the GOV was unprepared for the 
length, breadth, and intensity of the demonstrations.  In the 
GOV mindset, there should not be large anti-GOV 
demonstrations, since supposedly only a small group opposes 
the GOV.  In particular, the GOV has been clumsy in 
responding to real or perceived opposition violence, and 
clearly has, in many cases, not controlled its forces 
sufficiently.  We also believe that some in the opposition 
are seeking to provoke GOV violence in the hopes that the 
military or the international community will step in.  While 
we cannot certify all the allegations of abuse, the patterns 
and trends are worrisome in terms of human rights and 
political dialogue. 
SHAPIRO 
 
 
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      2004CARACA00752 - CONFIDENTIAL