III 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 428 

Expressing concern about violations of civil liberties taking place in Venezuela 

and commending the people of Venezuela for their steadfast support 

of democracy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2010 

Mr. LEMIEUX (for himself and Mr. COBURN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing concern about violations of civil liberties taking 

place in Venezuela and commending the people of Venezuela for their steadfast support of democracy. 

Whereas since his election as the President of Venezuela in 

1998, Hugo Cha ́vez has systematically weakened democratic institutions in Venezuela by restricting individual 

rights and the activities of political parties, discouraging 

the free exchange of ideas, and centralizing and expanding the powers of the Executive over the other branches 

of government and the people of Venezuela; 

Whereas article 57 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela guarantees the right of all citizens to 

freely express their thoughts and opinions; 


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•SRES 428 IS 

Whereas article 68 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela guarantees the right of all citizens to 

peacefully demonstrate and prohibits the use of firearms 

or toxic substances to control peaceful demonstrations; 

Whereas, on May 24, 2007, the Senate approved by unanimous consent Senate Resolution 211, 110th Congress, 

expressing profound concern about the transgression 

against freedom of thought and expression that was 

being carried out in Venezuela by the refusal of President 

Cha ́vez to renew the broadcasting license of ‘‘Radio Caracas Televisio ́n’’, also known as RCTV; 

Whereas, on May 24, 2007, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution criticizing the non-renewal of the RCTV 

license for undermining the right of the press to hold the 

authorities to account; 

Whereas Venezuela and Cuba are the only 2 Western Hemisphere countries listed in the United States Commission 

for International Religious Freedom ‘Watch List’’ as 

countries requiring close monitoring due to the nature 

and extent of violation of religious freedom engaged in or 

tolerated by their governments; 

Whereas the 2009 Report of the United States Commission 

for International Religious Freedom states that in Venezuela, ‘‘religious communities and leaders viewed as political opponents are routinely targeted and harassed by 

government officials; 

Whereas several international human rights organizations 

have consistently expressed serious concerns regarding 

weakening of respect for human rights in Venezuela; 

Whereas, on January 24, 2010, President Cha ́vez ordered 

what amounted to a shutdown of ‘‘Radio Caracas 


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•SRES 428 IS 

Televisio ́n Internacional’’ due to its failure to air one of 

his speeches; 

Whereas on the night of January 25, 2010, 2 students were 

killed and 5 others were injured by gunfire during peaceful demonstrations against the order by President Cha ́vez 

to shutdown RCTV Internacional; 

Whereas the Government of Venezuela has increasingly failed 

to address the legitimate needs of its people for greater 

economic, political, and social opportunities and has aggravated political divisions in Venezuela; and 

Whereas the Government of Venezuela has engaged in a military build-up that goes beyond the reasonable security 

concerns of the Venezuelan state and threatens to launch 

a destabilizing regional arms race: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the recurring and ongoing repres3 sion of peaceful demonstrators in Venezuela by secu4 rity forces and government-affiliated groups; 

5 (2) mourns the loss of life resulting from ac6 tions taken by authorities in Venezuela to violently 

7 disband peaceful protestors, including the students 

8 killed on January 25, 2010, during demonstrations 

9 against President Cha ́vez’s decision to shutdown 

10 ‘‘Radio Caracas Televisio ́n Internacional’’; 

11 (3) urges both the people and the Government 

12 of Venezuela to choose a path towards democracy, 

13 transparency, and tolerance in order to begin the 


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•SRES 428 IS 

1 process of achieving national reconciliation and a re2 building of democratic institutions in their country; 

3 (4) urges the people of Venezuela to remain 

4 vigilant against further encroachments on their con5 stitutional and internationally recognized civil and 

6 human rights; 

7 (5) urges President Barack Obama to clearly 

8 reject and call attention to the violent measures 

9 taken by authorities in Venezuela against citizens 

10 who are exercising their constitutionally guaranteed 

11 civil liberties; 

12 (6) urges the United States Ambassador to the 

13 Organization of American States to call on the mem14 ber states of the Organization of American States to 

15 investigate events taking place in Venezuela and 

16 adopt the necessary measures to ensure the Govern17 ment of Venezuela abides by its commitments under 

18 the Inter-American Democratic Charter; and 

19 (7) urges President Obama to provide robust 

20 support for peaceful civil society groups in Venezuela 

21 and to take measures that protect the flow of uncen22 sored information among the people of Venezuela. 

Æ 


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