Topic: Venezuelan Army Can Shoot Protesters, Effective Immediately (Read 1659 times)

Bratton Escalates and/or Formalizes Militarization of NYPD to deal with "counter terrorism protection" and "advanced disorder control." There will be "vehicles equipped with machine guns." This unit will be "operational by summer" (how conveninent!) and will be housed in NYPD's very own Counterterrorism Bureau.

“It [SRG] will be equipped and trained in ways that our normal patrol officers are not, [does that mean they won't whack guys selling loosies? something else? hard to tell]” Commissioner Bill Bratton said Thursday.
“It will be equipped with all the extra heavy protective gear, with the long rifles and the machine guns that are unfortunately sometimes necessary in these ­instances.”

Maybe by their 'standards' it was the best, I only tend to consider direct democracy to be a true democratic process because all that happens with other systems is you elect a dictator every term, once they're elected, all their promises go out the window.

^ It's not perfect. But wasn't it Jimmy Carter who said the election process in Venezuela was the best he had monitored? Out of over 90 countries. Off-topic here, but I found it funny he certified elections in Venezuela were fair, but couldn't say the same of elections in the United States.

Article 68 of the Constitution, however, stipulates: “The use of firearms and toxic substances to control peaceful demonstrations is prohibited.”

An internal ruling made by the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense, published on Tuesday, January 27, in state newsletter Gaceta Oficial, legalizes the use of lethal weapons by the national armed forces (FANB) against protesters.

Resolution 008610, signed by General-in-Chief and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, establishes the “use of force, with a firearm or any other potentially lethal weapon” as the last resort to “prevent disorder, support the legitimately constituted authority, and counter all aggression, immediately confronting it with the necessary measures.”

The Constitution establishes that all human-rights treaties signed and ratified by Venezuela take precedence over any law or resolution issued by the Venezuelan state.

Article 68 of the Constitution, however, stipulates: “The use of firearms and toxic substances to control peaceful demonstrations is prohibited.”

The new measures also specify that a new Public Order Manual for state security services will be created within the next three months to facilitate training and prevent abuses. However, the new rules on the use of force are to be applied “immediately.”

Under Venezuelan law, the Defense Ministry does not have the authority to override or ignore the Constitution and the norms contained therein. María Esperanza Hermida, coordinator for enforcement in Venezuelan NGO (Provea) argued that the measure violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as transferring competencies to the military which are the preserve of the civil police.

In an interview with the PanAm Post, Jose Vicente Haro, a Venezuelan university professor of constitutional law, said that restricting or limiting the application of human rights is a measure that can only be discussed in the National Assembly, as a bill subject to modification that must be approved by two-thirds of legislators, as outlined in Article 203 of the Constitution.

Haro also explained that Article 23 of the Constitution establishes that all human-rights treaties signed and ratified by Venezuela have an overriding constitutional character, taking precedence over any law or resolution issued by the Venezuelan state.