SENZA CENSURA N.24

november '07 - february '08

US PROJECTS FOR VENEZUELA

Another ‘Orange Revolution’ after the Ukrainian and Yugoslavian ones, a destabilization plan made in USA

In these days, Venezuela lives a big destabilization plan aiming to overthrow Chavez government and to pave the way for an international intervention. This plan follows a way already putted in practice on other countries like Yugoslavia to overthrow Milosevic, or Ukraine with the ‘Orange Revolution’. This plan was used also in Georgia for the ‘Rose Revolution’. The text of this plan, written by Gene Sharp, promoter of the Albert Einstein Institution of the United States, promotes the utilization of the civil non-violent resistance to make radical political changes in a country. But Sharp’s plan contains almost 200 actions and strategies for the social, political and economic destabilization; it includes strikes, demonstrations or the utilization of internet to build a movement (or only to show that a movement is strong and supported), disclaims the legitimate government with the aim to overturn the sovereignty of the countries and open the doors to an international intervention. These strategies were used with success by organizations guided by young people in Yugoslavia, Georgia and Ukraine, financed by the US State Department, propitiated by Gene Sharp and his colleague Peter Ackerman.

The pupil of Sharp, Ackerman, is now the president of Freedom House financed by the State Department to ‘promote democracy’ in the world by the American way; it has a seat in Venezuela from September 2004, after the revocation referendum against Chavez. Peter Ackerman took up his engagement replacing James Woosley, ex-director of CIA representing the US intelligence and security forces. Also Ackerman is a promoter of the International Centre for Non-Violent Conflict, organization that produced documentaries like ‘Bringing down a dictator’, ‘Orange Revolution’ and books like ‘Strategic Nonviolent Conflict’ and ‘A Force More Powerful’.

Also Ackerman works with CANVAS organization (Center for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies) that is the new face of the OTPOR (‘resistance’ in Serbian language), organization of young people, financed by the State Department to overthrow Milosevic. In the web page of CANVAS there is a section dedicated to the ‘actual battlefields’ (http://www.canvasopedia.org/content/battlefield/live.htm) and Venezuela is one of the battlefields where they work with social and political organizations of those countries. In this page there is also the list of the armaments used for these battlefields.

Also the Albert Einstein Institution reports, in its 2006 publication, a series of workshops to support the plans against Chavez with the Yugoslavian OTPOR members and Venezuelan groups of the opposition. Surely, the Albert Einstein Institution is working from 2003 with some Venezuelan groups.

These US organizations, with the Freedom House, its centre of Venezuela and the funds of the State Department, are working for a new ‘coloured revolution’. This last week was the proof that this plan is in progress. Groups like ORVEX (organization of Venezuelan self-exiles in USA), Ofensiva Ciudadana and the Comando de Resistencia Nacional are trying to put in practice the ‘Gene Sharp’ plan to create chaos and insecurity in the country, causing repression to promote the international intervention. With their ‘guarimbas’ actions (sabotages, provocations of groups of people that make blocks and clashes with the police), their violence in the streets (1) and the utilization of the young Venezuelan people faces, they manipulate the world public opinion, obtaining the effect that multilateral organisms, like OAS (Organization of American States), European Community, US government or international associations for the human rights, are making critical statements about the Venezuelan government and support the destabilizing groups.

Though they didn’t carry out their objectives, the proofs show that they will keep on applying these strategies to obtain international support and the power to attack once again the Venezuelan democracy and the welfare of the people. Put an end to the actions of groups like Freedom House and the International Republican Institute would be the right way to defend the nation. These organizations are used by the State Department and CIA and are working freely in Venezuela.

(The following document is an extract from the Chapter 9 ‘Spying and Sabotage’ of the book ‘Bush vs Chavez: Washington’s War Against Venezuela’, Eva Golinger, ed. Monte Avila, 2006)

“One of the Andean nation main menaces is the infiltration of many Colombian paramilitary forces passing the borders with the only mission to kill Chavez. Someone thinks that this idea seems absurd or imaginary, but this is a real danger. In the month of May 2004, more of 80 Colombian paramilitaries were arrested near Caracas in a farm of the Cuban-Venezuelan Robert Alonso; they were planning the assassination of Chavez. Few months before, Alonso (now self-exiled  in Miami) appealed to the general civil disobedience and violence, calling it ‘guarimba’, with the purpose to provoke State repressive reactions, justifying so an accusation for human rights violation and the absence of constitutional order. The ‘guarimba’ is a concept that was borne with the support of the Albert Einstein Institution (AEI), US organization with a misleading name and financed by the State Department.

The AEI is direct by Gene Sharp, self-proclaimed as expert of the so-called ‘non-violent defence’ or also ‘regime overthrow’. These methodologies were studied and applied by the opposition movements in Burma, Thailand, Tibet, Byelorussia, Serbia, Zimbabwe and Venezuela. The 2004 annual report of this Institution says that Venezuela is one of the countries where there are actions in progress:

‘Venezuelans opposed to Chávez met with Gene Sharp and other AEI staff to talk about the deteriorating political situation in their country. They also discussed options for opposition groups to further their cause effectively without violence. These visits led to an in-country consultation in April 2003. The nine-day consultation was held by consultants Robert Helvey and Chris Miller in Caracas for members of the Venezuelan democratic opposition. The objective of the consultation was to provide them with the capacity to develop a nonviolent strategy to restore democracy to Venezuela. Participants included members of political parties and unions, nongovernmental organization leaders, and unaffiliated activists. Helvey presented a course of instruction on the theory, applications and planning for a strategic nonviolent struggle. Through this, the participants realized the importance of strategic planning to overcome existing shortcomings in the opposition’s campaign against Chávez. Ofensiva Ciudadana, a pro-democracy group in Venezuela, requested and organized the workshop. This workshop has led to continued contact with Venezuelans and renewed requests for additional consultations.’ (http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations/org/2000-04rpt.pdf)

The Albert Einstein Institution uses much love in helping the Venezuelan opposition to find new clever forms to overthrow Chavez! AEI ‘advisor’ to Caracas Robert Helvey, teaches the opposition to develop new strategies to change regime in Venezuela; he is a retired US Army colonel and he studied in the superior schools of the Staff and of the US Navy. Even if the biography of the colonel Helvey says that now he is a simple ‘a strategic planning consultant to nongovernmental organizations promoting non-violent political reforms among pro-democracy movements’ really he is a specialist in low intensity conflicts, in asymmetric war, and regime overthrows.

In one of his public statements Robert Alonso says to be proud of the ‘special international consultation offered by Gene Sharp’, a specialist that can give a contribution to the next plans and strategies to ‘overthrow Chavez regime’.

After few months later the visit of the colonel Helvey to Caracas, Alonso and his group realized some ‘guarimbas’ in February 2004, with the results of some dead and injured persons and the destabilization of some areas of the country. But this international plan of the’ specialist’ was going on only 4 days, from 27 of February to the first of May 2004 with the reaction of  the Venezuelan authority and citizens that don’t want to support these kind of brutal actions.”

Eva Golinger

Venezuelan-American attorney and journalist.

Note

(1) For example, in May 2007 the Bolivian embassy of Caracas with a home-maid bomb of rightist group ‘Romulo Gallego’ that in a docume