UNITED NATIONS human rights high commissioner spokeswoman Liz Throssell’s words of caution regarding tomorrow’s election to Venezuela’s constituent assembly appear evenly balanced, but should they be?

Throssell declares that “the wishes of the Venezuelan people to participate or not in this election need to be respected,” but who threatens this right? Only the opposition. Her insistence that the government manage protests “in line with international human rights norms and standards” doesn’t acknowledge that the government has banned “all public meetings and demonstrations, gatherings, and other similar acts that might disturb the electoral process.”

This is in response to recent provocative battle cries emanating from the right-wing Democratic Unity Roundtable (Mud) opposition and also its record in recent months.