Thursday, February 09, 2006

Sumate under fire Sumate under fire Editorial in El Nacional The official persecution of the directors of the civil ONG Sumate is reaching its end. They are accused of conspiring "to alter the Republican order", as if they had tried to implant a monarchy in Venezuela, no more, no less. As if armed with machine guns, rockets, tanks and bombers, they had placed in danger the soundness and continuity of the supposed Bolivarian revolution. The Government demonstrates with this that is it is not prepared to accept the smallest discrepancies, not the least dissidence, or the most discreet request that the 2006 elections be presided by a National Electoral Council (CNE) that can be trusted. That is what Sumate always asked for, interpreting the large majority of Venezuelans, nothing different, even, to what has been requested by international organizations such as the OAS. Nothing different from the observations made by the hemispheric organization in its report about the elections of December 4th. There are a few ways to read the trial against Sumate. One of them is the intransigence and the intolerance of the regime. Another one, the wish of taking advantage of the punishment against the directors so that everybody learns the lesson and the requests for more transparent and fair conditions for all citizens cease. That people shut up out of fear. The Electoral year projects itself as a year of persecutions and threats, while the officialist train moves at high speed towards December 3d. As dangerous conspirators, the Prosecutor asked the 7th. Court that Maria Corina Machado and Alejandro Plaz be tried separately, since others accused, Luis Enrique Palacios and Ricardo Esteves, are being accused of "complicity". But, on top of that, as conspirators of great danger, they should be tried behind bars. No wonder the defense lawyers warn that at the next hearing both Machado as well as Plaz could be jailed. The defense has denounced a number of irregularities along the process. The accused were not allowed to speak. The representative from the Prosecutor's office reiterated the request that they be tried in prison, despite the decision by the Supreme Court that forbids it. Thus, not even these formalitities are taken into consideration. When lawyer Juan Martin Echeverria jr. insisted on speaking, the judge ordered the constables to remove him from the room. If one wants to have an idea how the trial is being carried out, this detail is sufficient. You can guess what the outcome will be. As stated above, Machado and Plaz are being accused of the crime of conspiracy to "destroy the form of republican politics that the nation has been given" Among the crimes they have been charged with is receiving money from the organization National Endowment for Democracy of the United States. Palacios and Estevez face the same process for the same crime, but as accomplices. The Prosecutor Ortega Diaz requested the maximum penalty for the crime of conspiracy, 16 years. This rigor has no precedent in a country where military conspirators (like our President) were judged only by military judges, never suffered sentences of that magnitude and always ended being benefited from measures of pardon. Even in bloody occasions (like February 4th. 1992) in which the uprisings left hundreds of dead. Now that the coup plotters from the Saman de Guere are in power, they see with horror the specter of subversion. They see conspirators even in organizations like Sumate. But the civilians never threatened anyone. Sumate has acted openly, has accounted for its income and expenses. To say that the meetings of Sumate did not have as their objective electoral training of the citizens but a subversive end, that of overthrowing the Bolivarian regime, is a valid argument only for idiots. One would have to give the Sumate Board an award for those "conspirators" that respect the law: they would be an exception in the history of Venezuela. And it is this almighty regime, where the military predominates, the most armed, the one that has had the largest resources, the one that feels threatened. It is like one of those tales of Antonio Arraiz where tio Conejo (Uncle Rabbit) makes tio Tigre (Uncle Tiger) run. Unfortunately the question can not be one for being festive, because what is in danger is the freedom of some citizens worthy of esteem that have believed in the perfectibility of our institutions and have advocated for that. You can not condemn them with coarse lies. Let's defend now justice and let us all reject this absurd trial. 3:08:26 PM    comment []

The meaning of Cipote, Carajo and Hell Dear British Reporters and Citizens of the Commonwealth: You may be here trying to find the meaning of the word "cipote" where our esteemed President sent your Prime Minister today. In the heat of the moment I translated the word "cipote" as hell. This was an oversimplification on my part. The truth is that the word "cipote" means "carajo", which is not exactly hell. The purpose of this note is to guide you into understanding where exactly Hugo Chavez wants your Prime Minsiter to go and whether this represents a threat to him or your country. The word hell carries some religious connotations. It is the place where your soul goes to for eternal punishment when you leave this world. "Cipote" and "Carajo" carry no such connotation. First of all, it has nothing to with with religion or any organized group, it simply represents a very personal position on the part of the person sending you there. It is not eternal either, someone can be very upset and send you there, but regret it later and bring you back. "El Cipote" and its relative "el carajo" represent something more temporary, a mysterious sort of place, which must not be very nice and is so far away that you want to send anyone you really dislike there. According to the Royal Academy of the Spanish language to send you to "el carajo" means to reject you with scorn, with disdain, with insolence. So it is not nice of the sender to wish you there. Both words "carajo" and "cipote" are old, but in some sense they are very modern. You see, while it is done with disdain, in the end it is a "virtual" wish that is never carried out. It is nasty, it is a snub, a slight, but it is all done figuratively speaking anyway. In fact, look at us Venezuelans. Hugo Chavez has sent us, over half of the Venezuelan population to "el carajo" and "el cipote" at one time or another during the last seven years. But we are all mostly still here, wondering who will be next. In fact it is amazing how many of his own supporters he has sent our way, but we really don't want some of them. In fact, we don't like everyone in El Cipote, ex-Chavistas or opposition, but it is virtual anyway. Today on the other hand, we are proud of having someone of the intelligence and eloquence of Mr. Blair joining us in el cipote. We are sure it will improve this virtual neighborhood and we are honored by his company. Finally, maybe looking up what cipote and carajo mean, will teach you something about Venezuela and you may realize that we are not in el cipote after all, although our leader may appear to make it so. With warm regards The Devil from el cipote 12:23:09 AM    comment []