Dear Councillors,

Forwarded on behalf of Ron Sherwood.

Gabi

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Dear Councillors:
 
Please find below links to two acounts of the Venezuela legislation due to be passed this week. The material is forwarded from items posted on the ALAC list.
 
Ron Sherwood
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There are two troubling projects in current discussion in the Venezuelan parliament. They are both likely to pass this week. These merit international review and discussion:
1) After Legislative Setback, Venezuela's Chavez Plans to Legislate by Decree
 
English
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=381328&CategoryId=10718 <http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=381328&CategoryId=10718>
   
Chavez announced that he will ask his lame-duck National Assembly    (where he will lose his unchallenged majority on January 5) to pass an “Enabling Law” that will allow him to dictate by decree for 18    months -- bypassing the incoming Opposition legislators.

In the next 165-member National Assembly, the ruling party will have the majority of lawmakers but not, as it has had up to now, the two-thirds majority necessary to approve organic laws or    extraordinary measures such as granting special powers to the president.

A Venezuelan newspaper account:
 
Venezuelan govn't seeks media law to regulate the Internet:
 
English
http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/12/10/en_pol_esp_venezuelan-govnt-se_10A4838455.shtml <http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/12/10/en_pol_esp_venezuelan-govnt-se_10A4838455.shtml>

Global Voices has a comment on the Resorte (Internet law) here, although it does not take into account yesterdays discussions:
English
http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/12/venezuela-law-for-internet/ <http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/12/venezuela-law-for-internet/>
 
2) Internet Censorship in Venezuela. Bill on Social Responsibly of Internet service providers and electronic media + Creation of National Internet Exchange Point
 
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and its Office of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression has just sent a press release today on the Venezuelan issue. It has very good paragraphs on freedom of expression and Internet.
 
English                                                   http://www.cidh.oas.org/Comunicados/English/2010/122-10eng.htm <http://www.cidh.oas.org/Comunicados/English/2010/122-10eng.htm>

Spanish                                      http://www.cidh.oas.org/Comunicados/Spanish/2010/122-10sp.htm <http://www.cidh.oas.org/Comunicados/Spanish/2010/122-10sp.htm>
 
 


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