SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S CENSORSHIP OF "LA REVOLUCION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED"
FIRMA LA PETICION EN CONTRA DE LA CENSURA DE "LA REVOLUCION NO SERA TRANSMITIDA" DE AMNESTIA INTERNACIONAL
http://www.petitiononline.com/vendoc/petition.html
To complain directly to the Amnesty International Film Festival please use the below information:
 
Don Wright - Regional Development Coordinator, BC/Yukon
(604) 313-4069 E-mail: dwright@amnesty.ca
 
Amnesty International Canadian Section (E.S.)
Pacific Regional Office
#203 - 45 Dunlevy Street
Vancouver, BC
V6A 3A3
Phone- (604) 294-5160
Fax- (604) 294-5130
E-mail - pro@amnesty.ca
 
Statement in Support of the public viewings and screenings of the Documentary Film “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”

To:  Amnesty International, others

Two statements of support of the documentary. See also http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/petition/

Statement in Support of the Documentary Film “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”

We write to express our deepest support for public viewings and screenings of the award-winning documentary film, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” In light of the recent suspension of the film’s screening at the Amnesty International Film Festival to be held at the Pacific Cinematheque in Vancouver, British Columbia, from November 6-9, 2003, as a result of pressure from opposition groups in Venezuela and their international counterparts, we find it essential to declare our support for this revealing film, which evidences heinous human rights violations carried out during the April 2002 coup d’etat in Venezuela.

“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” is an extraordinary documentary by Irish filmmakers Kim Bartley and Donnacha O’Briain, who by happenstance were able to document the events surrounding the April 2002 coup d’etat against democratically elected President Chávez of Venezuela. The filmmakers were able to remain in the presidential palace in Venezuela and document while opposition forces violently overtook the government and dismantled Venezuela’s pillar democratic institutions, including the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the Constitution and the offices of the Ombudsman and Attorney General. The film exposes the atrocious human rights violations committed with the purpose of executing the coup successfully, including:

- The extrajudicial killing of more than 50 people;

- The torture of pro-government supporters and government officials;

- The kidnapping and unlawful detention of President Chávez for a 48-hour period;

- The arbitrary arrest and persecution of pro-government supporters and officials;

- The violation of rights to political participation and self-determination by unjustly imposing an unelected de facto government on citizens;

- The violation of freedom of expression and public access to information by perpetuating a media-led blackout on informati on during the mass protests demanding President Chávez’s return to power, and distorting news and manipulating images that were used as justification for violence, aggression and the coup itself.

These crimes violate fundamental rights embodied in the American Convention on Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man and the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Amnesty International has documented these atrocities in their 2003 Annual Report: http://web.amnesty.org/report2003/Ven-summary-eng.

The film is presently being screened at film festivals and theaters around the world. It has provided insight into a historical event with exclusive footage that reveals details of this unconstitutional and undemocratic overthrow of an elected-leader that were previously omitted by the international mass media. As protectors and defenders of international human rights, we strongly believe this film is poignant evidence of human rights violations carried out by the coup leaders. By allowing the international public to view this documentary account of the events of April 2002, the audience is able to bear witness to these inexcusable acts and arrive at their own conclusions.

We find it unacceptable that Amnesty International, a worldwide organization campaigning for internationally recognized human rights, would bow down to pressure from groups opposing the film’s subject matter and therefore remove it from its upcoming festival in British Columbia. Amnesty International has decided to eliminate the film from their upcoming festival based on two reasons: 1) Amnesty International claims the film’s subject matter does not address human rights issues; and 2) Amnesty International believes that screening the film would further polarize the Venezuelan people and potentially create more violence within Venezuela.

These reasons are without justification. Firs t of all, the film specifically documents the above-mentioned human rights abuses as a result of opposition forces carrying out an illegal coup d’etat, dismantling democratic institutions and imposing a blackout on information so facts would not be revealed to either the Venezuelan people or the international community. Additionally, Amnesty International independently selected the film as a part of its festival in Canada. Therefore, the organization must have believed the film’s subject matter was in line with the festival theme. It was only upon receipt of a petition from opposition forces in Venezuela and their international counterparts that Amnesty decided to remove the film from the festival schedule. Finally, since the film is currently showing in theaters around the world, its viewing at a festival in Vancouver, Canada would no more affect internal Venezuelan politics than any other screening.

Amnesty International claims to work in pursuit of universal protection and recognition of human rights and to maintain an independence of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. Yet, by choosing to remove the film from its festival, it is siding with those groups opposing its factual content and documentary perspective. Furthermore, we view this as an outright case of censorship of this important portrayal of historical events central to the theme of human rights and believe it is deplorable that an international defender of human rights would choose to censor in the face of pressure, rather than vehemently protect the paramount right of public access to information. By taking this action, Amnesty International is perpetuating the blackout on information imposed by the coup leaders in Venezuela during April 2002.

If Amnesty International is truly concerned with the impartial protection of human rights, it would follow that screening a film that exposes horrific human rights violations would be in line with its mission. We therefore urge Amnesty International to reconsider its decision to revoke the film, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”, from the upcoming festival in Vancouver, British Columbia. We also reiterate our profound support for this important chronicle of the unjustifiable coup d’etat of April 2002 in Venezuela that resulted in innocent lives lost and harmed and the deprivation of basic human rights.

Initial endorsing organizations and individuals:

- International Women’s Human Rights Clinic, CUNY Law School, New York

- Venezuela Solidarity Committee in New York

- Unión Nacional de Trabajadores (UNT)

- Aporrea.org

- Opción de Izquierda Revolucionaria (OIR)

- Movimineto 13 de Abril - Proyecto Nuestra América

- UTOPIA

- Juventud de Izquierda Revolucionaria (JIR)

- Fundación Cultural Simón Bolívar

- Coordinadora Simón Bolívar

- Círculo Bolivariano Profesor Alberto Lovera (New York)

- Venezuelanalysis.com

- Eva Golinger-Moncada

- Martín Sánchez

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