White House makes demands on Maduro

Excerpts from press briefing Monday (Feb. 24) by Jay Carney, White House press secretary.

MR. CARNEY:  We are concerned, and we made clear, that with our OAS and regional partners — the Organization of American States and our regional partners — we are working to urge calm and encourage a genuine dialogue among all Venezuelans. As President Obama said in Mexico last week, rather than trying to distract from its own failings by making up false accusations against the United States, which the government there has, the Venezuelan government ought to focus on addressing the legitimate grievances of the Venezuelan people.

Another way of putting this is that when President Maduro calls for a dialogue with the U.S. President and an exchange of ambassadors, he should focus instead on the dialogue with the Venezuelan people because that is what is at issue here. This is not about the United States. The government of Venezuela needs to release detained protesters immediately. It also needs to stop impeding the work of independent journalists and restricting information-sharing via television, radio and the Internet.

Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are universal human rights. They are essential to a functioning democracy. And the Venezuelan government has an obligation to protect these fundamental freedoms.