Get tough on Hugo Ch谩vez, GOP senators tell Hillary Clinton
| Washington
A group of Republican senators is asking Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to get tough with Venezuela鈥檚 Hugo Ch谩vez over what they say are the South American leftist鈥檚 accelerating human rights abuses.
Citing a 鈥渄eepening deterioration of human rights and democracy in Venezuela" that they claim could destabilize the country and have 鈥渟erious consequences鈥� for US interests, the senators want Secretary Clinton to test the regional appetite for invoking the Organization of American States鈥� against Venezuela, an OAS member.
The senators may also be seeking to test the Obama administration鈥檚 own appetite for initiating a confrontation with Venezuela. The administration has generally applied a pragmatic approach to Mr. Ch谩vez and sought to tone down the rhetorical war that periodically flares between the two countries.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Clinton, the senators list several examples of 鈥渨orsening conditions鈥� for Venezuela鈥檚 civil society and political opposition, including the December arrest and ongoing detention of a judge whose parole of a jailed business leader infuriated Ch谩vez. The letter also cites the 鈥渏udicial harassment鈥� of Globovision, considered Venezuela鈥檚 sole remaining independent TV station, and a February report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights detailing numerous examples of rights violations in Venezuela.
Signing the two-page letter were Republican lawmakers George LeMieux of Florida, Tom Coburn and James Inhofe of Oaklahoma, John Ensign of Nevada, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, and James Risch of Idaho. Joining the Republican senators was Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
While many human rights organizations have reported on a deterioration of certain rights in Venezuela under Ch谩vez, some experts say the situation reflects a trend existing in other countries in the region. And they see little regional desire or unity for addressing the attacks on rights.
The letter is a 鈥渃ry of frustration鈥� about Venezuela, but one with little chance of finding an enthusiastic reception in the region, says Eric Farnsworth, vice-president of the Council of the Americas in Washington.
鈥淯nless and until the hemispheric community develops a more effective response to the slow erosion of democracy in the region,鈥� he says, 鈥渨e鈥檙e going to see these signs of frustration continue.鈥�
Mr. Farnsworth sees little prospect of the OAS invoking its Democratic Charter, created in 2001, against Venezuela. That鈥檚 especially true, he adds, in light of the hemispheric organization鈥檚 inability to resolve its differences over the status of Honduras.
The US has sought the reinstatement of Honduras to the OAS, after the Central American country was ousted in 2009 over a military coup. The US argues that elections resulting in a new president mean Honduras deserves readmission, but other countries 鈥� including Venezuela 鈥� insist full 鈥渄emocracy鈥� must first be restored.
The senators鈥� letter will draw fresh attention to the region鈥檚 unequal response to threats to democracy 鈥� and perhaps a fiery reaction from Ch谩vez 鈥� but probably little else, Farnsworth says.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been an open question for about a year over why the hemispheric community would come down like a ton of bricks on Honduras, but pay no attention to other signs of the deterioration of democracy, whether in Venezuela or in Honduras鈥檚 next-door neighbor, Nicaragua,鈥� he says.
Another factor is that the Obama administration is unlikely to relish disturbing the pragmatic approach it鈥檚 developed toward Venezuela, particularly in matters involving the energy sector, Farnsworth says.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e made an effort not to antagonize the Venezuelan regime,鈥� he says, 鈥渟o it seems doubtful that seeking action from an unresponsive hemispheric community is the first thing Secretary Clinton is going to want to do.鈥�
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