I have read very closely the article by Vaclav Havel, Mikhail Kasyanov and four others, under the title "Freedom arrested in Venezuela¨ (April 6, 2010, page 7) As the Ambassador of Venezuela in Cairo and from my view as a Venezuelan citizen, I can only regret the authors' lack of information of the real situation prevailing in Venezuela in the domain of democracy, freedoms and human rights. I am astounded that it took so many people to fabricate the biased article printed in your prestigious Daily News Egypt, "Commentary Section. If these distinguished advocates of people's rights and freedoms took the time to be in contact with daily life in Venezuela and to read the Venezuelan newspapers, for example, they would easily recognize that in Venezuela we enjoy an excess of freedom of expression, where writers and opinion columnists who utter slanderous and abusive statements against our President can walk freely in the streets without being taken to justice, despite the fact that freedom of speech and freedom of information and opinion cannot be used as a basis for slandering and vilifying the figures of the highest authorities of any country. In terms of human rights violations, Venezuela certainly has a cleaner record than many of the countries that point their fingers at Venezuela . In the exercise of my right of reply, I would greatly appreciate if this letter could be included in the same section. Thanking you beforehand for your kind attention I remain sincerely yours. Victor R. Carazo Ambassador Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
