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Flyby Alert: Venezuela Military Coup * Video of army murdering Palestinian mother

12 April 2002


This is another incredibly sad and dangerous day on Earth. Sorry for the amount of news, but it keeps coming, and we wonder when will we wake up. The rhetoric of lies lie in the actions, so apparent that is making matters worse for everyone, but especially for that of freedom and democracy.


1) Venezuela Military Coup
2) Video of army murdering Palestinian mother
3) Bush deepening U.S. ties with human-rights abuses

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1) Venezuela Military Coup

April 12, 2002
The Narco News Bulletin

Dear Colleagues,

It is now past 5 a.m. in our América and the newsroom has not slept, as we have sifted through the reports and propaganda by all sides on the events in Venezuela.

Our correspondents have been in direct contact with key sources in Venezuela throughout the day and night. We will continue to monitor the situation and report it to our readers. We begin with a translation of the press account we think is most accurate, from Pablo Rodriguez of the daily newspaper Pagina 12 of Buenos Aires, Argentina, reporting from Caracas, Venezuela.

At 5:23 a.m. Venezuela Eastern Time, the English language email newsletter of Vheadline.com reports from Caracas

"With a South American tropical dawn just hours away, Venezuela has announced a new Military High Command for the transition to a new Presidency of the Republic... at 4:30 a.m. VET they were named as Army C-i-C General Efrain Vasquez Velasco, General Ramirez Poveda, General Alfonso Martinez and General Jesus Pereira."

A subsequent update from Vheadline editor Roy Carson informs that the same business magnate who led the coup has now been installed as unelected "president" of Venezuela: "Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Fedecamaras) president Pedro Carmona Estanga has been appointed the interim President of Venezuela."

President Hugo Chavez, elected in 1998 and 2000 by landslide margins, was placed under arrest and his held in a military prison.

He is 47, the same age as Simón Bolívar was at the end of his road.

From a democratically elected government to an unelected military junta and its imposed "president".

These are your U.S. tax dollars at work.

from somewhere in a country called América,

Al Giordano
Publisher
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com
narconews@hotmail.com

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For another breaking news story on this issue, see

Military seizes power in Venezuela, Chavez's fate is unknown

A Venezuelan general said on Thursday that President Hugo Chavez's government had "abandoned its functions" and the South American country was under the control of the armed forces.National Guard General Alberto Camacho Kairuz made the announcement on local television after senior military officers blamed the president for violence during a huge anti-Chavez protest march in which at least 10 people were killed. "All of the country is under the control of the national armed forces," Camacho said. "The government has abandoned its functions," he added.

News 24 [South Africa], 12 April 2002
For complete story see,
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Americas/0,1113,2-10-33_1167263,00.html

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See Flyby News Archive Issue: For the article by John Pilger, item 2: "Venezuela: Next Chile?"
March 13, 2002 - UN Sanctions Palestine * Venezuela: Next Chile? * Earth First! FBI Lawsuit
http://www.flybynews.com/cgi-local/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1016047396,1820,

Allied with Chavez's domestic enemies is the Bush administration. Defying Washington, Chavez has sold oil to Cuba and refused overflying rights to American military aircraft supplying "Plan Colombia", the US campaign in support of the murderous regime in neighbouring Colombia. Worse, although he condemned the attacks of 11 September, he questioned the right of the United States to "fight terrorism with terrorism". ===

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2) Video of army murdering Palestinian mother


Video of army murdering Palestinian
mother escapes Israeli censorship,
shocks viewers

A video segment showing the murder of a Palestinian mother by Israeli soldiers, before her husband and weeping children, has escaped Israeli military censorship and is doing the rounds on Israeli media. The decision of Israel's Chanel 2 to break the rigid censorship rules imposed by the government upon Israeli media has caused numerous hawkish analysts to demand a "higher degree of self-restraint" by the country's journalists. Watch the shocking video and draw your own conclusions.

CBC [Canada], 12 April 2002 (.ram file)

This link can be found at:
http://newsinsider.cjb.net

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3) Bush deepening U.S. ties with human-rights abuses

Records: Though President Bush says he envisions a world that settles disputes with "reason and good will," he is deepening U.S. ties with countries that commit human-rights abuses.
By Frida Berrigan
Knight Ridder/tribune
Originally Published April 7, 2002

In a speech marking the six-month anniversary of Sept. 11, President Bush envisioned a "peaceful world beyond terror" where "disputes can be settled within the bounds of reason and good will and mutual security." But Bush's coalition against terrorism is deepening U.S. military ties with countries that don't settle their disputes "within the bounds of reason and good will." In fact, many of these countries commit human-rights abuses that are well documented by the State Department. Last month, the department released its annual "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices." It lists 52 countries that are receiving U.S. military training or weapons as having "poor" or "very poor" human-rights records.

Here's a sampling of what the Bush administration has pledged and what the State Department says about some of Washington's partners in the war on terrorism.

* GeorgiaThe United States is offering $64 million to train and equip four 300-strong battalions of Georgian forces to help them combat terrorists hiding in the Pankisi Gorge near the Russian border. The program would equip the units with light weapons, vehicles and communications. Yet the State Department's human-rights report has this to say about Georgia"The government's human-rights record remained poor and worsened in several areas. Several deaths in custody were blamed on physical abuse, torture or inhuman and life-threatening prison conditions. Reports of police brutality continued. Security forces continued to torture, beat and otherwise abuse detainees."

* IndonesiaAfter preparing to send U.S. military "counterterrorism experts" to the world's most populous Muslim nation, the Bush administration, fearing an anti-American backlash, has decided it could be "counterproductive." Instead, Indonesian military forces will be trained in Hawaii, and the FBI will be given the task of tracking down terrorists in this vast multi-island state. The administration is also working to persuade Congress to loosen restrictions on
transfers of military hardware that have been in place since the Indonesian army's rampage in 1999 and widespread atrocities in East Timor. The State Department's report on Indonesia says: "The government's human-rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses. Security forces were responsible for numerous instances of, at times indiscriminate, shooting of civilians, torture, rape, beatings and other abuse, and arbitrary detention in Aceh, West Timor, Papua (formerly known as Irian Jaya) and elsewhere in the country."

* YemenThe Bush administration is planning to send at least 100 U.S. troops to train local forces and has hinted at aiding in the creation of a maritime force. But the State Department's human-rights report says this about Yemen"The government generally respected its citizens' human rights in some areas ... however, its record was poor in several other areas, and serious problems remain. Members of the security forces tortured and otherwise abused persons, and continued to arrest and detain citizens arbitrarily, especially oppositionists in the south and other persons regarded as 'secessionists.'"

* Colombia: There are no al-Qaida terrorists in Colombia, and yet the rhetoric of fighting the war on terrorism has affected U.S. military policy in that country. The Bush administration is hoping to provide Colombia with about $374 million in military aid. An additional $98 million would be used to supply Colombian soldiers with 10 "Super Huey" helicopters to protect a strategically important American-built oil pipeline that has been targeted by the rebels. Total military aid offered to Colombia for 2003 is estimated to be more than $490 million. Here's what the State Department has to say about Colombia: "Government security forces continued to commit serious abuses, including extrajudicial killings. Impunity remained a problem."

* The Philippines: The United States recently sent six more helicopters and a number of aviation experts to join the 660 elite troops doing joint training exercises with the Filipino military. The United States has supplied the Philippines with $92 million worth of military equipment so far, and the Pentagon has requested an additional $2.4 million in training and $20 million in foreign military financing. The State Department's report"The government generally respected the human rights of citizens; however, there were serious problems in some areas. Members of the security services were responsible for extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture and
arbitrary arrest and detention."

* Uzbekistan: U.S. Green Beret troops are training the Uzbek military in marksmanship, infantry patrolling, map reading and other skills. The United States has provided "nonlethal" equipment such as helmets, flak jackets, Humvee transport vehicles and night-vision goggles to the Uzbek military and border guards. For fiscal year 2003, the Pentagon has requested $1.2 million in training and $8.7 million in foreign military funding. The State Department says this about Uzbekistan: "The government's human- rights record remained very poor, and it continued to commit numerous serious abuses. Citizens cannot exercise the right to change their government peacefully; the government does not permit the existence of opposition parties. Security force mistreatment resulted in the deaths of several citizens in custody."

The records of these allies in the war on terrorism wreck the credibility of Bush's high-minded rhetoric. Aiding these repressive regimes will not make the world a better place.

Frida Berrigan is a research associate with the Arms Trade Resource Center at the World Policy Institute and a military analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus. This article was prepared for The Progressive Media Project.

http://www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/oped/bal-pe.column07apr07.story

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