Untitled Document
Ten Things You Can Do Today for Democracy in Venezuela
Suggested by Francisco Toro
Foreign readers often write in to say they wish there was more they could do
about the situation in Venezuela. Here are ten things you could do today to
make a difference:
1. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper decrying
its lack of Venezuela coverage and explaining briefly what is at stake with
the Recall Referendum.
2. Bring up the Venezuelan crisis in casual conversation to
3 people who you wouldn't normally talk about it with. Point them to independent
sources of information like VenezuelaToday.net,
Devil's Excrement,
Vcrisis.com, Caracas
Chronicles and Venezuela
News and Views.
3. Write a letter to your President/Prime Minister expressing
your concern with the human rights and democracy situation in Venezuela and
urge him to back the OAS/Carter Center mission.
4. Explain the way Chavez has embraced and praised Robert
Mugabe and Fidel Castro, and point out that he is now copying some of their
tactics (arrest-torture-and-release, purge-and-pack-the-courts, bait-the-US.)
5. Look for an internet chat-room where Venezuela is being
discussed. Put in your two cents and guide other readers to independent sources
of news and analysis about Venezuela.
6. Get into an argument with a philochavista in your neighborhood.
Listen respectfully, and argue back in a calm and reasonable way. If you find
yourself getting angry, excuse yourself, walk outside, count to twenty and return.
7. Learn the stories and memorize the names of two
or three torture or murder victims. Use those specific names in your letters
and arguments.
8. Write to Amesty
International, Human Rights
Watch, Reporters
without Borders, or ISHR, to congratulate
them for staying on top of the Human Rights situation in Venezuela and to ask
them to keep up the pressure.
9. Write to political parties in Venezuela and insist that all anti-Chavez protests
be kept peaceful, explaining the damage the opposition does to its international
position when it embraces even minor violence.
10. Email this list to every contact in your address book
you think might be interested in helping out.
Open letter to the
Programe Complaint Unit
Por favor impriman estas carta (formato pdf) y envienlas a la siguiente direccion
en Inglaterra:
Head of Programme Complaints
BBC Broadcasting House,
London W1A 1AA
Cartas a editores con respecto al documental "The revolution will not
be televised"
La BBC volvio nuevamente a transmitir el documental de los irlandeses sobre
los sucesos de Abril 2002. Es importante que todos los que hayan visto el documental
y difieran de su contenido parcializado y favorable a Hugo Chavez escriban cartas
a los editores de periodicos y canales de television del Reino Unido expresando
total repudio por tan cruel tergiversacion de hechos en los que 19 venezolanos
fueron asesinados. He aqui algunas direcciones electronicas de interes:
home.news@thetimes.co.uk
letters@thetimes.co.uk
editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk
editor@media.guardian.co.uk
politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk
mirrornews@mgn.co.uk
steve.purcell@mirror.co.uk
talkback@the-sun.co.uk
mrc@mediaresearch.org
editor@tvtoday.co.uk
Lo que hace a la BBC particularmente detestable no es solamente el hecho de
haber transmitido por segunda vez el programa sino que ademas co-produjeron
el documental.
Asi mismo comentarios al respecto pueden ser enviados directamente a la BBC
utilizando el siguiente link;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/contactus/serious_form.shtml
Peticion a Amnistia Internacional
Habida cuenta de la falta de diligencia que el Equipo de Investigación
sobre Venezuela de Amnistia Internacional ha demostrado hasta los momentos en
relacion a casos de extrema gravedad, como lo son la demanda interpuesta por
Hugo Chavez en contra de los familiares y victimas sobrevivientes de la masacre
del 11 de Abril por traicion a la patria (que de ser exitosa podria enviarlos
a prision por hasta 30 años) y las expulsiones violentas de familias
ocurridas en los Semerucos y otros campos petroleros, les pido que se tomen
unos minutos de su tiempo y envien un correo electronico a las direcciones que
aparecen al final de este mensaje, solicitando celeridad y firmeza en la denuncia
de estas graves violaciones a los derechos humanos.
Los mensajes pueden ser escritos en castellano o en ingles.
Venezuela Research Team/Equipo de Investigación sobre Venezuela
Amnesty International
amnestyis@amnesty.org
equipovenezuela@amnesty.or
EN INGLÉS
Request for Urgent Action to Amnesty International
(format)
Sadly Amnesty International's stance towards the Venezuelan crisis has been
lenient. The response from the Venezuelan Team regarding Muhammad Merhi's case
and the latest legal accusation for treason that president Chavez in person
ordered against the victims and relatives of the massacre of April 2002 has
failed to materialise.
It is also appalling the lack of diligence in bringing attention towards the
inhumane abuses committed on families and specially on children in Los Semerucos
and some other oil camps in Venezuela.
Quite obviously someone is not doing its job in proper fashion. I would like
to take this opportunity to reiterate my offering to volunteer should you need
any help vis-a-vis the Venezuelan situation.
Cordially,
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