OAS chief accuses Argentina's Macri of obstructing moves to censure Venezuela.

[forest444]

A row has broken out inside the Organisation of American States (OAS) over efforts to chastise and possibly suspend Venezuela, with Argentina providing ideologically unlikely support for the embattled government of Nicolás Maduro.

In a telephone interview with The Guardian, the OAS secretary general, Luis Almagro, accused Argentina’s ambassador to the OAS of holding up efforts to call a general assembly so members can discuss Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis, human rights violations and detentions of political prisoners.

His complaint comes amid reports that Argentina’s right-wing president, Mauricio Macri, is trying to cut a deal with the left-wing administration in Caracas over the appointment of the next United Nations secretary general. Macri is believed to be seeking support for the candidacy of Argentina’s foreign minister, Susan Malcorra.

If so, this appears to run contrary to Macri’s promise in last November’s presidential election campaign, when he vowed to confront Venezuela over what he described as its democratic failings.

Argentina’s ambassador to the OAS, Juan José Arcuri, has used his position of chairman of the regional body’s permanent council to delay and divert moves to invoke Article 20 of the organisation’s Democratic Charter, which can lead to suspension. To initiate discussions on Article 20 requires a simple majority of the 35 member states. There would still be a long way to go from there to suspension, which would require a two-thirds majority. This is far from certain.

First, the Argentine chairman has to call an assembly, which he has so far declined to do. Instead he organised a more softly worded declaration by the permanent council on the situation in Venezuela that called for talks.

Almagro accused the chairman of failing to respect “the right order.” Although he welcomed the first council discussion on Venezuela since 2014, he said the declaration omitted his key recommendations, including the release of political prisoners, allowing international organisations help to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, measures to improve public security and acceptance of a recall referendum this year.

Noting the considerable differences that remain, he called on the Argentine president to intervene. “At the end of the day, we expect Macri to fulfill what he promised during his campaign,” said the secretary general.

At: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/04/oas-accuses-argentina-venezuela-luis-almagro
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Being a two-timer didn't help Macri in his two previous marriages, and it's certainly not going to help him in the shark tank of international diplomacy.

[bemildred]

1. Argentine president resting after cardiac arrhythmia

Here you go Forest. He's become a bit tense.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri cancelled his official activities on Saturday, a day after being hospitalised for several hours with cardiac arrhythmia, a government source said.

Macri was temporarily hospitalised on Friday at a private clinic near his presidential residence and underwent medical testing before returning home.

The 57-year-old leader suffered "mild arrhythmia" during the afternoon Friday, but continued with official duties for several hours before checking into the clinic, according to the government official.

Macri was forced to cancel two official events on Saturday, his office said. The president will undergo a check-up at home on Saturday, and is expected to return to next week, his spokesman Ivan Pavlovsky told Radio Mitre.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/argentine-president/2846008.html

[forest444]

2. Thank you for that update, bemildred. Whatever my differences with him, I wish him well health-wise.

As for his work-related tension, he really doesn't have anyone to blame but himself.

He was warned not to impose the IMF's draconian (and pointless) austerity policies, and he wouldn't listen.

He was warned not to use his pet judges to engage in a partisan witch hunt against his predecessor, given that he and his own people had so many million-dollar skeletons. But he didn't think anyone would find out.

He was advised not to use the 1994 AMIA bombing (which was determined at the time, by the only forensic investigation ever carried out, to be an inside job) to try to derail Obama's peace talks with Iran. But Bibi was for it, so he decided he would be too.

And I'm sure he had smart people urge him not to two-time Obama on the Venezuela issue - least of all to benefit someone (Maduro) whom he himself sees as public enemy n° 1. But it was more important to him to try to feather his cap by getting Susana Maclorra elected UN Secretary General (which probably has no chance of happening now).

In short, this man isn't only misguided; but he doesn't think things through in the least. He must have been a real handful as a little kid; and now that he's a big kid, apparently it's the same old story with him.

Anyway, I hope he gets better - and above all, I hope he learns to be more moderate and prudent. It's all any of us can do.

[bemildred]

3. Typical of the rich. Not used to having to know what they are doing.

They have minders for that.

I was reading about Bill and Melinda Gates (looking so adult and serious) explaining how they didn't really know what they were doing helping the poor in Africa and elsewhere. But then, that isn't really what they are about, helping the poor, not really, is it?

Anyway, now that the Iran deal is done, maybe we won't have to drag the AMIA bombing out and grovel over it so often. I have always considered it kind of obvious that that story smelled a lot, and that pigs would fly before we found out who did it. Not so much the bombing itself, but the frantic bullshit storms that would occur whenever it came up.

Macri reminds me of guys like Erdogan and Netanyahu, shallow, half-smart, arrogant, and with poor impulse control. But dumber. Trump is the exemplar of that sort of rich person.

Yeah, I hope he stays where he is for a while longer, let the message sink it what happens when you elect these pipsqueaks to positions of power.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Good description of these big babies. n/t

[bemildred]

5. It really is annoying, and the press drools over them like they were geniuses. nt