durhamjen
What a fascinating history to be found on Mike Prysner /Abby Martin and teleSur all mentioned in another one of your links to Steve Walker /SKWAWKBOX.
'Telesur (stylised as teleSUR) is multi-State funded, pan–Latin American terrestrial and satellite television network sponsored by the governments of Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Bolivia that is headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela. "
I thought I would give your link to the left wing blog an airing but all that is available to read, research on SKWAWKBOX / MIKE PRYSNER/ABBYMARTIN/TELESUR etc. is leading me to remind myself of how your chosen links work most of the time.
I note in your SKWAWKBOX link it says this :-
" The BBC is responsible for some of the most disingenuous portrayals. They’re showing violent protesters as if they’re some kind of defenders of peaceful protesters against a repressive police force, but in reality peaceful protests have been untouched by police."
So if the BBC are discredited by yourself and Steve Walker, after all you must feel that as you are happy to provide a link to someone that has that view, then I will use another source to put a different case forward.
You were happy to provide a link to Human Rights Watch previously and I followed suit in a latter post. Did you read what was in that link? What do you make of the words of Human Rights Watch when they say:-
" Severe shortages of medicines, medical supplies, and food have intensified since 2014, and weak government responses have undermined Venezuelans’ rights to health and food. Protesters have been arbitrarily detained and subject to abuse by security forces."
" Protesters continue to be subject to prosecution for participating in peaceful demonstrations. José Gregorio Hernández Carrasco, a university student, was detained in May 2016, two days after he participated in an anti-government demonstration in Caracas. He said he was beaten and tortured and finally agreed to sign a confession. The torture techniques included electric shocks, choking him with a plastic bag, and placing a stick on his rectum and threatening to rape him with it. Hernández Carrasco was released in July, but remains subject to criminal prosecution."
" In 2016, Venezuelans reported being arrested during street protests over food scarcity—some organized and some spontaneous—and being subject to mistreatment while in detention. Doctors and nurses in public hospitals who have spoken out publicly about the humanitarian crisis report being threatened with the loss of their jobs."
So much more to read!
www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/venezuela
Returning to your SKWAWKBOX blog interviewing journalists who work for teleSUR the Human Rights Watch link says this:-
Freedom of Expression
"For more than a decade, the government has expanded and abused its powers to regulate media and has worked aggressively to reduce the number of dissenting media outlets. Existing laws grant the government power to suspend or revoke concessions to private media if “convenient for the interests of the nation,” allow for arbitrary suspension of websites for the vaguely defined offense of “incitement,” and criminalize expression of “disrespect” for high government officials. While some newspapers, websites, and radio stations criticize the government, fear of reprisals has made self-censorship a serious problem."
Presumably as Abby Martin and Paul Prysner work for multi state funded teleSUR they don't have any concerns in that area one would assume.
I have no evidence of a personal nature to know who if Prysner/Martin /teleSUR are telling the truth or not. I accept there could be an element of truth in what they say but I remain of the opinion I trust the BBC and Human Rights Watch to be telling the truth DO YOU?
