[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S6923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING PROFOUND CONCERN REGARDING TRANSGRESSION AGAINST FREEDOM OF
THOUGHT AND EXPRESSION IN VENEZUELA
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
now proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 178, S. Res.
211.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 211) expressing the profound concern
of the Senate regarding the transgression against freedom of
thought and expression that is being carried out in
Venezuela, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to
reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, and that any statements
relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 211) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 211
Whereas, for several months, the President of Venezuela,
Hugo Chavez, has been announcing over various media that he
will not renew the current concession of the television
station ``Radio Caracas Television'', also known as RCTV,
which is set to expire on May 27, 2007, because of its
adherence to an editorial stance different from his way of
thinking;
Whereas President Chavez justifies this measure based on
the alleged role RCTV played in the unsuccessful
unconstitutional attempts in April 2002 to unseat President
Chavez, under circumstances where there exists no filed
complaint or judicial sentence that would sustain such a
charge, nor any legal sanction against RCTV that would
prevent the renewal of its concession, as provided for under
Venezuelan law;
Whereas the refusal to renew the concession of any
television or radio broadcasting station that complies with
legal regulations in the matter of telecommunications
constitutes a transgression against the freedom of thought
and expression, which is prohibited by Article 13 of the
American Convention on Human Rights, signed at San Jose,
Costa Rica, July 18, 1978, which has been signed by the
United States;
Whereas that convention establishes that ``the right of
expression may not be restricted by indirect methods or
means, such as the abuse of government or private controls
over newsprint, radio broadcasting frequencies, or equipment
used in the dissemination of information, or by any other
means tending to impede the communication and circulation of
ideas and opinions'';
Whereas the Inter-American Declaration of Principles on
Freedom of Expression, approved by the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, states in Principle 13, ``The
exercise of power and the use of public funds by the state,
the granting of customs duty privileges, the arbitrary and
discriminatory placement of official advertising and
government loans; the concession of radio and television
broadcast frequencies, among others, with the intent to put
pressure on and punish or reward and provide privileges to
social communicators and communications media because of the
opinions they express threaten freedom of expression, and
must be explicitly prohibited by law. The means of
communication have the right to carry out their role in an
independent manner. Direct or indirect pressures exerted upon
journalists or other social communicators to stifle the
dissemination of information are incompatible with freedom of
expression.'';
Whereas, according to the principles of the American
Convention on Human Rights and the Inter-American Declaration
of Principles on Freedom of Expression, to both of which
Venezuela is a party, the decision not to renew the
concession of the television station RCTV is an assault
against freedom of thought and expression and cannot be
accepted by democratic countries, especially by those in
North America who are signatories to the American Convention
on Human Rights;
Whereas the most paradoxical aspect of the decision by
President Chavez is that it strongly conflicts with two
principles from the Liberator Simon Bolivar's thinking,
principles President Chavez says inspire him, which state
that ``[p]ublic opinion is the most sacred of objects, it
needs the protection of an enlightened government which knows
that opinion is the fountain of the most important of
events,'' and that ``[t]he right to express one's thoughts
and opinions, by word, by writing or by any other means, is
the first and most worthy asset mankind has in society. The
law itself will never be able to prohibit it.''; and
Whereas the United States should raise its concerns about
these and other serious restrictions on freedoms of thought
and expression being imposed by the Government of Venezuela
before the Organization of American States: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) expresses its profound concern about the transgression
against freedom of thought and expression that is being
attempted and committed in Venezuela by the refusal of the
President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, to renew the concession
of the television station ``Radio Caracas Television'' (RCTV)
merely because of its adherence to an editorial and
informational stance distinct from the thinking of the
Government of Venezuela; and
(2) strongly encourages the Organization of American States
to respond appropriately, with full consideration of the
necessary institutional instruments, to such transgression.
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