Oil Wars

One of the principal assertions of the Venezuelan opposition is that the Chavez government is somehow repressive and denys Venezuelan citizens basic rights. In fact, they often go so far as to complain that Venezuela violates human rights - the fact that when they took those allegations to court they were found lacking not withstanding.

What would real repression and real human rights violations look like? Maybe something like this:

Amnesty attacks 'dire' Iraq abuse
Thousands of detainees held in Iraq are still being denied basic human rights with reports of torture rife, Amnesty International has said.
It said its interviews with ex-inmates across Iraq had shown the lessons of the Abu Ghraib jail scandal appeared to have been ignored.

The US and UK insist prisoners are treated to international standards.

Iraq's acting human rights minister admitted abuse was continuing but that the government was trying to curb it.

'Gross dereliction'

Amnesty's report, Beyond Abu Ghraib: Detention and Torture in Iraq, says: "Nearly three years after the US and allied forces invaded Iraq... the human rights situation in the country remains dire."


"Not only are prisoners being held in defiance of international law but the allegations of torture continue to pour out of Iraq "
Kate Allen
Amnesty International

The report says both the multinational forces and Iraqi authorities must take urgent steps to stop abuses if there is to be any hope of halting Iraq's rise in violence and sectarianism.

Amnesty says in its 48-page report that thousands of Iraqis are being held without charge or trial.

More than 200 detainees have been imprisoned for more than two years and nearly 4,000 for longer than a year, it reports.

According to US military authorities, 14,000 Iraqi were in the custody of the international forces in Iraq in November 2005

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