Don’t be misled by news about elections—the government violates human rights, emboldened by the international community’s silence.
The Venezuelan government announced last week that it will hold
parliamentary elections on Dec. 6. This news wouldn’t have attracted
much attention if it weren’t the result of a 30-day hunger strike by
imprisoned opposition leaders Leopoldo López and Daniel Ceballos. It
is encouraging to see the Venezuelan government make motions toward
respecting democracy—but a true election cannot be held when more than
75 political prisoners languish in jail.
Venezuela must be held
accountable for its human-rights abuses. We can start by speaking out
against the imprisonment of the numerous opposition figures.
Unfortunately, important voices—namely, Venezuela’s neighbors in Latin
America—have remained muted.
This reluctance to take a stand is
startling. Venezuela’s economic and security situation is dismal, as is
the government’s response to citizen frustration. Since the 2014 street
demonstrations, during which hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans
protested against the corruption and repression that plague the country,
President Nicolás Maduro’s government and state-sponsored thugs have killed at least 43 people and arrested more than 3,000.
Mr.
López recently completed his 16th month in jail for his role in helping
organize the protests. This is not a criminal offense, and he should be
a free man. He has advocated peaceful responses to injustice; he has
urged the people of Venezuela to resolve their problems in accordance
with the country’s constitution. Much as with other practitioners of
nonviolence—Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.—Mr. López is
paying a high price for his pursuit of justice. Now that the hunger
strike has ended, I urge the Maduro government to allow the Red Cross
access to the 100 or so citizens who joined the hunger strike in
solidarity.
During all this, Latin American leaders have been
hiding behind excuses. When the U.S. in March imposed sanctions on
human-rights violators in Venezuela, Latin American countries responded
by adopting a resolution in support of the country, citing “the
principle of nonintervention.”
I understand the trauma of
colonialism. Yet without the international community, my home country of
South Africa would have suffered a lot more bloodshed. It was the
boycott and sanctions regime, coupled with internal resistance, that
ended apartheid, the darkest chapter in South Africa’s history. The
international community did not really mobilize, however, until after
the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, in which 69 people were murdered for
protesting peacefully. The world should not wait for a similar massacre
to take action in Venezuela.
The way to address the grave
human-rights situation in Venezuela is not to protect the leaders who
manipulate postcolonial sensitivities and history to maintain an iron
grip on power. Latin America and the world must go beyond rhetoric.
Governments must demand the immediate release of all political prisoners
as an imperative to global engagement with Venezuela. It is also time
for Latin American governments to work with multilateral institutions
like the Organization for American States and the United Nations to
demand that Venezuela respect the dignity and humanity of all its
people. Their inaction gives Mr. Maduro license to act with impunity.
Yet
I also believe, like the Catholic Church, in mercy and forgiveness. It
is not too late for President Maduro to change course. In 2016, the
Catholic Church will celebrate the Holy Year of Mercy, which, according
to the Vatican, “serves as an invitation to follow the merciful example
of the Father who asks us not to judge or condemn but to forgive and
give love and forgiveness without measure.” With the support of Pope Francis, I pray that Nicolás Maduro will honor the Holy Year of Mercy early and free Venezuela’s political prisoners.
Mr. Tutu is archbishop emeritus of Cape Town and recipient of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize.
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