Press. voanews.com/
Magistrates
appointed by Venezuela’s opposition-led parliament were installed at a ceremony
Friday at the Organization of American States’ Washington headquarters. Whether
they are recognized as a valid Supreme Court forced into exile or a “parallel
and illegitimate” entity is a matter of interpretation.
Domingo Javier
Salgado, one of 18 magistrates at the late-morning ceremony, contends they’re
part of the constitutionally mandated "autonomous and independent"
bench – unlike the predominantly pro-government justices based in Caracas, the
capital. "This is sending a very positive message both to the international
community and to Venezuelans," he told VOA earlier this week.
Venezuela’s
attorney general, Tarek William Saab, has called the magistrates illegal and
dismissed their installation ceremony as "a macabre plan" – a ploy to
get unwarranted credibility at home and abroad.
The event was
not sponsored by the OAS.
But OAS
Secretary General Luis Almagro – a fierce critic of Venezuelan President
Nicolás Maduro – spoke at the ceremony, saying, "We deeply support the
country’s democratic institutions, and in this sense today we welcome … the new
supreme tribunal of justice." Venezuela is one of the pro-democracy
alliance’s 35 member states, though in April Maduro announced the country would
leave the OAS, a two-year process.
Complex
maneuvering
The installation
represents one of the latest twists in a complicated saga. Just before Maduro's
political opponents took control of the parliament or National Assembly in
early 2016, the ruling Socialist Party installed more like-minded justices on
the high court, critics contend. Last March, amid an escalating political and economic
crisis, the court tried to wrest legislative authority from the assembly –
backing down after withering domestic and international criticism but setting
off months of often-violent street protests. More than 120 people died.
In July, the
National Assembly swore in 33 alternative judges – a move also condemned in
some quarters as setting up a parallel system. Maduro immediately ordered their
arrest, calling them "usurpers" and freezing their assets. "That
forced us to take shelter outside the national territory," said Salgado,
who was interviewed earlier this week via Skype from Miami, Florida, where he
said he was "in transit."
Most of the
assembly-appointed magistrates fled Venezuela. This week, five showed up in
Santiago, Chile, after spending the interim under the protection of that
country’s embassy in Caracas.
Three others
have quit, Salgado said. As for the rest, "Venezuelans can be sure that
their justices, who were duly sworn in, will continue fulfilling the
constitutional duties for which they were appointed."
He did not
elaborate on how he and his colleagues would work or from what location.
'Illegitimate'
or 'situation of hope'?
Salgado said the
assembly-appointed magistrates’ installation creates "a situation of
hope" for Venezuelans. "Little by little," he explained,
"we’re going to restore autonomy and independence" to the judicial
and legislative branches, as the constitution requires. These should not be
subordinate to the executive branch, he added. The installation "has
symbolic importance," said Michael Shifter, president of the
Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue.
"This is an
effort to try to project that the opposition in the National Assembly is
legitimate," he said. Democratically elected in 2015, the legislature’s
members have "the right to pick a Supreme Court. … But this has been
completely annulled by the Maduro regime."
The legislature
has been overshadowed by the powerful and controversial new Constituent
Assembly, whose 545 members were chosen in a July 30 election widely considered
a sham. It’s not formally recognized by the United States and many other
regional neighbors, as well as the European Union.
Alexander Main,
an international policy expert at the Washington-based Center for Economic and
Policy Research, anticipates a negative response to installing "this
parallel and illegitimate Supreme Court." "It’s not
actually with the mandate of the member countries of the OAS," Main said.
He denounced the move as "a personal initiative" by Almagro, "who
has waged a relentless campaign against the government of Maduro. …"
Main also
questioned the symbolism of "establishing a parallel court in the heart of
Washington, D.C., only a few meters from the White House and from Donald Trump.
I think it will be very striking for Venezuelans, and I don’t think it will
play in favor of the opposition."
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