OS ran across an English-language blog from Venezuela: The Devil's Excrement.
It is a chilling journal of life in Venezuela under Comrade Chavez. Considering how the Obama Administration fawns over Chavez, it should serve as a warning to us. If we don't stand tall now, this could be our future.
Better words than OS could ever conjure to memorialize Franklin Brito's death:
Franklin Brito’s death is a failure not only of Venezuela’s Government, but also of the multilateral organizations which are funded and financed to protect human rights across the region, but are incredibly incompetent and inefficient in achieving these goals. From Orlando Contreras Zapata to Franklin Brito, they are just a simple failure. Money ill spent on paying the salaries of ambitious politicians or beaurocratic bon vivants in the name of the people of the Americas.
There is little to be said that has not been said beyond the internal outrage we all feel inside. But throughout the day, I have been utterly amazed at a single fact: How a revolution that claims to want to create a better, more humane society, has shown no compassion for Mr. Brito.
There is no humanity in the Government or a political system that has spent the day blaming Mr. Brito for his own death. There is no compassion in saying Mr. Brito was not in his right mind and this led to his death, without looking at how he got to the point that he got. There is no compassion in trying to use legalese to say why Mr. Brito was right or wrong in his claims against the Venezuelan State.
And it is totally despicable to suggest that Mr. Brito’s death was planned to occur before the election, some writers in Aporrea even giving it the name the “Britazo” or Government officials suggesting that Mr. Brito was used by the opposition.
Because in the end it was the Government that kidnapped Mr. Brito against his own will and that of his family and held him in a military hospital until he passed away. Supposedly this kidnapping was done to protect his life, a claim that now sounds absolutely empty given his tragic death under the watch and supervision of this heartless Government. It would have been more dignified for him to die when and where he wanted.
Showing posts with label Franklin Brito. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Franklin Brito. Show all posts
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
More News On Franklin Brito
It is a hopeful sign that this tragedy is not going unnoticed.
The Venezuelan Government came out swinging, blaming Mr. Brito for having the temerity to insist that he be restored clear title to the land his family owns.
CARACAS, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Venezuela's government accused opposition parties on Wednesday of desiring the death of hunger-striker Franklin Brito to maximize political damage to President Hugo Chavez ahead of a parliamentary election.
"Like vultures, they desired and hoped for his death," a government statement said of the Brito case, which has stirred up Venezuelan politics before the Sept. 26 vote.
Critics have seized on the emaciated farmer's death, in a protest over land he says was seized illegally in south Venezuela, as evidence of Chavez's abuse of property rights and cold indifference to opposition.
But the government says Brito's complaint had no basis in law and that his ownership of 717 acres (290 hectares) in Bolivar state had been repeatedly ratified by land authorities.
"We are obliged to reject the Phariseeism of the rotten media, the electoral opposition and the Catholic Church who encouraged Mr. Brito's extremism with the sole aim of having a death for their dirty banners," the statement added.
Then, of course, we are treated to this classic piece of moral courage from the Obama State Department:
Philip J. Crowley, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs, US Department of State, said on Tuesday that the United States is saddened by the death of Venezuelan farmer Franklin Brito, who had been on a hunger strike in protest for the expropriation of his lands by the government of President Hugo Chávez.
"We are saddened to hear of Mr. Brito's passing and we extend our condolences to his family," said Crowley, as reported by AFP. He stressed that Washington "did follow his case closely." But he simply added that the United States would "leave it to the Government of Venezuela to explain."
Given the other news that preoccupies us in the US, this may not rise far above the radar. But it is significant, as a regime fawned over by the Obama White House engages in blatant brutality with nary a murmur of protest.
The State of Arizona, on the other hand, is being hit with both barrels by the US Justice Department.
There is a terrible dissonance in all this. A terrible, tragic, disturbing dissonance.
Now, while we're on the subject of dissidents who have disappeared into the bowels of the Chavez regime, OS would be interested to hear news of the fate of Alejandro Pena Esclusa.
A recent statement was released by him from his jail cell.
Of course, our State Department stands by in silence.
And, in honor of President Chavez, a most appropriate portrait. Please feel free to distribute.
The Venezuelan Government came out swinging, blaming Mr. Brito for having the temerity to insist that he be restored clear title to the land his family owns.
CARACAS, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Venezuela's government accused opposition parties on Wednesday of desiring the death of hunger-striker Franklin Brito to maximize political damage to President Hugo Chavez ahead of a parliamentary election.
"Like vultures, they desired and hoped for his death," a government statement said of the Brito case, which has stirred up Venezuelan politics before the Sept. 26 vote.
Critics have seized on the emaciated farmer's death, in a protest over land he says was seized illegally in south Venezuela, as evidence of Chavez's abuse of property rights and cold indifference to opposition.
But the government says Brito's complaint had no basis in law and that his ownership of 717 acres (290 hectares) in Bolivar state had been repeatedly ratified by land authorities.
"We are obliged to reject the Phariseeism of the rotten media, the electoral opposition and the Catholic Church who encouraged Mr. Brito's extremism with the sole aim of having a death for their dirty banners," the statement added.
Then, of course, we are treated to this classic piece of moral courage from the Obama State Department:
Philip J. Crowley, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs, US Department of State, said on Tuesday that the United States is saddened by the death of Venezuelan farmer Franklin Brito, who had been on a hunger strike in protest for the expropriation of his lands by the government of President Hugo Chávez.
"We are saddened to hear of Mr. Brito's passing and we extend our condolences to his family," said Crowley, as reported by AFP. He stressed that Washington "did follow his case closely." But he simply added that the United States would "leave it to the Government of Venezuela to explain."
Given the other news that preoccupies us in the US, this may not rise far above the radar. But it is significant, as a regime fawned over by the Obama White House engages in blatant brutality with nary a murmur of protest.
The State of Arizona, on the other hand, is being hit with both barrels by the US Justice Department.
There is a terrible dissonance in all this. A terrible, tragic, disturbing dissonance.
Now, while we're on the subject of dissidents who have disappeared into the bowels of the Chavez regime, OS would be interested to hear news of the fate of Alejandro Pena Esclusa.
A recent statement was released by him from his jail cell.
Of course, our State Department stands by in silence.
And, in honor of President Chavez, a most appropriate portrait. Please feel free to distribute.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
In Memoriam: Franklin Brito, A Farmer From Venezuela
As the press continues to lionize and never dare criticize Comrade Chavez of Venezuela, let us remember the latest of his victims, Franklin Brito.
This from today's Economist:
FRANKLIN BRITO is not well-known outside Venezuela, and the country’s government would like it to stay that way. Late on Monday night, the 50-year-old farmer and biologist died from a hunger strike in the military hospital in Caracas, the capital, where he had been held against his will, virtually incommunicado, since December.
Mr Brito’s sad saga started seven years ago, when his 250-acre fruit and vegetable farm in the south-eastern state of Bolívar was taken over by neighbours. He later discovered that INTI, the government’s land-reform agency, had granted them rights to occupy his land, in what he saw as an act of revenge by a corrupt local mayor.
He then began an extraordinary, and often lonely, fight to regain sole title to his farm. To raise awareness of his case, he staged six separate hunger strikes, amputated his little finger and had his lips sewn together. The government sometimes said it would meet his demands if he ended the hunger strikes, but inevitably reneged once he did. It also offered him $230,000 in compensation. But he turned down almost all of it, saying the payment was illegal and that he could be accused of corruption if he accepted it. Although the people occupying his farm left last year, their legal right to return at any time was never revoked.
In 2009 Mr Brito transferred his hunger strike to the pavement outside the offices of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Caracas. This step, which led an OAS delegation to attempt to mediate, drew too much attention to the case for the government’s taste. In December it sent police to transfer him to the military hospital by force.
Despite pressure from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the courts, which mainly do Mr Chávez’s bidding, refused to order his release. Government spokesmen said Mr Brito was mentally ill and needed to be detained for his own protection. But they never provided any evidence to support this claim. The authorities themselves undermined it when they filmed him without his permission, and then presented a crudely edited video that suggested he was trying to blackmail the government for money.
Mr Brito sealed his fate when he began refusing even liquids. In a statement issued shortly after his death, his family insisted that he would “live on in the struggle of the Venezuelan people for property rights, justice, freedom and human rights.” His widow, Elena, has vowed to continue the fight. “This is our only project in life,” she said last year, “and my four children depend on it.”
The government clearly could have stopped Mr Brito from taking his life by restoring his exclusive title to his land. But Hugo Chávez, the leftist president, seems to have calculated that standing firm against his demands would be more politically advantageous. Human-rights organisations in Venezuela say that around 2,500 people are currently subject to criminal proceedings for engaging in peaceful dissent. The space to do so is shrinking every day.
The right to private property is essential to a free society. This is my land, and you can't have it unless I freely transfer it to you on terms agreeable to me. This is my house, my business, my copyright, my money, my body. It belongs to me, not to the state or the state's designated favorites.
OS is seeing this right beginning to erode here in the US. A friend and her husband resisted a state 'economic development commission' attempt to seize their farm for an industrial plant a few years ago, standing against massive arm-twisting by government at all levels. They just found out that it has all started again, via a zoning proposal that will effectively lower the value of their land to near zero, unless they buckle under at the next 'offer' to purchase. OS finds it hard to believe that this is an isolated occurrence.
Mr. Brito's refusal to buckle was extraordinary, some would say excessive. OS is not certain at all that he would show the same courage. He also hopes he is never put in position to have to make those kinds of choice.
This from today's Economist:
FRANKLIN BRITO is not well-known outside Venezuela, and the country’s government would like it to stay that way. Late on Monday night, the 50-year-old farmer and biologist died from a hunger strike in the military hospital in Caracas, the capital, where he had been held against his will, virtually incommunicado, since December.
Mr Brito’s sad saga started seven years ago, when his 250-acre fruit and vegetable farm in the south-eastern state of Bolívar was taken over by neighbours. He later discovered that INTI, the government’s land-reform agency, had granted them rights to occupy his land, in what he saw as an act of revenge by a corrupt local mayor.
He then began an extraordinary, and often lonely, fight to regain sole title to his farm. To raise awareness of his case, he staged six separate hunger strikes, amputated his little finger and had his lips sewn together. The government sometimes said it would meet his demands if he ended the hunger strikes, but inevitably reneged once he did. It also offered him $230,000 in compensation. But he turned down almost all of it, saying the payment was illegal and that he could be accused of corruption if he accepted it. Although the people occupying his farm left last year, their legal right to return at any time was never revoked.
In 2009 Mr Brito transferred his hunger strike to the pavement outside the offices of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Caracas. This step, which led an OAS delegation to attempt to mediate, drew too much attention to the case for the government’s taste. In December it sent police to transfer him to the military hospital by force.
Despite pressure from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the courts, which mainly do Mr Chávez’s bidding, refused to order his release. Government spokesmen said Mr Brito was mentally ill and needed to be detained for his own protection. But they never provided any evidence to support this claim. The authorities themselves undermined it when they filmed him without his permission, and then presented a crudely edited video that suggested he was trying to blackmail the government for money.
Mr Brito sealed his fate when he began refusing even liquids. In a statement issued shortly after his death, his family insisted that he would “live on in the struggle of the Venezuelan people for property rights, justice, freedom and human rights.” His widow, Elena, has vowed to continue the fight. “This is our only project in life,” she said last year, “and my four children depend on it.”
The government clearly could have stopped Mr Brito from taking his life by restoring his exclusive title to his land. But Hugo Chávez, the leftist president, seems to have calculated that standing firm against his demands would be more politically advantageous. Human-rights organisations in Venezuela say that around 2,500 people are currently subject to criminal proceedings for engaging in peaceful dissent. The space to do so is shrinking every day.
The right to private property is essential to a free society. This is my land, and you can't have it unless I freely transfer it to you on terms agreeable to me. This is my house, my business, my copyright, my money, my body. It belongs to me, not to the state or the state's designated favorites.
OS is seeing this right beginning to erode here in the US. A friend and her husband resisted a state 'economic development commission' attempt to seize their farm for an industrial plant a few years ago, standing against massive arm-twisting by government at all levels. They just found out that it has all started again, via a zoning proposal that will effectively lower the value of their land to near zero, unless they buckle under at the next 'offer' to purchase. OS finds it hard to believe that this is an isolated occurrence.
Mr. Brito's refusal to buckle was extraordinary, some would say excessive. OS is not certain at all that he would show the same courage. He also hopes he is never put in position to have to make those kinds of choice.
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