Diplomacy Colombia Style, Starring Hillary Clinton

So this post was going to be about the irony of Hillary Clinton acknowledging Colombia's advancement in human rights at the same press conference that Big Al' Uribe criticized the sentencing of former Army Colonel Alfonso Plazas Vega to 30 years in prison. I mean all the guy did was get convicted for the forced disappearances of 11 individuals in 1985. Or, as Uribe described it "someone who was simply trying to fulfill their duty", adding, "That hurts. That makes me sad." Awww. Just fulfilling your duty eh? Is that what you have to say about killing peasants and dressing them up as guerrillas to fulfill quotas too? Whatever, in any case, as ridiculous as his statements may be, the post was ruined because, well quite simply, Hillary Clinton didn't exactly say what I thought she had.

So what happened?

I read this Colombia Reports article that included this line, "Clinton also recognized advances that Colombia had made in terms of human rights." And where did that link take me? Well, the website of the President of Colombia of course! Where I read that Clinton said:

“Reconocemos los avances en derechos humanos que ha hecho Colombia, los retos que aún persisten y la necesidad de la vigilancia, del compromiso en ese tema"

Or, loosely translated:

We recognize the advances in human rights that Colombia has made...blah blah blah

And I'm like damn, Hillary Clinton is recognizing some advances, at the same press conference that Uribe slams the jailing of a human rights abuser and a few days after the International Trade Union Confederation announced that half of the killings of unionists in the WORLD happened in COLOMBIA. But because it's the Colombia government, there is just this hint of doubt about everything they have to tell me, so I check the quote with the State Department's transcript (more trustworthy? Eh, probably), and this is what I find:

We also discussed Colombia’s efforts to enhance human rights, the strides made, the challenges that remain, the ongoing need for vigilance and commitment.

Wait, what? "We discussed Colombia's efforts to enhance human rights"? I mean, even loosely translated that's not "We recognize the advances in human rights". At least she did include discussing "the strides made", but fair to say this statement from the Presidents website is grossly overstated, right?

So not exactly the post we set out to write, but hey, on the same day Uribe criticizes the jailing of a big time rights abuser, the President's press secretary grossly exaggerates the US secretary of state's comments concerning so called "advancements" in human rights....yes, just another day in sunny Colombia!

Paramilitary violence in Oaxaca

So this news has slowly made its way into the press...and there is not a lot maladjusted has to add other than pointing those who want updates from the ground from someone much better informed than maladjusted, to Kristin Bricker at My Word is My Weapon.

Check it out.

Noriega is "sick"

According to a lawyer representing Noriega, the former dictator of Panama is not in the best physical health. As maladjusted's readers probably already know, Noriega was extradited to France a couple days ago after serving a 17 year sentence in Miami. He now faces money laundering charges for allegedly using drug money to buy luxury apartments in Paris (Noriega's defense is, quite plausibly, that he paid for those apartments with CIA cash instead).

Pardon my cynicism--yes, Noriega probably is an ailing old man--but it looks like his defense team is gonna try to pull a "Pinochet in London" and attempt to have him released on humanitarian grounds. As some of you may recall, Pinochet was arrested back in 1999 while he was in London getting medical treatment because of an extradition request from Spain. Long story short, after a protracted legal battle, it was determined that Chile's ex-dictator was unfit to stand trial due to his ailing health condition.

Well, just watch the video below to see how that one turned out. Upon returning to Chile, Pinochet--supposedly too sick to stand trial--surprised his welcoming crowd by immediately standing up from his wheelchair and proceeding to practically dance the damn cueca (Chile's national folk dance).



Ok, so maybe I exaggerated a bit on that last one. But the point is that the supposedly ailing dictator was certainly in far better health than it appeared. And, more importantly, putting on that little act allowed him to avoid prosecution for human rights abuses.

Now, this little blast from the past aside, if his defense succeeds in having his case thrown out in France, Noriega will probably face extradition back to Panama to serve more time there. But should we care where Noriega goes to jail next? Unlike in France, if extradited to Panama Noriega would have a chance of serving his sentence under house arrest. On the other hand, it seems more fitting for an ex-dictator to serve his sentence in his own country where he committed his crimes.

Paramilitaries are "capturing" the state

A real interesting video piece from the Latin American News Dispatch:

Colombian journalist and political analyst Claudia López talks about how the paramilitaries are infiltrating the political system; she would know, it was in part her investigative reporting that led to the parapolitics inquiries. So while she expresses hope that now only 29% of congress has ties to paramilitaries (it was 37%), everyone should listen to her when she says that she still believes that they are “capturing” the state.

And just in case you don’t get how awesome human rights are in Colombia, the video notes that she was laid off from the Colombian daily El Tiempo for an article she published last year. Surprise, surprise, the US’ favorite client state is not only controlled by paramilitaries but according to the IACHR is close to being labeled a place where "you can barely say that there is freedom of expression."

López explains the situation with El Tiempo:

“Why was I laid off from El Tiempo? Because I published a column, based on facts and proof, that demonstrated that El Tiempo was publishing false data and misleading the public because of their political and commercial interests.”

The paper considered it a resignation letter. I guess more convenient than considering it a problem.

The Count

7...

...is the number of selective killings in Honduras since the country supposedly returned to democracy a couple months ago.

A delegation of Honduran human rights lawyers was in Washington, DC this last week to testify before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) about the grim climate of repression and impunity that continues to this day despite the election of president Pepe "national reconciliation" Lobo.

That's right, elections were held and the international media moved on but the repression and political murders continued. The delegation of lawyers reports that the pattern of selective killings under dictator Micheletti's rule has been normalized under Lobo's government. The killings continue to target journalists, academics, opposition organizers and, disturbingly, their family members as well.

Three of those killed were journalists, including a Nahúm Palacios, who was supposed to be under special protection by order of the IACHR. Just this last Tuesday, a vocal professor critical of the coup was murdered at his university in front of his students.

During their testimony at the IACHR, the delegation highlighted the impunity with which obvious human rights violations have been met by the Honduran legal system. They also pointed to the hypocrisy surrounding the application of the Amnesty Law, which was supposed to promote national reconciliation and dialogue. Indeed, it appears as though only golpista scum are receiving amnesty in Honduras as 111 people still face terrorism charges (terrorism!) for protesting against the dictatorship while no one associated with the coup has been brought to justice.

This is what whitewashing a dictatorship through phony elections and a hypocritical discourse of national reconciliation begets. The repression can continue as before, if not more deeply entrenched, and the international community can move on and feel good about the triumph of diplomacy.

The Ultimate Comeback

So last week the State Department released their annual Human Rights reports, and every year the voices from around the world criticizing it get louder and louder. So in the Western Hemisphere we already have Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela speaking out and probably more. Perhaps more surprisingly Big Al had some choice words about the US report on Colombia, calling the report both biased and politically motivated. That’s right, the US’ main ally in the region agrees with Chavez, Correa and Castro that these reports are total bullshit. Then today we get Haitian President Preval with some harsh words for the US, even though he needs every friend he can get right now.

Lat/Am Daily noticed that Correa suggested Ecuador put out its own report, on human rights in the US, but one country already does this, China.

Yeah, China ain’t new to the game, they’ve been pissed about this before it was the cool thing to do and this is their 11th report on human rights in the US. So take a look at excerpts from this years report, from Xinhua:

The report is "prepared to help people around the world understand the real situation of human rights in the United States," said the report. 


The report reviewed the human rights record of the United States in 2009 from six perspectives: life, property and personal security; civil and political rights; economic, social and cultural rights; racial discrimination; rights of women and children; and the US' violation of human rights against other countries. 


It criticized the United States for taking human rights as "a political instrument to interfere in other countries' internal affairs, defame other nations' image and seek its own strategic interests." 


China advised the US government to draw lessons from the history, put itself in a correct position, strive to improve its own human rights conditions and rectify its acts in the human rights field. 


This is the 11th consecutive year that the Information Office of China's State Council has issued a human rights record of the United States to answer the US State Department's annual report. 


"At a time when the world is suffering a serious human rights disaster caused by the US subprime crisis-induced global financial crisis, the US government still ignores its own serious human rights problems but revels in accusing other countries. It is really a pity," the report said. 


You should really click through and read the whole thing, here is the link again just in case.

Piñera's first "uh oh" on Human Rights

Greg over at Two Weeks Notice reports that the Valech report, an important document on torture during the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile, has gone missing from the Ministry of Interior's website. It's not immediately clear why the new Piñera administration decided to remove such an important document from the Ministry's website but it has certainly angered the Association of the Families of the Disappeared, who referred to the removal as an "unacceptable aggression" and a "step backwards on human rights."

This type of insensitivy concerning human rights isn't exactly a shocker. As some might recall, last year during the presidential campaign Piñera was caught assuring retired army generals that human rights trials would come to an end under his government. In his words (my translation):

"In our government we're going to make sure that justice is applied to all our citizens, including those who are in active service or have retired, promptly and fairly, without perpetuating processes ad aeternum that never end."

Yes, that was a bit redundant. But more to the point, this speech behind closed doors to a room full of retired generals was met with outrage in Chile, prompting one senator to accuse Piñera of facilitating impunity in the country.

To be fair, and I'm no Piñera fan, this statement and the removal of the Valech report fits neatly into the right's discourse of moving forward and leaving the past alone. And yes, that has it's merits but, nevertheless, moving forward and pursuing reconciliation is different from forgetting and any government that is serious about human rights should be able to openly talk about them, especially when its members are perceived to have ties to a history of abuses.

OAS: Venezuela has made "major achievements" on socioeconomic rights

Last week the the Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released a scathing report on the supposedly grim state of democracy and human rights in Venezuela. Buried in the 300-plus page report, in between page after page of criticisms towards the government, the IACHR admits that the Chavez' administration has made remarkable progress on the socioeconomic front, promoting literacy, reducing poverty and lowering inequality, among other things. Here's the excerpt:

"On the other hand, in this report the Commission highlights the Venezuelan State’s major achievements in the fields of economic, social, and cultural rights, through legally recognizing the enforceability of the rights to education, to health, to housing, to universal social security, and other rights, as well as by implementing policies and measures aimed at remedying the shortcomings that affect vast sectors of the Venezuelan population. The Commission emphasizes that the State has succeeded in ensuring the majority of its population is literate, reducing poverty and extreme poverty, expanding health coverage among the most vulnerable sectors, reducing unemployment, reducing the infant mortality rate, and increasing the Venezuelan people’s access to basic public services.

The IACHR also congratulates Venezuela on being one of the countries that has made most progress toward attaining the Millennium Development Goals. It has also brought about a major reduction in the disparity between the groups at the extremes of income distribution, to the point that the country now reports the lowest Gini coefficient in Latin America, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). In addition, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Venezuela moved from having a medium level of human development in 2008 to join the group of countries with a high level of human development in 2009. In the IACHR’s opinion, the priority the State has given to economic, social, and cultural rights is fundamental in ensuring the decent existence of the population and is an important foundation for the maintenance of democratic stability."

Now, everything in this report should by no means be taken seriously, but this admission on the part of an institution that in the past has been largely hostile to the Chavez government underscores how difficult it is to deny the recent social gains in Venezuela. A grain of truth, as they say.