[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 27 (Monday, March 1, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  SENATE RESOLUTION 428--EXPRESSING CONCERN ABOUT VIOLATIONS OF CIVIL 
   LIBERTIES TAKING PLACE IN VENEZUELA AND COMMENDING THE PEOPLE OF 
           VENEZUELA FOR THEIR STEADFAST SUPPORT OF DEMOCRACY

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

                              S. Res. 428

       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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