Carlos Ayala Corao, the former president for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had a number of things to say to El Universal about Venezuela's reaction to the recent student hunger strike demanding permission for the organization to visit the country:
"Democratic countries are open to visits by UN representatives and the IACHR. Authoritarian or dictatorial regimes are the ones who are closed to these types of visits."
"There's always an excuse. The excuse of (Augusto) Pinochet to not allow more IACHR visits to Chile was that the IACHR was being manipulated by the left-leaning ideologues around the world, and Fidel Castro's excuse for not allowing visits of the IACHR to Cuba is that it represents international imperialism. Regardless of its political leanings, authoritarian regimes are always going to agree to hide behind sovereignty to avoid such visits and inspections. "
"If a State thinks that a report does not support their point of view, it should allow the drafters of the report to have access to an official source. There is nothing better than a visit to establish direct contact and an explanation that allows the inspectors to understand the situation on the ground."
"Chávez will lose an opportunity to provide first-hand information that is much more complete and would premit the Commission to perform a deeper analysis of what is happening in Venezuela."
"Instead of seeing possible enemies and conspirators in the OAS and the UN, Chávez could see them as partners in promoting defence and the rights of the people, and if they make mistakes, then they can help us overcome them by making recommendations."
"The recommendations are made in order for a State to receive them in good faith. If you recognize a multilateral organization and you invite an agency to visit, it is not for appearance's sake but to take the suggestions into account."
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