Thursday, June 7, 2007

OAS punts

Now that’s the OAS we know and love – at its general assembly in Panama, it passes a lowest-common-denominator, consensus resolution on media freedom that mentions neither Venezuela nor the action against RCTV. The failure to send an investigative mission may be understandable, because the OAS is not constituted to send missions to member states against their will. But the RCTV omission is bad news. Nonintervention is one thing; closing one’s eyes is another.

1 comment:

leftside said...

OAS hardly "closed its eyes" to the matter. RCTV wholly dominated the meeting in Panama. The OAS took the matter up for discussion and democraticaly rejected the hard-line US proposal, which as was pointed out, was contrary to the OAS responsibilities. The matter is still proceeding in the Venezuelan Courts. It is wholly unclear what a visit to Venezuela would uncover that is not already known. The real issue that has been silenced at the OAS is Guantanamo Bay. Rice walked out as soon as it was mentioned by Venezuela.

Meanwhile, RCTV has signed agreements to air its #1 news program on Venezuela's Globovision network. Their other news program is already aired on Venezuelan radio. So it is only their vapid soap operas and game shows that are not getting 100% nationwide distribution here 10 days after the supposed "shutting" of RCTV. Those shows are being aired on satellite and in public screens set up in Caracas public squares.

Also, in an extraordinary spectacle, the Venezuelan National Assembly invited opposition student protesters to address the legislature on national TV. However the students made a fool of themselves when they decided to leave after their speeches, rather than listen and respons to pro-government students. I wonder when the US government will allow student protesters to address Congress?