MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Human rights group accuses Chavez of growing “intolerance”

Jose Vivanco, Americas director for Human Rights Watch

The Venezuelan government's expulsion of two Human Rights Watch staff underscores the President Hugo Chávez administration's increasing intolerance of dissenting views, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.

The government expelled José Miguel Vivanco, Americas' director at Human Rights Watch, and Americas deputy director Daniel Wilkinson on Wednesday hours after they held a news conference in Caracas to present a report that describes how the government of President Hugo Chávez has weakened democratic institutions and human rights guarantees in Venezuela. The 230-page report, "A decade under Chavez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela", examines the impact of the Chávez presidency on the courts, the media, organized labor, and civil society. The report documents how the extraordinary opportunity to shore up the rule of law, and strengthen the protection of human rights presented by the enactment of a new constitution in 1999, has since been largely squandered. Among other things, the report found that the government had undermined freedom of expression, expanding penalties for speech offenses, and intimidating critics. "President Chávez's expulsion of Human Rights Watch's team is further evidence of Venezuela's descent into intolerance," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "Chávez may have kicked out the messenger, but he has only re-enforced the message – civil liberties in Venezuela are under attack." Vivanco and Wilkinson were intercepted on the night of September 18 at their hotel in Caracas and handed a letter accusing them of anti-state activities. Their cell phones were confiscated and their requests to be allowed to contact their embassies were denied. They were put into cars, taken to the airport and put on a plane to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where they landed Friday morning. On Thursday evening Venezuelan Foreign Affairs minister Nicolas Maduro announced that Mr. Vivanco and Mr. Wilkinson would not be allowed to return to Venezuela for having committed "serious violations" to the Constitution and norms which regulate the passage through Venezuela of migrants "as tourists". "Today Mr. Vivanco called a press conference and in an abusive and coarse manner vilipended the institutions of Venezuelan democracy", said Maduro who also admitted that at that moment the two HRW officials were outside of Venezuelan air space". Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization and does not accept any government funds, directly or indirectly.