2006 and 2007, in Op-eds on Venezuela, I already had to reference Rwanda. That’s how late it is.

Sir, Luis Almagro writes, “As an international community, we have failed to live up to our responsibilities in Venezuela… We must address the corruption that is starving an entire country’s population, and provide humanitarian assistance to those who are desperately in need. We must act — it is already too late” “The world has a responsibility to protect the people of Venezuela”, September 28.

How can we Venezuelan’s not be extremely thankful for Luis Almagro’s support in the OAS? For a full decade, 2005-2015, we had to suffer Almagro’s predecessor José Miguel Insulza’s shameless silence on what was going on in Venezuela, even his support of its regimes and its buddies.

When Almagro now refers to former US president Bill Clinton once telling the people of Rwanda: “all over the world there were people like me sitting in offices, day after day after day, who did not fully appreciate the depth and speed with which you were being engulfed by this unimaginable terror”; I must point out that already 2006 and 2007 in two Op-Eds published in Venezuela’s leading newspaper, El Universal, before I was censored by the government friendly new owners’ of that paper, I had to refer to Rwanda. That’s how late this all is.

In 2009, in a similar Op-Ed, addressed to OAS and its Inter American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) I put forward the case that when gasoline, in a country with so many needs, was basically given away for free, an odious violation of economic human rights was being committed. 

In July 2015, I formally denounced that to IACHR, ending my accusation with: “Let me assure you right now, at this moment, the official price of a liter of milk is around 300 times higher than the price of a liter of gasoline ... and if that is not an economic crime against humanity, what is?”Sir, I am still waiting for a response.

@PerKurowski

Is the concept of economic crimes against humanity too much for governments to handle?

Sir, Andres Schipani writes that Henrique Capriles, with respect to the government’s actions on the recall referendum says: “they will be blocking the only democratic solution we have now. That will be throwing petrol on to the fire.” “Maduro rival rallies revolt in Venezuela”

But, what about throwing some petrol on the hunger in Venezuela? Even after it was raised a mindboggling 6.000 percent in February this year, petrol is still mindboggling being sold at less than $2 cents per liter.

Luis Almagro, the head of the Organisation of American States finally speaks out on the issue of Venezuela, good for him. The previous decade, under the chair of José Miguel Insulza, OAS’s silence was just too embarrassing.

But Almagro should also ask the Inter-American Commision on Human Rights: Is not the giveaway of petrol in a country where there is lack of food and medicines, an economic crime against humanity?

I formally asked IACHD that in 2015, and in 2009 by means of an Op-Ed in Caracas, but I never received any response. I wonder, is the sole concept of economic crimes against humanity just too much for governments to handle?

In Venezuela I have proposed to increase the locally sold petrol to at least its world price as a commodity, and share out with all citizens the new revenues. In this way most citizens would be a bit better positioned to deal with the de-facto state of emergency that exists. And petrol consumption would go down, and more petrol could be exported.

@PerKurowski ©