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President of Venezuela's RCTV Network: "The Rule of Law is Disappearing in Venezuela" (Translation)
El Mercurio ( Santiago, Chile ) ^ | February 5, 2007 | Marcel Granier ( translated by self )

Posted on 02/06/2007 2:08:51 PM PST by StJacques

The rule of law is disappearing in Venezuela

Marcel Granier, President of Radio Caracas Television (Inter-American Press Agency)

The reaction of President Chavez is verbally violent and crude each time someone dares to have a different opinion.

____________________________________________________

President Chavez verbally announced his decision to close Radio Caracas Television, a channel which for more than 53 years and with the best facilities draws the greater audience, moreover of being the television broadcaster that employs the most people in Venezuela. Thus culminates a long chain of aggressions against journalists, employees, managers, and shareholders of the independent media. He is trying to limit the right to entertainment which Venezuelans like and to information they trust, impeding citizens who formulate proposals, denunciations, and demands, eliminating the pluralism of information and opinion programs, making the free flow of thought and information impossible in order to obtain a system which the government itself defines as the "communicational and informative hegemony of the state."

The 14th of July, 2006, President Chavez, dressed in a military uniform, gave a speech on the delivery of Kalashnivkov AK-103 assault rifles. Taking a rifle and pointing at a television cameraman he warned: "With this rifle, which has a range of a thousand meters, you (the cameraman) stop yourself there above and I, with good aim, give it to the little red light that your camera has." Later he announced: "It is necessary to review the television broadcaster licenses."

Other government functionaries would repeat the threats, while they praised the media that had changed its editorial line: "There are qualitative changes in the programming ... there are other cases in which that change is not observed, that rectification," remembering that the government "has the ability not to renew a license."

The 3rd of November, 2006, the President repeated his threat: "I only remember those ... who next year ... it's hardly surprising what I'm saying ... there will not be more licensing of some television channels ..."

The 28th of December, the President, again in military dress, announced that RCTV's license would not be renewed. "The measure is already drawn up, so they're going to turn off the equipment ... the license expires in March." Two weeks later, in the National Assembly, he affirmed that the RCTV license ends in May, 2007. The same contradiction over the date exists in declarations of other government functionaries.

President Chavez later began a defamation campaign against RCTV and its directors, through notices paid for with public funds.

The 13th of January, in his annual message to the National Assembly, he changed his speech anew and affirmed: "That broadcast signal belongs to the Venezuelans and it will be nationalized for the Venezuelans ... RCTV has a few days left ... they're squealing, they're stamping their feet; whatever they're doing; the license has ended."

At RCTV we had not been officially informed of anything upon which they based themselves nor of what they accused us of doing. They thus violated the presumption of innocence, there was no due process nor did the right to defense exist.

Such actions transgress norms expressed in the Constitution of Venezuela, the American Convention on Human Rights and the Interamerican Democratic Charter. They are political pressures against independent communications media, a clear example of abuse of power and a pretended legal justification never proved. Thus violated are the right to work in this media, the principle of political pluralism and, of course; the freedom of thought, expression, and information of the millions of citizens who will lose the freedom to look for and to receive information and ideas of every nature guaranteed by the American Convention on Human Rights.

A convincing proof of all this was the statement of January 8 of Andres Izarra, President of Telesur and ex Minister of Communication: "It is necessary to elaborate a new plan ... towards the communicational and informative hegemony of the state."

A growing number of union and human rights organizations are warning about the RCTV case: Human Rights Watch, Committee to Protect Journalists, Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, International Association of Radio Broadcasters, International Press Institute, Reporters without Borders, Interamerican Press Society, and others. But the reaction of President Chavez is verbally violent and crude each time someone dares to have a different opinion. He says and repeats that the decision was taken: "RCTV has a few days left ... they're squealing, they're stamping their feet; whatever they're doing, it's over ..."


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: chavez; communism; communist; confiscation; dictatorshipwatch; expropriation; freedomofthepress; hugochavez; hugoland; hugotrans; humanrights; humanrightswatch; institutoprensa; interamerican; marcelgranier; press; radiobroadcasters; rctv; reporters; scum; society; stjtranslation; venezuela; withoutborders
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To: flynmudd

"Has Cindy Sheehan been down there lately?"

It's been about a year. As I'm sure will suprise nobody here, the peacehag really likes the murderous thug and dictator: http://www.cindysheehanwatch.com/chavez.html


21 posted on 02/06/2007 3:13:33 PM PST by piytar
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To: mvpel
The leftist apologists don't care that he's shutting down RCTV, because they accuse it of sedition against the government, and thus it deserves to be shut down:

The exact same fecal deposits who enabled Stalin, Castro, Mugabe and every other thug of the last 75 years.

22 posted on 02/06/2007 3:50:46 PM PST by FormerACLUmember
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To: FormerACLUmember

Sounds like Saddam to me. Hopefully he will meet the same fate at the end of a rope.


23 posted on 02/06/2007 4:01:25 PM PST by flynmudd (Proud Navy Mom to OSSA Blalock-DDG 61)
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To: StJacques
The 14th of July, 2006, President Chavez, dressed in a military uniform, gave a speech on the delivery of Kalashnivkov AK-103 assault rifles. Taking a rifle and pointing at a television cameraman he warned: "With this rifle, which has a range of a thousand meters, you (the cameraman) stop yourself there above and I, with good aim, give it to the little red light that your camera has."

I'm quite sure that ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, etc have a good reason why they havent shown us that. /sarcasm

24 posted on 02/06/2007 4:08:31 PM PST by lowbridge ("The mainstream media IS the Democrat Party". - Rush Limbaugh)
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To: mvpel

Where's a smart bomb when you need one?


25 posted on 02/06/2007 4:21:43 PM PST by Levante
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To: Max Friedman
"Have you noticed the complete SILENCE OF THE LEFT on what Chavez is doing in Venezuela"

Is there anyone here who doubts that the left in this country is drooling in envy at what Chavez is doing? Does anyone not believe that the left would do the same thing here if it could get away with it? We see now that the left protects free speech until its in power; then it doesn't protect it anymore. The same could be said about many other rights. The left's political arguments are the means to an end. The principles upon which its arguments are based are not important in their scheme of things. All the left's political efforts are aimed at obstruction of what is not in its agenda. However, the left won't divulge its true agenda. Just as Chevez knew what he was doing, he never mentioned his agenda until it was too late for any party to stop him.
26 posted on 02/06/2007 4:23:29 PM PST by raftguide
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To: StJacques
"President Chavez is verbally violent and crude each time someone dares to have a different opinion"

He could get a gig at Err America.

27 posted on 02/06/2007 4:29:48 PM PST by BenLurkin
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To: StJacques

Hmmmmmmm....is there any way we can get the western media to pay attention to this....??

Hey, I know! Send Cindy, Harry, Jimmuh and other assorted leftists down for a hug-fest photo op!


28 posted on 02/06/2007 4:35:58 PM PST by randog (What the...?!)
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To: StJacques
Taking a rifle and pointing at a television cameraman he [Chavez] warned: "With this rifle, which has a range of a thousand meters, you (the cameraman) stop yourself there above and I, with good aim, give it to the little red light that your camera has." Later he announced: "It is necessary to review the television broadcaster licenses."
29 posted on 02/06/2007 4:48:14 PM PST by Alia
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To: StJacques
I think the statement you usually get from the DUmmie Chavistas about RCTV runs something like - RCTV has called for armed insurrection against the elected Venezuelan government in the past, so Chavez has every right to shut it down.
30 posted on 02/06/2007 5:01:04 PM PST by conservative in nyc
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To: StJacques

Thanks...


31 posted on 02/06/2007 5:04:41 PM PST by shield (A wise man's heart is at his RIGHT hand; but a fool's heart at his LEFT. Ecc 10:2)
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To: samson1097

Pelosi and Kennedy would never allow such a provocative act against a peace-loving, socialist dict...er...democracy!


32 posted on 02/06/2007 5:25:33 PM PST by Redleg Duke (Heaven is home...I am just TDY here!)
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To: piytar

"Has Cindy Sheehan been down there lately?"

Oh yea...she's been down there...


33 posted on 02/06/2007 5:28:46 PM PST by maxsand
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To: raftguide
". . . The left's political arguments are the means to an end. The principles upon which its arguments are based are not important in their scheme of things. All the left's political efforts are aimed at obstruction of what is not in its agenda. . . ."

Precisely!

I have always noticed how there is a sub-culture of symbolic communication among the left in which they silently express their real intentions to each other. In Latin America they promise "to establish a genuine system of information in the name of the people, not the powerful," which is code for "we're going to make sure that everyone sees what we want them to see and nothing more." I saw how Lopez Obrador made the promise in Mexico speaking outside the supreme electoral tribunal (TEPJF) when he said that "the people are not hearing the truth, we're going to reform institutions so that the people hear the truth and know the truth." What he was really saying is "once we get in we're going to make our story becomes the only one that MUST be told."

The left represent the continuing predeliction among human beings to enslave their fellow man so as to control their ideas. They've never been anything more than that since the dawn of the twentieth century, if not earlier.
34 posted on 02/06/2007 5:53:57 PM PST by StJacques (Liberty is always unfinished business)
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To: StJacques

Why would anyone buy gas from Citgo? Why?? I have not bought gas from any Citgo station in nearly a year. I know it is not the station owners fault, but they need to find another business. Citgo needs to be put out of business in this nation. I don't care if the rest of the world buys this dictators gas, we should not. And people that work at Citgo stations should try to find a job elsewhere. It doesn't matter whether it makes a dent in their overall business or not, that isn't the issue.


35 posted on 02/06/2007 6:04:54 PM PST by freemike
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To: StJacques
Fidel Castro nationalized all the media shortly after taking power in 1959. Those who quash freedom of the press are not lovers of liberty. They are the forerunners of absolute despotism. And Venezuela is fast sinking into one man autocracy.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

36 posted on 02/06/2007 9:36:29 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: mvpel
The Left is not for freedom - its chief value is championing equality. Which of course can be attained only at the expense of freedom. In this they are completely sincere. Its time we listened to them.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

37 posted on 02/06/2007 9:45:49 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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