Diego Arria: Hold Chavez accountable
Hugo Chavez's regime in Venezuela has not impressed many observers for using its power wisely or coherently. But the world must now admit, somewhat belatedly, that Chavez is at least coherent in his relationship with and approach to two of South America's most brutal narco-terrorist groups, the FARC and ELN.Eight years ago, Chavez, to the alarm of the neighboring Colombian government, announced that Venezuela would be officially neutral in Colombia's decades-long struggle against these two Marxist guerrilla armies - groups that have devastated the Colombian economy and targeted innocent civilians through countless killings and kidnappings.Last week, that "neutrality" gave way to something even more troubling and sinister. Chavez's minister of interior, Capt. Rodriguez Chacin, uttered these expressions of solidarity with the guerrillas after they finally freed two women held hostage in the jungle for more than five years: "On behalf of President Chavez, we are very attentive to your fight. Preserve your spirits, preserve your forces, and you can count with us. Comrades, be safe."Such a message, broadcast on the Venezuela-funded Telesur network, was not exactly earth-shattering - for years the growing coziness between the Chavez government and Colombia's guerrilla groups has been clear to many who follow South American politics - but this finally removes any remaining reasonable doubt.Indeed, to confirm that Rodriguez Chacin's praise was not an aberration, the next day, Chavez himself came out of the closet and addressed Venezuela's National Assembly, solemnly declaring his government's political and ideological alliance with the FARC and ELN: "We respect them. They have a Bolivarian project" - meaning, a grand socialist agenda like his own.At that statement, the Assembly - which his supporters totally dominate - stood up in rapturous applause.Citizens of the United States - many of whom call for energy independence to extricate the country from the dangerous politics of the Middle East - must wake up to the threat this presents. A South American government awash in petrodollars has confessed its direct support for and solidarity with the two biggest terrorist organizations in the region.Chavez's admission should have serious consequences, beginning in Colombia - but not ending there. Now that Chavez has made clear he is effectively in command of two armies - his own Venezuelan force and the combined FARC-ELN guerrilla forces - he must be held accountable accordingly.The international community should make clear to Chavez that the 700-plus hostages held by the FARC are now his moral responsibility. He has proven that he can liberate them by freeing two; now he must wield similar power with respect to the rest. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has implored the FARC to "proceed with their immediate and unconditional release"; Chavez must wield his substantial power over them to make this happen.FARC and the ELN are not often on the front pages of American newspapers. But let there be no mistake that they are terrorist groups of the highest - or perhaps the better word is lowest - order. Chavez is not a mediator, but an accomplice. The FARC and Chavez are not humanitarians, but political grandstanders and hostage traffickers.This is a perverse new dimension of terrorism. These groups force child soldiers to kill friends and relatives to harden their spirits, while training them not to cry. (This is not hyperbole; it is established in a September 2003 report by Human Rights Watch.) They kidnap women and children. They kill innocent civilians by the thousands. And they are fueled by the trade in deadly narcotics that continue to wreak havoc on neighborhoods across America.We must not stand by while such enemies of peace and humanity are rewarded by a head of state whose values are in open conflict with basic human rights and decency.
Diego Arria is a former representative of Venezuela at the United Nations, recently served as special adviser to the UN's secretary general. Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views.
Diego Arria is a former representative of Venezuela at the United Nations, recently served as special adviser to the UN's secretary general. Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views.
