Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.93.960606170918.19053B-100000 Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 18:51:32 -0500 From: Miguel Antonio Villegas <mailto:mvillega@SUNSET.BACKBONE.OLEMISS.EDU> Subject: Re: Venezuelasued for human rights abuses against conservation To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
On Thu, 6 Jun 1996, posted for the Environmental Guardians Defense Committee wrote:> BIOLOGISTS FILE SUIT AGAINST THE VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT
>
> Dr. Aldemaro Romero and Prof. Ignacio Agudo filed a petition
> against the Venezuelan government with the Inter-American
> Commission of Human Rights in Washington, D.C.
>
> Rights International, a non-profit and non-partisan organization
> that represents victims of human rights violations before
> international courts, announced at a 24 May 1996 press conference
> held at the Knight Center of the University of Miami, that it is
> seeking an injunction against the Venezuelan government and its
> agents to prohibit the threats of death and kidnapping and other
> acts that continue to be committed against Profs. Agudo and
> Romero and their families. It is also seeking compensation for
> damages suffered by them as a consequence of the Venezuelan
> government's retaliation attempts against Dr. Romero and Prof.
> Agudo for having released the results of their scientific studies
> on dolphin mortality.
DEAR SIRS:
I SAW THE INFAMOUS VIDEO. THE VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT ARGUES THAT IT WAS FORGED, AND THEY SHOWED A SUPPOSEDLY UN-EDITED COPY OF THAT VIDEO, IN WHICH, THEY SAY, IT CAN BE HEARD THE VOICES OF PEOPLE, SUPPOSEDLY ROMERO, GIVING INSTRUCTIONS TO THE FISHERMEN ON HOW TO KILL THE DOLPHIN. IT IS A REAL BLOODY VIDEO, A VERY SAD THING TO WATCH.
I WONDER HOW A CONSERVATIONIST BIOLOGIST, A TRUE ANIMAL LOVER CAN JUST STAND WITH A VIDEO CAMERA AND TAKES SHOOTS OF THAT MASSACRE. WOULD YOU?
AT THIS POINT, IT IS FOR ME THE WORD (OR THE VIDEO, IF YOU WILL) OF ONE, AGAINST THE WORD (OR VIDEO) OF THE OTHER. I HAVE MY PERSONAL OPINION ABOUT THIS, BUT THE POINT IS, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO MAKE A JUDGEMENT BASED ON JUST WORDS. IN THAT REGARD, I SALUTE THIS COMING TRIAL, AND I HOPE THAT IT WILL SETTLE, ON TECNICAL GROUNDS, THE MATTER OF WHICH VIDEO TELLS THE TRUE HISTORY. ANALYSIS OF THE TAPES WILL TELL. UNTIL THEM, IS JUST THE WORD OF ONE AGAINST THE WORD OF OTHER.
ON THE OTHER HAND, I HAVE NOT SEEN THOSE SCIENTIFIC STUDIES ON DOLPHIN MORTALITY MADE BY ROMERO AND AGUDO. I WILL BE VERY THANKFULL IF YOU CAN POST IN THE INTERNET (JUST LIKE YOU POSTED THIS) THAT DATA, OR, AT LEAST, HOW IT CAN BE ACCESED, WHERE IT IS PUBLISHED. OTHERWISE, I AM AFRAID THAT, AS A SCIENTIST, I DO NOT HAVE ELEMENTS TO JUDGE IF THOSE ALLEGATIONS HAVE ANY BASE OR NOT. THE SHOWING OF A VIDEO WHICH IS ALLEGED (BY SOME, AT LEAST) TO BE FORGED IS NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE.
>
> Part of that study included videotaped evidence of Venezuelan
> fishermen killing dolphins for bait for commercial shark-fishing
> in February 1993,
THAT EVIDENCE, I SUPPOSE, IS THE VIDEO. SO, IF THAT IS TRUE, I MUST CORRECT YOU. IT IS NOT "DOLPHINS", IS A "DOLPHIN". AND, AGAIN, THAT EVIDENCE IS STILL ON DISPUTE.
an activity that the government dismisses as > non-existent.
I AM A VENEZUELAN BIOLOGIST. I SPENT A LONG TIME IN THE VENEZUELAN COAST. I WORKED FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL NGO IN NATIONAL PARKS IN THE COAST OF VENEZUELA. I MEET MANY PEOPLE THERE, FISHERMEN, OTHER BIOLOGISTS FROM OTHER VENEZUELAN AND INTERNATIONAL NGO'S AND ALSO BIOLOGISTS FROM THE GOVERNMENT. I DO NOT WORK, OR ARE ASSOCIATED IN ANY WAY WITH THE VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT.
I HAVE NEVER SEEN, OR HEARD, NEVER, ANY COMMENTARY OR ACTIVITY RELATED TO ANY KIND OF DOLPHIN KILLING. NEVER. IT REALLY SURPRISES ME. AS FISHERMAN WORLDWIDE, THEY LOVE TO TALK, AND THEY HOLD MUCH TO TRADITIONS. AND, TO MY BEST KNOWLEDEGE, FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, THERE IS NOT ANY TRADITION ASSOCIATED WITH KILLING OF DOLPHINS IN VENEZUELA. ALL TO THE CONTRARY, I HAVE HEARD FOLK STORIES ABOUT DOLPHINS THAT HELPED PEOPLE FRON DROWING.
******* I URGE TO THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD ANY CONNECTION WITH THE VENEZUELAN COASTS, AND READ THIS MESSAGE TO ANSWER BACK SAYING IF THEY EVER HEARD OR SEEN ANY DOLPHIN-KILLING STORY. OR, IF NOT, TO SAY SO. I KNOW THERE ARE MANY BIOLOGISTS THAT HAVE VISITED AND WORKED IN THAT REGION. PLEASE, FROM WHAT YOUR EXPERIENCE, IS IT COMMON IN THE COAST OF VENEZUELA TO SEEN DOLPHINS KILLED?
LET THE REST OF THE PEOPLE KNOW.
I CAN UNDERSTAND THE CONCERN OF THE HUMAN AND ANIMAL RIGHT MOVEMENTS ON THIS CASE. I WORKED FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL NGO IN VENEZUELA, I LOVE ANIMALS, THAT'S WHY I AM A BIOLOGIST AND I HAVE BEEN AN AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MEMBER FOR MANY YEARS, BOTH IN VENEZUELA AND IN THE U.S. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THESE ISSUES.
BUT WHAT I DO NOT SEE HERE IS THE EVIDENCE TO CONDEMN ANY SIDE.
I AM AS CONCERNED ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS OF ROMERO AND AGUDO, AS I AM ABOUT THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE VENEZUELAN FISHERMEN, THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST OF MY COUNTRY, VERY HUMBLE AND POOR PEOPLE, HANDCRAFT FISHERMEN WHO DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY, OR THE COMPUTER SKILLS TO USE THE INTERNET TO DEFEND THEMSELVES, OR TO TRAVEL TO MIAMI. I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE BEEN DEPICTED IN A FAIR WAY. I BELIEVE THEY HAVE BEEN PORTRAYED HAS SAVAGE ANIMAL KILLERS. MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TELLS ME OTHERWISE.
I DEEPLY RESENT THAT CHARACTERIZATION OF A WHOLE GROUP OF HUMAN BEINGS. I THINK THEY ALSO HAVE HUMAN RIGHTS, AND I EXPECT THESE HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS TO DO SOME WORK IN VENEZUELA, AND FIND OUT IF THERE IS ANY TRUTH ON THIS ALLEGATIONS. THERE ARE SEVERAL HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS THERE, BESIDES AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL.
Still smarting from an unrelated international > tuna embargo for allowing the killing of dolphins by Venezuelan
> fishermen in the eastern tropical Pacific ocean, the Venezuelan
> government is alleged to have been embarrassed by the videotape's
> airing on international television. Consequently, the Venezuelan
> government retaliated against Dr. Romero and Prof. Agudo by
> threatening their lives and by filing charges against them that
> Rights International and other human rights and dolphin
> conservation groups say are entirely false.
AGAIN, EACH SIDE IS ENTITLED TO AN OPINION. I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT VENEZUELA IS AN INDEPENDENT NATION, WITH ITS LAWS, ITS JUDICIAL SYSTEM, JUDGES, A SUPREME COURT, ETC. IT IS A DEMOCRACY, AND AUTHORITIES ARE ELECTED BY DIRECT ELECTIONS. A FEW YEARS AGO, THE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNTRY WAS IMPEACHED BY CONGRESS, AND STEPPED DOWN IN A PEACEFULL WAY, ELECTIONS WERE HELD AND A NEW PRESIDENT STEPPED IN. THE COUNTRY HAS LAWS. IT IS NOT THE USUAL CONDUCT OF THE GOVERNMENT, FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN, TO THREAT PEOPLE'S LIFE.
IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING (AND , PLEASE, CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG) THAT CHARGES WERE PRESENTED IN THE VENEZUELAN TRIBUNALS, BY THE VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT, ON VENEZUELAN BIOLOGISTS. I DO NOT SEE ANY REASON WHY A JUDICIAL PROCESS WAS NOT RUNNED IN VENEZUELA. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF JUDICIAL PROCESSES GOING ON THERE. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THESE PERSONS DID NOT WANT TO FACE THE JUSTICE THERE. SO, FROM THE VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT POINT OF VIEW, I ASSUME THAT THEY ARE RUNAWAYS.
IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING, FROM WHAT I READ IN THE INTERNET, THAT ONE OF THEM WAS RECENTLY HELPED TO ESCAPE FROM VENEZUELA. I AM NOT A LAWYER, BUT MY ASSUMPTION IS, THIS PERSON IS RUNNING FROM THE JUSTICE OF A COUNTRY, AND THE PEOPLE THAT HELPED HIM TO DO THAT DID BREAK THE LAW BY DOING SO. IT IS MY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A VERY UNRESPECTFUL WAY TO BEHAVE, AND I WOULD NOT EXPECT THAT CONDUCT FROM ANYBODY (PEOPLE OR ORGANIZATION) IN WHICH I WOULD DEPOSIT MY TRUST.
Dr. Romero and Prof. > Agudo have denied all charges made against them.
>
> The videotape was aired on Venezuelan, UK, and US television
> stations, including CNN, the BBC, and the nationally syndicated
> television program American Journal. Their story also received
> front-page coverage in The Wall Street Journal. The Venezuelan
> Embassy in Washington, D.C. and the Venezuelan General
> Consulate's office in Miami, claimed to have received 20,000
> angry letters of protest from the American public. Picketers at
> the embassy urged a boycott of Venezuelan products.
>
> Subsequently, the Venezuelan government, embarrassed by the
> negative publicity, accused Dr. Romero and Prof. Agudo of having
> bribed and directed the fishermen to kill a dolphin. They and
> their wives and young children began to receive death threats.
> Dr. Romero brought his family to a safety in the United States
> and Prof. Agudo is now in Brazil seeking political asylum. In
> April 1994, a judge in the State of Sucre issued an arrest
> warrant for Dr. Romero and Prof. Agudo and vowed on television
> that once arrested, they "would never be released from jail."
> Other Venezuelan officials including the Governor of the
> Venezuelan State of Sucre and the Venezuelan Consul General in
> Miami have charged Dr. Romero and Prof. Agudo with treason. The
> governor of Sucre told The Wall Street Journal, "If it were up to
> me, I would have [Dr. Romero] shot."
>
> Fearing for their lives, Dr. Romero and his family arrived in
> Miami in February 1994. In April 1994, Prof. Agudo and his family
> went into hiding. During this time, Prof. Agudo's wife was
> unable to obtain adequate medical care for chronic heart disease,
> and her health deteriorated. She died on April 12, 1995 while in
> hiding. Prof. Agudo and his two daughters escaped from Venezuela
> to Brazil in February 1996 where they have applied for political
> asylum.
>
> Dr. Romero is now an adjunct associate professor of biology at
> the University of Miami. He is the former executive director of
> the Venezuelan Foundation for the Conservation of Biological
> Diversity ("Bioma") and former president of the Hemispheric
> Conference on Economics and the Environment. Prof. Agudo is a
> biology professor, former curator of the La Salle Natural History
> Museum of Venezuela, and founder and general director of
> Fundacetacea, a Venezuelan environmental organization.
>
> The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights will examine Dr.
> Romero and Prof. Agudo's claims and may refer the case to the
> Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica. Having
> ratified the American Convention on Human Rights, the Venezuelan
> Government is legally bound by the Court's decision.
>
> Professors and students from the University of Miami School of
> Law and the New York University Law School assisted Rights
> International in its preparation of the case as did the
> Environmental Guardians Defense Committee, a non-profit group
> committed to assisting those persecuted for conservation-related
> activities.
>
> For further information, please contact Mr. Francisco Forrest
> Martin, President, Rights International, at (305) 446-7334.
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