www.news24.com 15/01/2003 13:09  - (SA)  

Caracas - Venezuela's vice president said the government would respect the high court if it rules to allow a February 2 referendum on President Hugo Chavez's rule.

However, Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel warned that such a ruling would create chaos in this country of 24 million coping with a general strike called by opponents to overthrow Chavez.

"If the Supreme Tribunal confirms the referendum is constitutional we will accept this verdict," said Rangel. The government, he added, complied with a ruling exonerating the leaders of an April 11 coup against Chavez.

Anger is growing on both sides as the strike drags into its sixth week. It has hurt oil production in the world's fifth largest exporter and depleted store shelves. Chavez's opponents call him authoritarian and unfit to govern, while supporters of the leftist former paratrooper accuse strikers of trying to force a coup.

On Tuesday, an airliner headed to the Dominican Republic was forced to return to Caracas when passengers staged an on-board protest targeting an ally of Chavez.

They shook fold-out trays and shouted to protest the presence of retired General Belisario Landis, Venezuela's ambassador in Santo Domingo, shortly after the Aeropostal-Alas de Venezuela flight left the ground. The pilots returned to Caracas, and everyone on board was evacuated.

Citizens can convoke referendum

The Boeing 727 took off again an hour later, after passengers promised not to disrupt the flight again.

Another incident occurred inside the airport on Tuesday when an unidentified man threw a teargas grenade at a group that was shouting "Assassins! Assassins!" at three pro-Chavez lawmakers.

After a few minutes of confusion, the airport continued functioning normally.

On November 6, opposition groups fought through teargas and bullets to present election authorities with the 2 million signatures required to convoke the nonbinding referendum on Chavez's rule.

Under Venezuelan law, citizens can convoke a referendum by gathering signatures from at least 10% of the nation's 12 million registered voters.

If high court magistrates declare the referendum legal, Rangel said, the government will urge "Chavistas", as the president's supporters are called, to abstain from casting ballots.

Allies and adversaries of Chavez have presented the Supreme Tribunal with 14 cases for and against the plebiscite.

Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected two years later, argues the only way he can be removed from office is through a recall referendum in August, halfway through his 6-year term.

Chavez says his government won't transfer $22m required by election authorities to organise balloting until the court decides if the vote is legally sound.

Riding roughshod over public institutions

While the fate of the referendum remains in limbo, opponents of Chavez claim the former paratrooper is building an authoritarian regime and riding roughshod over public institutions.

The Bloque de Prensa, the nation's largest association of newspapers, issued a statement Tuesday accusing Chavez of "violent repression of peaceful marches" and preparing "to close television and radio stations" critical of his government.

Leaders of the Democratic Coordinator opposition movement said they would intensify the strike in response to a government takeover of the Caracas police force.

Soldiers loyal to Chavez seized riot gear from the police department Tuesday in what Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena, an opposition supporter, called a deliberate effort to undermine him.

Pena said the raid stripped police of their ability to control street protests that have erupted almost daily since the strike began on December 2. Five people have died in strike-related demonstrations.

Police used teargas on Tuesday to separate pro- and anti-Chavez protesters. Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno said one protester was wounded by gunshots and another hit by a vehicle. Both were in stable condition, he said.

Rangel said the seizure was part of an effort to make police answer for alleged abuses against pro-Chavez demonstrators. The government accuses police of killing two Chavez supporters during a melee two weeks ago.

Troops searched several police stations at dawn, confiscating submachine guns and 12-gauge shotguns used to fire rubber bullets and tear gas, said Freddy Torres, the department's legal consultant. Officers were allowed to keep their standard-issue .38-caliber pistols.

Chavez ordered troops to take control of the force in November, but the Supreme Court ordered it restored to Pena last month.

Also on Tuesday, seven people died and four were burned when improperly stored gasoline exploded in western Venezuela. Officials said they didn't know what caused three containers of gas to explode.

Fuel shortages caused by the strike have prompted many Venezuelans to stockpile gasoline using containers unfit for such purposes. Warnings by state authorities against inappropriate storage and transportation of gasoline have been largely ignored by the population. - Sapa-AP

www.sptimes.com With a strike worsening in the South American country, more people retreat to the city that has long been a second home.

By DAVID ADAMS, Times Latin America Correspondent © St. Petersburg Times published January 15, 2003

MIAMI -- It was the day after Christmas that Venezuelan businessman Luis Bethencourt finally decided it was time to get his family out of the country.

At a condominium meeting for his upscale barrio in the east of the capital, Caracas, residents were planning for war.

"No one was talking about fixing up the park," he said. "They were drawing up inventories of weapons."

More than 40 days into a general strike that has crippled the state oil industry and closed most schools, Bethencourt fears his country is headed toward violent confrontation.

He and many others who can afford to leave are packing their bags -- and most are heading to South Florida. Some own homes in the area, which has long been a favorite holiday and shopping destination for Venezuelans. Others are renting.

Desperate parents have been showing up at one elementary school in Key Biscayne, where 15 new students -- all Venezuelan -- have enrolled since classes restarted last week.

Opposition leaders called the strike to demand the resignation of leftist President Hugo Chavez. Despite mounting economic chaos, Chavez has refused to budge, accusing the opposition of trying to mount a coup.

Fearing the worst, Venezuelans in South Florida who plan to return home to join antigovernment street protests are stocking up on protective material at security stores. On the streets of Caracas, opposition demonstrators clash almost daily with riot troops equipped with tear gas. Several people have died in shootings.

"People are afraid," said Josephina Capriles, the Venezuelan-born owner of Spytrix, a North Miami security store where sales of bullet-proof jackets and gas masks are booming. "I used to sell two bulletproof jackets a month but now I sell three a day," she said, adding that the extra sales were to Venezuelans.

Capriles offers discounts to Venezuelan clients. An Italian-made jacket costs $375, reduced from $498. Gas masks go for around $140. Other popular items include Mace, stun guns and more powerful electromuscular disruption devices, which can put down a human target at 20 feet.

"We are going back, but we have to be prepared," said Leopoldo Baptista, the 60-year-old owner of a major Venezuelan construction company. Baptista spent several thousand dollars at Spytrix on protective gear for his wife and children.

Venezuelans have always felt at home in Miami. After an oil boom in the 1960s made the country the fifth-largest exporter of crude in the world, middle-class Venezuelans became frequent visitors at Miami shopping malls.

At least 40,000 Venezuelans live in South Florida, according to the 2000 census. The figure is likely much larger as nonresidents tend to be undercounted. Most new arrivals enter the country on tourist visas valid for up to six months.

Since the strike began, it is not uncommon to see cars in South Florida flying the Venezuelan flag. About 40 demonstrators held a protest recently outside a Citgo gas station, a chain affiliated with Venezuela's state-owned oil company.

When opposition leaders announced in late December that they were calling for a February referendum on Chavez's rule, the Venezuelan consulate in Miami was besieged by thousands of expatriates seeking to register to vote.

"We registered almost 4,000 new voters," said the consul, Antonio Hernandez, double the existing number.

Like Miami, Venezuela was a refuge for Cuban exiles after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. These days the political ties are stronger. Opponents of Chavez accuse him of trying to create a Castro-style dictatorship.

On Saturday Cuban exiles are organizing a rally in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood to express their solidarity with the anti-Chavez cause.

Venezuela's political crisis is a daily topic on Spanish-language TV and radio news shows. Miami's Univision affiliate, WLTV-Ch. 23, devoted a 20-minute segment on its Saturday morning show, Miami Now, to a studio debate between Venezuelan exiles.

Two Miami radio hosts made headlines last week when they caught Chavez in an on-air prank. The pair managed to have a live phone conversation with Chavez by using tape of Castro's voice.

Cuban exiles also are playing host to dissident Venezuelan military officers who have rebelled against Chavez.

Last week the president's former pilot, air force Maj. Juan Diaz, held a news conference accusing Chavez of providing financial support to the former Taliban government in Afghanistan and al-Qaida. Diaz, who offered no evidence, also alleged that Venezuelan civilians were being sent to Cuba for secret military training.

During the political crisis, airlines have trimmed their operations from 21 daily flights between Miami and Venezuela to eight. Revenue lost from visitors to Miami is estimated at $60-million a month, according to the Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce.

The strike also has hurt local businesses, which have been unable to ship goods.

With supplies drying up in Caracas, Venezuelans who travel home are presented with long shopping lists from friends and relatives.

"I just got a call from a family member asking me to bring flour, coffee, beer and Pepsi," Bethencourt said. "Can you believe it? Those are all Venezuelan export products. Now there isn't even any Pepsi!"

He and two brothers are planning to rotate in and out of Venezuela for the next few months keeping an eye on the family business.

"I have no idea how long this will last," he said.

Despite the comparisons with Cuba's Castro, Bethencourt and other Venezuelan exiles are hoping they won't have to wait 40 years.

www.globeandmail.com Associated Press

Caracas — Venezuela's Vice-President said Tuesday the government would respect the high court if it rules to allow a Feb. 2 plebiscite on President Hugo Chavez's rule.

However, Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel warned that such a ruling would create chaos in this country of 24 million coping with a general strike called by opponents to overthrow President Hugo Chavez.

"If the Supreme Tribunal confirms the plebiscite is constitutional we will accept this verdict," Mr. Rangel said. The government, he added, complied with a ruling exonerating the leaders of an April 11 coup against Mr. Chavez.

Anger is growing on both sides as the strike drags into its sixth week. It has hurt oil production in the world's fifth largest exporter and depleted store shelves. Mr. Chavez's opponents call him authoritarian and unfit to govern, while his supporters of the former paratrooper accuse strikers of trying to force a coup.

On Tuesday, an airliner headed to the Dominican Republic was forced to return to Caracas when passengers staged an on-board protest targeting an ally of Mr. Chavez. They shook fold-out trays and shouted to protest against the presence of retired Gen. Belisario Landis, Venezuela's ambassador in Santo Domingo, shortly after the Aeropostal-Alas de Venezuela flight left the ground.

The pilots returned to Caracas, and everyone on board was ordered off the plane.The Boeing 727 took off again an hour later, after passengers promised not to disrupt the flight again.

Another incident occurred inside the airport on Tuesday when an unidentified man threw a tear gas grenade at a group that was shouting "Assassins! Assassins!" at three pro-Chavez lawmakers. After a few minutes of confusion, the airport continued functioning normally.

On Nov. 6, opposition groups fought through tear gas and bullets to present election authorities with two million signatures required to convoke the plebiscite on Mr. Chavez's rule.

Under Venezuelan law, citizens can convoke a vote by gathering signatures from at least 10 per cent of the nation's 12 million registered voters. If high court magistrates declare the plebiscite legal, Mr. Rangel said, the government will urge Chavistas, as the President's supporters are called, to abstain from casting ballots.

Allies and adversaries of Mr. Chavez have presented the Supreme Tribunal with 14 cases for and against the plebiscite. The President, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected two years later, argues the only way he can be removed from office is through a recall referendum in August, halfway through his six-year term.

Mr. Chavez says his government will not transfer $22-million (U.S.) required by election authorities to organize balloting until the court decides if the vote is legally sound.

While the fate of the voteremains in limbo, opponents of Mr. Chavez claim the former paratrooper is building an authoritarian regime and riding roughshod over public institutions.

The Bloque de Prensa, the nation's largest association of newspapers, issued a statement Tuesday accusing Mr. Chavez of "violent repression of peaceful marches" and preparing "to close television and radio stations" critical of his government.

Leaders of the Democratic Coordinator opposition movement said they would intensify the strike in response to a government takeover of the Caracas police force.

Soldiers loyal to Mr. Chavez seized riot gear from the police department Tuesday in what Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena called a deliberate effort to undermine him.

Mr. Pena said the raid stripped police of their ability to control street protests that have erupted almost daily since the strike began Dec. 2. Five people have died in strike-related demonstrations.

Police used tear gas Tuesday to separate pro- and anti-Chavez protesters. Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno said one protester was wounded by gunshots and another hit by a vehicle. Both were in stable condition, he said.

Mr. Rangel said the seizure was part of an effort to make police answer for alleged abuses against Chavez demonstrators. The government accuses police of killing two Chavez supporters during a melee two weeks ago.

Troops searched several police stations at dawn, confiscating submachine guns and 12-gauge shotguns used to fire rubber bullets and tear gas, said Commander Freddy Torres, the department's legal consultant. Officers were allowed to keep their standard-issue .38-calibre pistols.

Mr. Chavez ordered troops to take control of the force in November, but the Supreme Court ordered it restored to Mr. Pena last month.

www.dailynews.com By Fabiola Sanchez Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Soldiers loyal to President Hugo Chavez seized submachine guns and shotguns from Caracas' police department Tuesday in what the opposition mayor called a bid to undermine him.

Federal interference in the capital's police department is one reason Venezuela's opposition has staged a strike -- now in its 44th day -- demanding early elections. Tuesday's raids stoked already heated tensions in this polarized nation.

Greater Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena said the weapons seizure stripped police of their ability to control street protests that have erupted almost daily since the strike began Dec. 2. Five people have died in strike-related demonstrations.

A smaller district police force used tear gas Tuesday to separate pro- and anti-Chavez protesters. Officials said two protesters were injured.

Strike leader Manuel Cova said opponents would "strengthen the struggle to topple" Chavez in response to the raids.

"This demonstrates the anti-democratic and authoritarian way in which this government acts," said Cova, leader of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, the country's largest labor union.

Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel vowed there would be no early elections until a possible referendum in August, halfway into Chavez's six-year term. Opponents insist Venezuela is too unstable to wait that long.

"Chavez opponents must get it out of their heads that the way out is ... for Chavez to go," Rangel told foreign reporters. "That proposal is profoundly undemocratic."

Rangel said the weapons seizure was part of an effort to make police answer for alleged abuses against Chavez demonstrators. The government accuses police of killing two Chavez supporters during a melee two weeks ago that involved Chavez followers, opponents and security forces.

"The metropolitan police cannot be above the law, above the executive, above citizens," Rangel told foreign reporters. "We are trying to make them answer to the law. That's why we seized their equipment and weapons."

Troops searched several police stations at dawn, confiscating submachine guns and 12-gauge shotguns used to fire rubber bullets and tear gas, said Cmdr. Freddy Torres, the department's legal consultant. Officers were allowed to keep their standard-issue .38-caliber pistols. It was not clear how long the seizure would last.

Chavez ordered troops to take control of the force in November, but the Supreme Court ordered it restored to Pena last month.

Chavez is trying to break a strike that has paralyzed Venezuela's crucial oil industry and cost the government an estimated $4 billion. He has warned he might send troops to seize food production plants that are participating in the strike.

Called to press Chavez into accepting a nonbinding referendum on his rule, the strike has depleted many Caracas supermarkets of basics like milk, flour and bottled water. People spend hours in lines at service stations and at banks open only three hours a day. Many medicines are no longer available in pharmacies.

Rangel said the strike was weak outside of Caracas -- one reason the government has been able to survive. "Is there a country on Earth that can withstand a strike for 44 days? I don't think so," the vice president said.

With hopes of helping resolve the dispute, former President Jimmy Carter plans to visit Caracas on Jan. 20 to observe the crisis, the Atlanta-based Carter Center announced.

Carter, who just won the Nobel Peace Prize, will consult with Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, who has been mediating talks between the two sides, the center said.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he plans to meet Chavez Thursday when he comes to the United Nations to hand over the chairmanship of the Group of 77, an organization of mainly developing nations. Annan said he will discuss with Chavez "how one can intensify the mediation efforts ... to calm the situation and return it to normalcy."

"He knows that I believe that one should use constitutional democratic means to resolve this issue and that is my message not only to him but to the opposition," the secretary-general said.

Venezuela's oil industry provides half of government revenue and 80 percent of export revenue. With the strike, about 30,000 of 40,000 workers in the state oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., are off the job.

Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a key supplier to the United States, and the U.S. Energy Department has said the crisis could cause American motorists to pay up to $1.54 per gallon of gasoline by spring.

Rangel said oil production will reach 1.5 million barrels a day next week -- about half prestrike output. Currently, production is 800,000 barrels a day according the government, 400,000 according to striking executives fired by Chavez.

The president has vowed to restructure the oil monopoly and reduce bureaucracy at its Caracas headquarters, a hotbed of dissent.

Mayor Pena said Tuesday's police raids would force officers to stop patrolling many dangerous neighborhoods. Venezuela's crime rate rose 44 percent last year, the government says, partly because of a sharp rise in robberies.

"There is an escalation here leading to a dictatorship," Pena said. "The lives of the 5 million citizens who inhabit this city are in danger."

abcnews.go.com Venezuela's Vice President: Gov't Would Accept Court Ruling Upholding Referendum on Chavez Rule The Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela Jan. 15 —

Venezuela's vice president said Tuesday the government would respect the high court if it rules to allow a Feb. 2 referendum on President Hugo Chavez's rule.

However, Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel warned that such a ruling would create chaos in this country of 24 million coping with a general strike called by opponents to overthrow Chavez.

"If the Supreme Tribunal confirms the referendum is constitutional we will accept this verdict," said Rangel. The government, he added, complied with a ruling exonerating the leaders of an April 11 coup against Chavez.

Anger is growing on both sides as the strike drags into its sixth week. It has hurt oil production in the world's fifth largest exporter and depleted store shelves. Chavez's opponents call him authoritarian and unfit to govern, while his supporters of the leftist former paratrooper accuse strikers of trying to force a coup.

On Tuesday, an airliner headed to the Dominican Republic was forced to return to Caracas when passengers staged an on-board protest targeting an ally of Chavez.

They shook fold-out trays and shouted to protest the presence of retired Gen. Belisario Landis, Venezuela's ambassador in Santo Domingo, shortly after the Aeropostal-Alas de Venezuela flight left the ground. The pilots returned to Caracas, and everyone on board was evacuated.

The Boeing 727 took off again an hour later, after passengers promised not to disrupt the flight again.

Another incident occurred inside the airport on Tuesday when an unidentified man threw a tear gas grenade at a group that was shouting "Assassins! Assassins!" at three pro-Chavez lawmakers.

After a few minutes of confusion, the airport continued functioning normally.

On Nov. 6, opposition groups fought through tear gas and bullets on Nov. 6 to present election authorities with 2 million signatures required to convoke the nonbinding referendum on Chavez's rule.

Under Venezuelan law, citizens can convoke a referendum by gathering signatures from at least 10 percent of the nation's 12 million registered voters.

If high court magistrates declare the referendum legal, Rangel said, the government will urge "Chavistas," as the president's supporters are called, to abstain from casting ballots.

Allies and adversaries of Chavez have presented the Supreme Tribunal with 14 cases for and against the plebiscite.

Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected two years later, argues the only way he can be removed from office is through a recall referendum in August, halfway through his 6-year term.

Chavez says his government won't transfer $22 million required by election authorities to organize balloting until the court decides if the vote is legally sound.

While the fate of the referendum remains in limbo, opponents of Chavez claim the former paratrooper is building an authoritarian regime and riding roughshod over public institutions.

The Bloque de Prensa, the nation's largest association of newspapers, issued a statement Tuesday accusing Chavez of "violent repression of peaceful marches" and preparing "to close television and radio stations" critical of his government.

Leaders of the Democratic Coordinator opposition movement said they would intensify the strike in response to a government takeover of the Caracas police force.

Soldiers loyal to Chavez seized riot gear from the police department Tuesday in what Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena called a deliberate effort to undermine him.

Pena said the raid stripped police of their ability to control street protests that have erupted almost daily since the strike began Dec. 2. Five people have died in strike-related demonstrations.

Police used tear gas Tuesday to separate pro- and anti-Chavez protesters. Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno said one protester was wounded by gunshots and another hit by a vehicle. Both were in stable condition, he said.

Rangel said the seizure was part of an effort to make police answer for alleged abuses against Chavez demonstrators. The government accuses police of killing two Chavez supporters during a melee two weeks ago.

Troops searched several police stations at dawn, confiscating submachine guns and 12-gauge shotguns used to fire rubber bullets and tear gas, said Cmdr. Freddy Torres, the department's legal consultant. Officers were allowed to keep their standard-issue .38-caliber pistols.

Chavez ordered troops to take control of the force in November, but the Supreme Court ordered it restored to Pena last month.