Academics Respond to HRW Director's Defense of Venezuela Report

[subsuelo]

Dear Mr. Roth and the Human Rights Watch Board:

We want to thank Mr. Roth for his December 29 letter in response to our December 16 letter, signed by more than 100 scholars who specialize in Latin America, criticizing your report, "A Decade Under Chávez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela."

We note that Mr. Roth did not answer a number of the criticisms contained in our original letter, all of which demonstrate serious prejudice and exaggeration in the HRW report on Venezuela. We encourage everyone to read all three letters - (our letter to the HRW Board, Kenneth Roth's response, and this letter) with references to the original report- and decide whether the criticisms are valid and whether they were answered in Mr. Roth's response.

We will address the substantive points raised by your response below, in order of importance...

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/4106"> Venezuela Analysis - read more

[Judi Lynn]

1. Simply perfect. Have only read part way, saved it to files, will read the rest later tonight.

This is exactly what Roth and Vivanco have coming. What a couple of classic sold out assholes. From the part I've read already:;

According to HRW's own reporting, Colombia is the most repressive country in the hemisphere. Over 40 trade unionists were killed in 2008, and over 460 have been murdered since Uribe took office in 2002.<6> Just last month, Colombian soldiers killed the husband of an indigenous rights leader, and an Afro-Colombian rights leader was murdered in October.

With what credible standard can Mr. Vivanco compare the state of the public debate in Venezuela and Colombia? There is not even an opposition media in Colombia remotely comparable to that which prevails in Venezuela, and journalists who are denounced by President Uribe have had to flee the country after being threatened by death squads.<7>

REALLY looking forward to savoring the rest of this well needed statement.



Jose Miguel Vivanco, John Bolton: separated at birth?




Kenneth Roth
We've all got their number.

[EFerrari]

2. Excellent. HRW is going to lose this one. n/t