Monday, January 19, 2009

Chavista thugs teargas Papal Nunciature

It is probably more complex than simple thuggery, but *once again* a band of Chavista ruffians have launched tear gas canisters into places and residences of those seen as opposing the Chavez regime in Venezuela.

*Here* is the original report, in Spanish.

The gang, known as "La Piedrita", has been implicated in previous attacks, including those against private broadcaster Globovision and the residences of publishers of opposition periodicals.

The Vatican Nunciature has offered protective asylum to anti-regime student activist Nixon Moreno, but has not managed to get him out of the country yet. That might explain the targeting... or it might be because it's pretty obvious that the Catholic Bishops of Venezuela aren't exactly supporting Chavez.

Important Point, however: An Apostolic Nunciature is an EMBASSY. Failure to protect such is a severe violation of treaty.

6 comments:

Marie said...

I'd love to hear something of a protest from the Vatican. Let's hope it comes soon. Just from reading the local press it looks like things are heating up, egged on my the likes of Lina Ron and the "psychiatrist" Rodriguez, twisting everything to their advantage. With the "referendum" only a couple of weeks away, the lackeys are bending over to please the master. I hope what is happening in Venezuela gets some press (although I doubt it) because the only thing that makes Chávez back off a bit is criticism. I wonder how long it will take for people to wake up? Wait, haven't I been saying the same for the past 10 years?

Kate said...

I'd be willing to bet that Chavez and his illustrious Cabinet aren't too familiar with the Vienna Convention... http://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_2_1963.pdf

L.Douglas Garrett said...

@Marie

No sign of the media picking up any Vatican statement yet, but at least CNN newswire and some international newspapers (like the J Post; Israel) have run the story.

@Kate

Better get a copy of the treaty in Spanish for that crew. When I chided D. Rogozin (Russian Ambassador to NATO) here once about unseemly diplomatic conduct, I kindly included the Vienna Convention citation in Russian. Not sure it helped, though.
((shrug))

Kate said...

I would be more than happy to deliver it myself; Lord knows they already follow me around DC. Not too bright, since they're not exactly discreet about it... I bet there would be some excuse made that this is merely an imperialist tool because it was written in 1963, during la Cuarta, and therefore is not valid.

L.Douglas Garrett said...

@Kate

Well, there is that little "can't cure stupid" problem...

As to the tails: If you happened to have the opportunity to photograph them in the act, there are some ways to make life considerably less comfortable for them. They wouldn't be stupid enough to be using Embassy-based personnel for that, would they?

Kate said...

Jajaja yes, they would, or at least have in the past. I had a few pics this summer, but a work colleague borrowed it, broke the camera, didn't tell me, and thus, lost the pics. But, I always have my new camera with me, so you can bet that if it happens again, the photos will be promptly published.