National Endowment for Democracy: Grants By Country (L-Z)

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National Endowment for Democracy: Grants By Country (L-Z)

Lebanon

Westminster Foundation Funding:

Liberia

Mexico

Rights and Democracy

Alforja (2000)

Moldova

"In 2003, the BIOTICA Ecological Society received NED funding to ensure the expansion and long-term survival of the nascent civic sector in Transdniestria by establishing five NGO resource centers in the breakaway region." [1]

Mongolia

Westminster Foundation

Nepal

Westminster Foundation

Rights and Democracy

FONDATION JEAN JAURES

Nicaragua

Before the 1990 elections in Nicaragua, "President Bush (Sr.) spent $9 million in NED, including a $4 million contribution to the campaign of opposition presidential candidate Violeta Chamorro" (John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, Toxic Sludge is Good for You, Common Courage Press, Monroe Maine,1995, page 166). Chamorro won.

In 1990, Michael Kozak was the US ambassador for Nicaragua; he is presently US ambassador to the Republic for Belarus where the US is busy "promoting democracy" at this very moment (2005), and in his own words:

"Our objective and to some degree methodology are the same. Then we worked with the Sandinista authorities, the Organisation of American States, other countries in the region, and the former Soviet Union to encourage a free, fair and transparent election."
"Twelve years ago, we advised the Nicaraguan opposition that the best way to pursue their political agenda was through participation in a peaceful electoral process; today we are giving the same advice to the opposition in Belarus." [2]

South Africa

At a Memorial Lecture delivered to the South African Institute of Race Relations by Carl Gershman, in Johannesburg on 1st October 2002, Gershman noted that:"Through its Free Society Project, which has received sustained support from the National Endowment for Democracy, the Institute has played a vital role as a nonpartisan government watchdog organization." [3]

"To undertake an innovative research and advocacy project focused on the youth of the Soweto Township in southwestern Johannesburg. With CIPE support, partner organization Centre for Development and Enterprise will research the number and nature of the current and potential business support organizations in the township, conduct a detailed study of youth-owned small enterprises in the township, and hold an advocacy training workshop with local business organizations, the business owners, and other stakeholders." (2006)


Rights & Democracy


Westminster Foundation for Democracy

"To fund the Conservative Party to enable the New National Party of South Africa to develop its own media training facility and to have a digital camera capable of transmitting pictures from remote rural areas." (1999, 1999) "To fund the Labour Party to assist the ANC with a series of workshops and briefings on 'strategy and message' for the election campaign." (1998, 1998) "To fund the Freedom of Expression Institute in South Africa to publish ten issues of its monthly newsletter 'Update' during 1998, which is distributed nationally and internationally to organisations and individuals interested in freedom of expression." (1998) "To fund IDASA's Parliamentary Monitoring and Information Service in South Africa for a further year to produce 9 issues of 'The Whip', a vital newsletter containing detail and analysis of the South African parliament and its activities, during 1997." (1997)

  • "To fund One World Action, in cooperation with the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), to organise ten workshops in the rural areas around Port Elizabeth, to train representatives from NGOs on gender equality issues, to enable them to effectively interact with the newly established Local Government Gender Commission." (1997)
  • "To fund Mr Thomas Riley, an expert on information and privacy laws, to spend two weeks in South Africa in July 1995 to provide advice to the Task Force on Open Democracy, established by the South African Government, to prepare legislation on these issues." (1996)
  • Abantu for Development (1996)
  • "To part fund One World Action and the Institute for Democracy in South Africa for a six month programme of training to increase women's involvement in the democratic process leading up to the local elections in November 1995." (1996)
  • To fund the Labour Party to provide assistance to the ANC in South Africa, to produce a training video for candidates in the local government elections, taking place in November 1995." (1996)
  • Ulster Unionist Party (1996)
  • National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (1996)
  • Centre for Development and Enterprise (1996, 1997, 1998)
  • "To fund the Public Information Centre, part of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), to establish a database of information about parliament and parliamentarians, and to disseminate information through a series of radio programmes to the widest audience possible, starting during the next Parliamentary session, in January 1996." (1996)
  • "To fund the Liberal Democrats to pay the airfares of 13 participants representing African Liberal parties from eight countries to attend a three day meeting of the African Liberal Group from 22-24 February 1996, to be hosted by the Democratic Party of South Africa, and to fund the airfare and subsistence of Sir David Steel MP, and the International Officer of the Liberal Democrats." (1996)
  • London Borough of Sutton

Sudan

Rights and Democracy

Syria

Venezuela

During 2001/2002, NED gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to U.S. and Venezuelan groups who organized protests and a coup d'etat against the elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. The coup happened on 11 April 2002. According to Wayne Madsen, a former intelligence officer with the U.S. navy, U.S. military attaches such as Lieutenant Colonel James Rogers had been in touch with members of the Venezuelan military to examine the possibility of a coup, while Roger Rondon claimed that both James Rogers and another US military officer, Ronald MacCammon, had been at the Fuerte Tiuna military headquarters with the coup leaders during the night of April 11-12. [4]

In 2003, Terry Allen wrote, "Using the same conduit Reagan used to fund the contras, the National Endowment for Democracy, the George W. Bush administration had funnelled money to Venezuelan 0pposition." [5] Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act show that $1 million of NED funding went to opposition groups determined to unseat Chavez. [6] [7]

During a March 2005 interview, former CIA officer and author of Inside the Company, Philip Agee, discussed the role of NED in Venezuela: (Dennis Bernstein, "Philip Agee, Former CIA agent speaks on Venezuela", Flashpoints, March 14, 2005)

The failed military coup attempt of April 2002 was about one million per year. That was National Endowment for Democracy money being channeled through the so-called core foundations of NED, which are the foundations of the AFL-CIO, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Democratic and Republican parties; there are four of these foundations. In the wake of this failed coup against Chavez, a decision was taken in Washington to expand dramatically the amount of money and the types of operations that have undertaken to that point. ...
Meanwhile the NED programs continued through the four core foundations, two of which have offices here in Caracas. ... So there are in fact three supposedly private offices opened here in Caracas through which all these millions of dollars are being funneled out to the Venezuelan opposition. And it turns out in the one contract between USAID and Development Alternatives Inc., USAID named the staff in the Caracas office, and there was a provision in the contract that not one of those people could be replaced unless they were named by USAID. So you have these three offices here, that are nothing more than extensions of the United States embassy, under the control of the embassy, of the State Department, of USAID in Washington, and posing as private firms (two foundations and one commercial consulting firm) while as a matter of fact they are no more than extensions, mechanisms and instruments of the US embassy.

In September 2005, the Miami Herald reported that NED approved a $107,000 grant to Sumate, "a Venezuelan citizens group whose leaders already face charges in Venezuela of using Washington's money to try to overthrow President Hugo Chavez's government. ... Súmate leaders could face prison sentences of up to 16 years if convicted of 'conspiracy to destroy the nation's republican form of government' by accepting $31,000 from NED in 2004. Súmate helped gather the signatures to force last year's recall referendum on Chávez, which the president won handily." The 2005 grant was to train up to 11,000 people on electoral rights, in small groups of 20 to 25. [8]

West Bank and Gaza

According to the NED's online Democracy Projects Database it has given funding the following groups for programs relating to the West Bank and Gaza (1990-2005):

From Westminster Foundation

From Rights and Democracy

Zimbabwe

Westminster Foundation

Rights and Democracy

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