By UN Watch ——Bio and Archives--June 18, 2014
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""We came to Geneva to ask the U.N. to send a mission to Venezuela to evaluate the cases of human rights violations that students have been subjected to." “[The Venezuelan government] has been talking about a conspiracy that we are part of a war, that we were sent here by the CIA, which we weren’t.” "Thirty-two people were murdered while protesting; I hope that the United Nations will not remain indifferent to violations in Venezuela."Alejandro Suarez Teppa – activist and philosophy student; National Board Member of the United Active Youth of Venezuela (Juventud Activa Venezuela Unida), and leader of protest camp in Santa Fé.
He recalled witnessing students being shot in February and said his student camp was attacked on the night of May 8: "They put drugs and weapons inside the camps and U.S. dollars to indicate we were financed by foreign powers," he told reporters, saying he was beaten then held in isolation for 72 hours." "We urge the United Nations to investigate the abuses."Julieta Lopez - Aunt of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez who has been imprisoned since February
"My nephew [Leopoldo Lopez] has been imprisoned for speaking on behalf of an ill-treated nation. He was put in solitary confinement in harsh conditions for promoting peaceful protest." “[The Venezuelan government] are accusing him [Lopez] of having used subliminal language inciting people to take to the streets, and having killed the students; it was not him, but the police!”QUOTES FROM ACTIVISTS ON CUBA Ángel Francisco Carromero Barrios- Spanish politician, driver of the car in deadly accident of Cuban democracy leader Oswaldo Payá:
"We ask the Council to condemn the arbitrary arrest of Jorge Luis García Pérez." "The main road has huge holes, but the Cuban government said we were going 160km per hour, which is impossible." "The accident took place two years ago and the family hasn't had any access to the autopsy; I'm asking you to have common sense."Regis Iglesias, Cuban poet, arrested with 74 other dissidents during the notorious 2003 Black Spring crackdown, Amnesty International prisoner of conscience. Exiled to Spain in 2010, he is spokesman for the Christian Liberation Movement: "Cuba's socialist system is an oppressive system." "Listen to the victims of oppression; we've been governed for the last 50 years by the same family." QUOTES FROM U.S. AMBASSADOR KEITH HARPER On Venezuela: “Venezuela cannot solve its problems by criminalizing dissent.” “Venezuela infringes upon fundamental freedoms, using violence against protesters and journalists, restricting the media and Internet.” On Cuba: “We call for the release of Alan Gross, detained since 2009 for merely facilitating access to the Internet Cuba.” “We reiterate our call for an independent international investigation into the death of Oswaldo Payá.” "We have a simple question: What is Cuba afraid of?" Tweet: "Cuba [is] trying to stifle dissent at the UN, just as it does at home." RESPONSE FROM VENEZUELAN REPRESENTATIVE Venezuela to Amb. Harper: "We have the greatest amount of oil; you [the United States] have the greatest empire and you are trying to take our resources.” On Leopoldo Lopez: “He [Lopez] is in a civil and military government prison and protected by all constitutional and legal rights.” RESPONSE FROM CUBAN REPRESENTATIVE “This is clearly a program of the United States to undermine Cuba, and they have given these speakers money to participate." “Angel Carromero, the U.S. is your boss!" NGO Statement for Jorge Luis Garcia Perez "Antúnez" and Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera, read out at UNHRC press conference in Geneva, 18 June 2014
On June 11, 2014, Cuban authorities arbitrarily detained and assaulted Jorge Luis Garcia Perez "Antúnez" and Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera. Government agents twice choked Antúnez into unconsciousness, reviving him with injections of an unknown substance. They were released on Friday, June 13, only to be again arbitrarily arrested and detained on Sunday evening, June 15. The two human rights defenders are currently being threatened with a political trial and lengthy prison terms. Reports from other activists indicate that officials have been subjecting Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera to beatings during her ongoing detention. We call upon UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay, EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to demand that Cuba comply with its obligations under international law, and with its obligations as an elected member of the UN Human Rights Councik, to immediately release both pro-democracy activists, and to cease and desist from any further acts of violence against them. Signatories Directorio Democratico Cubano UN Watch Christian Liberation Movement Iniciativa por Veneuzela Angelo Carromero, Spanish politician Alejandro Suarez Teppa, Venezuela student protest leader Eusebio Costa, Venezuela student protest leader
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UN Watch is a Geneva-based human rights organization founded in 1993 to monitor UN compliance with the principles of its Charter. It is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as an Associate NGO to the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).