Human Rights Groups for Tyranny Over Democracy in Venezuela

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) support regime change in Venezuela.

They oppose Bolivarian social democracy, turning a blind eye to 20 years of US efforts to destroy it - what's going on now more intensively than anything tried earlier, inflicting extreme pain and suffering on millions of ordinary Venezuelans to achieve its diabolical aims.

George Soros generously funds numerous organizations for personal gain – HRW and AI among them.

In 2010, he announced a $100 million grant to HRW from his Open Society Foundation – on the phony pretext of protecting and promoting human rights worldwide he abhors.

Both organizations accept funding from various corporate foundations, dirty money with strings. Services rendered in return are required, propaganda substituting for honest assessments - including about Venezuela.

HRW turned truth on its head, saying under the leadership of Chavez and Maduro, "accumulation of power in the executive branch and erosion of human rights guarantees have enabled the government to intimidate, censor, and punish its critics," adding: 

"Severe shortages of medicines, medical supplies, and food have intensified since 2014, and weak government responses have undermined Venezuelans' rights to health and food. Security forces have arbitrarily detained and tortured protesters, and raids in low-income communities have led to widespread allegations of abuse."

HRW ignored over two dozen open, free, and fair democratic elections in the country since December 1998.

It wrongfully blamed Chavez, Maduro, and government security forces for violent and disruptive protests orchestrated by Washington.

It lied accusing the country's leadership of intimidation, censorship and punishing critics. Lawbreakers stoking violence and promoting sedition were arrested and prosecuted - including US-supported coup plotter Leopoldo Lopez, imprisoned, then released to house arrest, for violence and other crimes against the state, what no ruling authorities anywhere would tolerate.

HRW called him a "political prisoner" and a "Maduro hostage." AI called him a "prisoner of conscience…still being deprived of his freedom" under house arrest.

He openly called for toppling Maduro, was directly involved in violent protests. Prosectors charged him with murder, terrorism, conspiracy, incitement to crime, setting fire to a public building, damaging public property, public intimidation, and inflicting serious injuries. 

Maduro called him "the face of (US supported) fascism" in Venezuela. HRW and AI support him, ignoring his high crimes - blaming Maduro for attempts by the Obama and Trump regimes to oust him by coup d'etat, DLT naming designated puppet Juan Guaido interim president - who never ran or was elected to the high office.

AI lied about Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly, falsely claiming it "was elected without the participation of the opposition."

Candidates from all political parties were welcome to participate. Opposition ones refused, knowing they'd lose. The body is charged with revising or rewriting Venezuela's Constitution.

AI lied saying former attorney general Luisa Ortega Diaz was "dismissed under irregular circumstances." She attempted to halt the swearing in of democratically elected Constituent Assembly members – based on phony claims of unconstitutionality and voter fraud, dismissed for dereliction of duty.

A further AI litany of Big Lies claimed excessive use of force against demonstrators, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture and other forms of abuse, and use of the judicial system to silence dissent.

Security forces earlier and currently are involved in countering US-orchestrated street violence and vandalism, part of the Trump regime's plot to try toppling Maduro.

Street thugs responsible for criminality were arrested and detained. Bolivarian opponents aren't silenced or persecuted. Venezuelan courts are judicially fair.

Human rights defenders are supported, not "harassed (or) intimidated." Crisis conditions were made in the USA, low oil prices exacerbating them.

For the past 20 years, US regimes have been waging political, economic, financial and sanctions war on Venezuela - high crimes against humanity HRW and AI failed to denounce, falsely blaming the country's leadership for what's going on.

In late January, AI sounded like a Trump regime press agent, saying "thousands of people in Venezuela have taken to the streets to protest the serious institutional and human rights crisis that has gripped the country," adding: 

"Instead of seeking solutions and engaging in dialogue to address their demands, the authorities under the command of Nicolas Maduro have responded by sending military and police officials onto the streets to apply their policy of repression."

AI ignored CIA orchestrated violence, an ongoing coup attempt to crush Bolivarian social democracy, aiming to transform Venezuela into another US vassal state, wanting its oil wealth and other resources looted, ordinary Venezuelans exploited.

Failure of AI and HRW to denounce what's going on makes them complicit with high crimes against humanity. 

The same goes for US-led Western media, mouthpieces for imperial lawlessness and plunder, supporting what demands denunciation.

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