[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 428 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 428

Expressing concern about violations of civil liberties taking place in 
 Venezuela and commending the people of Venezuela for their steadfast 
                         support of democracy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 1, 2010

   Mr. LeMieux (for himself and Mr. Coburn) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing concern about violations of civil liberties taking place in 
 Venezuela and commending the people of Venezuela for their steadfast 
                         support of democracy.

Whereas since his election as the President of Venezuela in 1998, Hugo Chavez 
        has systematically weakened democratic institutions in Venezuela by 
        restricting individual rights and the activities of political parties, 
        discouraging the free exchange of ideas, and centralizing and expanding 
        the powers of the Executive over the other branches of government and 
        the people of Venezuela;
Whereas article 57 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 
        guarantees the right of all citizens to freely express their thoughts 
        and opinions;
Whereas article 68 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 
        guarantees the right of all citizens to peacefully demonstrate and 
        prohibits the use of firearms or toxic substances to control peaceful 
        demonstrations;
Whereas, on May 24, 2007, the Senate approved by unanimous consent Senate 
        Resolution 211, 110th Congress, expressing profound concern about the 
        transgression against freedom of thought and expression that was being 
        carried out in Venezuela by the refusal of President Chavez to renew the 
        broadcasting license of ``Radio Caracas Television'', also known as 
        RCTV;
Whereas, on May 24, 2007, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution 
        criticizing the non-renewal of the RCTV license for undermining the 
        right of the press to hold the authorities to account;
Whereas Venezuela and Cuba are the only 2 Western Hemisphere countries listed in 
        the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom `Watch 
        List'' as countries requiring close monitoring due to the nature and 
        extent of violation of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by 
        their governments;
Whereas the 2009 Report of the United States Commission for International 
        Religious Freedom states that in Venezuela, ``religious communities and 
        leaders viewed as political opponents are routinely targeted and 
        harassed by government officials;
Whereas several international human rights organizations have consistently 
        expressed serious concerns regarding weakening of respect for human 
        rights in Venezuela;
Whereas, on January 24, 2010, President Chavez ordered what amounted to a 
        shutdown of ``Radio Caracas Television Internacional'' due to its 
        failure to air one of his speeches;
Whereas on the night of January 25, 2010, 2 students were killed and 5 others 
        were injured by gunfire during peaceful demonstrations against the order 
        by President Chavez to shutdown RCTV Internacional;
Whereas the Government of Venezuela has increasingly failed to address the 
        legitimate needs of its people for greater economic, political, and 
        social opportunities and has aggravated political divisions in 
        Venezuela; and
Whereas the Government of Venezuela has engaged in a military build-up that goes 
        beyond the reasonable security concerns of the Venezuelan state and 
        threatens to launch a destabilizing regional arms race: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the recurring and ongoing repression of 
        peaceful demonstrators in Venezuela by security forces and 
        government-affiliated groups;
            (2) mourns the loss of life resulting from actions taken by 
        authorities in Venezuela to violently disband peaceful 
        protestors, including the students killed on January 25, 2010, 
        during demonstrations against President Chavez's decision to 
        shutdown ``Radio Caracas Television Internacional'';
            (3) urges both the people and the Government of Venezuela 
        to choose a path towards democracy, transparency, and tolerance 
        in order to begin the process of achieving national 
        reconciliation and a rebuilding of democratic institutions in 
        their country;
            (4) urges the people of Venezuela to remain vigilant 
        against further encroachments on their constitutional and 
        internationally recognized civil and human rights;
            (5) urges President Barack Obama to clearly reject and call 
        attention to the violent measures taken by authorities in 
        Venezuela against citizens who are exercising their 
        constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties;
            (6) urges the United States Ambassador to the Organization 
        of American States to call on the member states of the 
        Organization of American States to investigate events taking 
        place in Venezuela and adopt the necessary measures to ensure 
        the Government of Venezuela abides by its commitments under the 
        Inter-American Democratic Charter; and
            (7) urges President Obama to provide robust support for 
        peaceful civil society groups in Venezuela and to take measures 
        that protect the flow of uncensored information among the 
        people of Venezuela.
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