Post by RPankn on Apr 24, 2004 2:58:14 GMT -5
Evidence speaks for itself: National Endowment for Democracy (NED) deceptive claims on activities in Venezuela
Published: Friday, April 23, 2004
Bylined to: Eva Golinger-Moncada
Venezuela Solidarity Committee (New York) Eva Golinger-Moncada writes: On April 20, 2004, the Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Vin Weber, along with US political heavyweights Madeleine Albright and Senator John McCain, sent a letter to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Cesar Gaviria, in an attempt to discredit the recent discovery of the NED’s undemocratic activities in Venezuela.
The letter, which included a Memorandum rebutting charges made by Venezuelan Ambassador to the OAS, Jorge Valero (on March 31, 2004) in an OAS Permanent Council meeting, attempted to reinforce the NED’s noble goal of promoting democracy and protection of human rights in the hemisphere.
However, despite the NED’s effort to drape its presence in Venezuela in the realm of democracy, documents recently obtained from the NED through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) clearly evidence their integral role in financing and politically supporting undemocratic activities over the past several years in Venezuela.
The NED insists that there exists no connection between their organization and the coup d’etat of April 2002. As support for this claim, the NED cites the US Inspector General’s Office report on the NED’s core grantees and discretionary grant recipients’ respective roles during the April 2002 coup, which concluded that these groups “…were carrying out programs in a manner consistent with NED grant policies and guidelines and were adhering to US laws and policies.” Such a conclusion leads to the question of whether it is NED policy to provide financing and political support to groups that openly and notoriously participated in the April 2002 coup.
Despite claims of no relation to the April 2002 coup against President Chavez, the NED’s own documents provide evidence to the contrary. Concrete examples include:
• Numerous NED grantees in Venezuela signed the “Carmona Decree” during the brief coup-imposed “government” that dissolved all of Venezuela’s democratic institutions, including the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and Public Defender, and an overwhelming number of laws and constitutional rights implemented during the Chavez administration. Some of these NED grantees and beneficiaries include: Rocio Guijarra, Director of CEDICE (a present NED grantee); Maria Corina Machado of Sumate (a present NED grantee); Leopoldo Lopez and Leopoldo Martinez (also named Minister of Finances by the coup government) of Primero Justicia ["First Justice"], which receives training and support from the International Republican Institute (a direct NED grantee); and Maxim Ross and Domingo Alberto Rangel, both principal Committee Members on a major CIPE-CEDICE project funded by NED, the “Consensus to Build a National Agenda” taking place this year.
• The Director of the Asamblea de Educacion ["Assembly of Education"], Leonardo Carvajal, was named “Minister of Education” by the coup government in April 2002, and he also signed a Civil Society Document recognizing the legitimacy of the coup government on April 12, 2002. Mr. Carvajal’s organization continued to receive direct NED funding through 2003, well after the coup, and he himself received a direct salary from the NED as part of this funding.
• Oscar Garcia Mendoza, Director of NED grantee Asociacion Civil Liderazgo y Vision ["Leadership and Vision Civil Association"], authored two Official Communications published in national media in Venezuela on April 13, 2002, that not only recognized the legitimacy of the Carmona coup government, but also celebrated its coming to power. This organization continues to receive NED funding to date.
• Other individuals such as Cipriano Heredia of Vision Emergente ["Emerging Vision"], Tomas Paez of Red Universitaria and Elias Santana of Alianza Civica ["Civic Alliance"] signed the Civil Society Document recognizing the legitimacy of Carmona’s coup government on April 13, 2002 and were recently chosen to spearhead a CIPE-CEDICE project, “Consensus to Build a National Agenda”, funded by the NED.
• NED Core Grantee American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS) has worked intimately with the Confederacion de Trabajadores (CTV) ["Confederation of Workers"], the Venezuelan labor union that was notoriously involved in the preparations and execution of the April 2002 coup d’etat and subsequent destabilization campaign. Its President during that period, Carlos Ortega, is a fugitive from justice in Venezuela who recently was stripped of his political asylum in Costa Rica. The ACILS continues to receive grants in excess of US$100,000 annually for its work with the CTV.
• The International Republican Institute, one of the NED’s core grantees, issued the following laudatory statement in support of the coup against President Chavez on April 12, 2002, in which they also admit their key role in the coup as the “bridge” between Venezuela’s political parties and civil society to “forge a new democratic future.”<br>
Subsequent to this insightful declaration in support of an undemocratic and unconstitutional ouster of a democratically elected President through a violent coup d’etat, the IRI not only has continued to receive approximately US$300,000 annually from the NED for its work in Venezuela, but also has continued to work primarily with the Primero Justicia party, whose leaders, as mentioned above, signed the Carmona Decree and were intimately involved in the coup and the subsequent Carmona-imposed government. At no time has IRI acknowledged this fact. The statement follows:
IRI PRESS RELEASE
TO: NATIONAL AND FOREIGN EDITORS
IRI President Folsom Praises Venezuelan Civil Society’s Defense of Democracy
WASHINGTON, April 12, 2002
George A. Folsom, President of the International Republican Institute (IRI) praised the Venezuelan people in their efforts to bring democracy to the country. The following is a statement from President Folsom concerning last night’s events.
“Last night, led by every sector of civil society, the Venezuelan people rose up to defend democracy in their country. Venezuelans were provoked into action as a result of systematic repression by the Government of Hugo Chavez. Several hundred thousand people filled the streets of Caracas to demand the resignation of Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez. Chavez responded with sharpshooters and his paramilitary Bolivarian circles killing more than 12 civilians and wounding more than 100 others. In contrast, IRI commends the patriotism of the Venezuelan military for their refusal to fire on their countrymen.
IRI also applauds the bravery of civil society leaders – members of the media, the Church, the nation’s educations and school administrators, political party leaders, labor unions and the business sector – who have put their very lives on the line in their struggle to restore genuine democracy to their country. IRI will remain engaged for the long term with political parties and our civil society partners to help rebuild Venezuela’s fractured political system and restore elected democracy to the country.
IRI has promoted the strengthening of democracy in Venezuela since 1994 and recognizes that Venezuela’s future is not a return to its pre-Chavez past, but instead the development of accountable, non-corrupt, and responsive government.
Today, the National Assembly is expected to meet to lay the groundwork for the transitional government to hold elections later this year. The Institute has served as a bridge between the nation’s political parties and all civil society groups to help Venezuelans forge a new democratic future, based on accountability, rule of law and sound democratic institutions. We stand ready to continue our partnership with the courageous Venezuelan people.
IRI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide. IRI’s programs span the globe and include training on civic responsibility and the legislative process, and strategies for building political parties and election campaigns. IRI is a nonpartisan organization, federally funded through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as privately funded by donations from individuals, corporations and foundations.”
Published: Friday, April 23, 2004
Bylined to: Eva Golinger-Moncada
Venezuela Solidarity Committee (New York) Eva Golinger-Moncada writes: On April 20, 2004, the Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Vin Weber, along with US political heavyweights Madeleine Albright and Senator John McCain, sent a letter to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Cesar Gaviria, in an attempt to discredit the recent discovery of the NED’s undemocratic activities in Venezuela.
The letter, which included a Memorandum rebutting charges made by Venezuelan Ambassador to the OAS, Jorge Valero (on March 31, 2004) in an OAS Permanent Council meeting, attempted to reinforce the NED’s noble goal of promoting democracy and protection of human rights in the hemisphere.
However, despite the NED’s effort to drape its presence in Venezuela in the realm of democracy, documents recently obtained from the NED through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) clearly evidence their integral role in financing and politically supporting undemocratic activities over the past several years in Venezuela.
The NED insists that there exists no connection between their organization and the coup d’etat of April 2002. As support for this claim, the NED cites the US Inspector General’s Office report on the NED’s core grantees and discretionary grant recipients’ respective roles during the April 2002 coup, which concluded that these groups “…were carrying out programs in a manner consistent with NED grant policies and guidelines and were adhering to US laws and policies.” Such a conclusion leads to the question of whether it is NED policy to provide financing and political support to groups that openly and notoriously participated in the April 2002 coup.
Despite claims of no relation to the April 2002 coup against President Chavez, the NED’s own documents provide evidence to the contrary. Concrete examples include:
• Numerous NED grantees in Venezuela signed the “Carmona Decree” during the brief coup-imposed “government” that dissolved all of Venezuela’s democratic institutions, including the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and Public Defender, and an overwhelming number of laws and constitutional rights implemented during the Chavez administration. Some of these NED grantees and beneficiaries include: Rocio Guijarra, Director of CEDICE (a present NED grantee); Maria Corina Machado of Sumate (a present NED grantee); Leopoldo Lopez and Leopoldo Martinez (also named Minister of Finances by the coup government) of Primero Justicia ["First Justice"], which receives training and support from the International Republican Institute (a direct NED grantee); and Maxim Ross and Domingo Alberto Rangel, both principal Committee Members on a major CIPE-CEDICE project funded by NED, the “Consensus to Build a National Agenda” taking place this year.
• The Director of the Asamblea de Educacion ["Assembly of Education"], Leonardo Carvajal, was named “Minister of Education” by the coup government in April 2002, and he also signed a Civil Society Document recognizing the legitimacy of the coup government on April 12, 2002. Mr. Carvajal’s organization continued to receive direct NED funding through 2003, well after the coup, and he himself received a direct salary from the NED as part of this funding.
• Oscar Garcia Mendoza, Director of NED grantee Asociacion Civil Liderazgo y Vision ["Leadership and Vision Civil Association"], authored two Official Communications published in national media in Venezuela on April 13, 2002, that not only recognized the legitimacy of the Carmona coup government, but also celebrated its coming to power. This organization continues to receive NED funding to date.
• Other individuals such as Cipriano Heredia of Vision Emergente ["Emerging Vision"], Tomas Paez of Red Universitaria and Elias Santana of Alianza Civica ["Civic Alliance"] signed the Civil Society Document recognizing the legitimacy of Carmona’s coup government on April 13, 2002 and were recently chosen to spearhead a CIPE-CEDICE project, “Consensus to Build a National Agenda”, funded by the NED.
• NED Core Grantee American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS) has worked intimately with the Confederacion de Trabajadores (CTV) ["Confederation of Workers"], the Venezuelan labor union that was notoriously involved in the preparations and execution of the April 2002 coup d’etat and subsequent destabilization campaign. Its President during that period, Carlos Ortega, is a fugitive from justice in Venezuela who recently was stripped of his political asylum in Costa Rica. The ACILS continues to receive grants in excess of US$100,000 annually for its work with the CTV.
• The International Republican Institute, one of the NED’s core grantees, issued the following laudatory statement in support of the coup against President Chavez on April 12, 2002, in which they also admit their key role in the coup as the “bridge” between Venezuela’s political parties and civil society to “forge a new democratic future.”<br>
Subsequent to this insightful declaration in support of an undemocratic and unconstitutional ouster of a democratically elected President through a violent coup d’etat, the IRI not only has continued to receive approximately US$300,000 annually from the NED for its work in Venezuela, but also has continued to work primarily with the Primero Justicia party, whose leaders, as mentioned above, signed the Carmona Decree and were intimately involved in the coup and the subsequent Carmona-imposed government. At no time has IRI acknowledged this fact. The statement follows:
IRI PRESS RELEASE
TO: NATIONAL AND FOREIGN EDITORS
IRI President Folsom Praises Venezuelan Civil Society’s Defense of Democracy
WASHINGTON, April 12, 2002
George A. Folsom, President of the International Republican Institute (IRI) praised the Venezuelan people in their efforts to bring democracy to the country. The following is a statement from President Folsom concerning last night’s events.
“Last night, led by every sector of civil society, the Venezuelan people rose up to defend democracy in their country. Venezuelans were provoked into action as a result of systematic repression by the Government of Hugo Chavez. Several hundred thousand people filled the streets of Caracas to demand the resignation of Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez. Chavez responded with sharpshooters and his paramilitary Bolivarian circles killing more than 12 civilians and wounding more than 100 others. In contrast, IRI commends the patriotism of the Venezuelan military for their refusal to fire on their countrymen.
IRI also applauds the bravery of civil society leaders – members of the media, the Church, the nation’s educations and school administrators, political party leaders, labor unions and the business sector – who have put their very lives on the line in their struggle to restore genuine democracy to their country. IRI will remain engaged for the long term with political parties and our civil society partners to help rebuild Venezuela’s fractured political system and restore elected democracy to the country.
IRI has promoted the strengthening of democracy in Venezuela since 1994 and recognizes that Venezuela’s future is not a return to its pre-Chavez past, but instead the development of accountable, non-corrupt, and responsive government.
Today, the National Assembly is expected to meet to lay the groundwork for the transitional government to hold elections later this year. The Institute has served as a bridge between the nation’s political parties and all civil society groups to help Venezuelans forge a new democratic future, based on accountability, rule of law and sound democratic institutions. We stand ready to continue our partnership with the courageous Venezuelan people.
IRI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide. IRI’s programs span the globe and include training on civic responsibility and the legislative process, and strategies for building political parties and election campaigns. IRI is a nonpartisan organization, federally funded through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as privately funded by donations from individuals, corporations and foundations.”