www.amnestyusa.org AI Index: AMR 53/002/2003 Publish date: 21 January 2003

As the international community is taking an increasingly active role in the Venezuelan crisis, Amnesty International today said that a long-term, comprehensive human rights vision must be one of the guiding principles in seeking ways to avoid a political breakdown and further polarization of the situation.

"Long-standing disrespect for human rights is one of the roots of the crisis, so it is only natural that national and international instruments set up to protect those rights should provide a framework to promote its resolution," the organization added.

While much of the debate at the moment is focused on electoral issues, Amnesty International urged the international community -- and in particular the "group of friends" and international and regional human rights organizations -- to promote a comprehensive strategy based on the full respect for human rights as a key to strengthening the rule of law.

Amnesty International proposed human rights agenda for the Venezuelan crisis focuses on:

• strengthening justice - including by guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary -- and eradicating impunity for past and present human rights violations through impartial and thorough investigations and prompt trials;

• ensuring that the armed forces and security forces do not play a political role, remain subordinated to the civilian authorities and that they act impartially and in full compliance with standards on the use of force;

• guaranteeing freedom of expression and the right to information;

• enabling human rights defenders to carry out their work without fear;

• implementing concrete and effective policies to combat the extreme poverty and exclusion which has contributed to the extreme polarization of Venezuelan society. It is the responsibility of all political actors in Venezuela to ensure that these issues are seriously and effectively addressed. When exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, opposition sectors should take responsibility for choosing protest methods that do not undermine constitutional guarantees.

"Far too often all parties involved in the crisis have made an instrumental use of human rights, appropriating, manipulating and distorting the issue to use it as yet another weapon for polarization and confrontation," Amnesty International said.

"It is now time to see the full respect of all the human rights of all Venezuelans as one of the cornerstones on which to build long-lasting, viable solutions to the crisis. The international community has an important role to play in this respect," the organization added.

Background

César Gaviria, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, has been facilitating negotiations between the opposition and the government in order to achieve a peaceful resolution to the crisis. So far these negotiations have not produced concrete results. The political crisis which has been threatening political stability in Venezuela for the last year reached a new stage with the opposition general strike which began on 2 December and is now in its eighth week. The extremely tense situation is in danger of leading to serious human rights violations.

As a response to the heightened tension and the apparent unwillingness of the two sides to find a peaceful negotiated solution to the crisis, a number of international government have proposed a group of "amigo de Venezuela" countries to further encourage a negotiated solution. The countries which form this group are the USA, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Mexico and Chile.

Source: Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom

www.washingtonpost.com By Alexandra Olson Associated Press Writer Tuesday, January 21, 2003; 12:41 PM

CARACAS, Venezuela –– Former President Carter said Tuesday he drafted two proposals for leading Venezuela toward elections and ending a deadly 51-day-old strike intended to force President Hugo Chavez from office.

Carter made his proposals after attending negotiations between the government and opposition and meeting separately with Chavez and strike leaders. His Atlanta-based Carter Center, the Organization of American States and the United Nations are sponsoring the talks.

One proposal would amend Venezuela's constitution to allow for early general elections and to cut terms in office, Carter said. The amendment would have to be approved by Congress and voters.

Venezuela's opposition would call off the strike and, in return, the government – which has a majority in Congress – would agree to move quickly to adopt the amendment and organize early elections, Carter said.

Carter's second proposal calls for both sides to wait for a recall referendum on Chavez's rule, which the constitution says can happen halfway into the president's six-year term. In Chavez's case, that is August.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner said before leaving Venezuela that the government and opposition would receive his proposals later Tuesday.

"We've been pleased with the reception we've had from both the government and the opposition," Carter said. "My opinion is that both sides want to end an impasse that is destroying the economy."

Business leaders, labor unions and opposition parties launched the strike Dec. 2 to demand that Chavez resign or call early elections.

Chavez said Tuesday he told Carter he would abide by any constitutional changes.

"If the people were to decide it should be four years ... I have no problem with that," Chavez said.

Strike leader Carlos Ortega, president of the 1 million-member Confederation of Venezuelan Workers, said earlier that Chavez never would accept a vote on his rule.

The strike has crippled Venezuela's oil industry, which was the world's fifth-largest exporter and a major supplier to the United States.

The strike has slashed production by more than two-thirds and caused domestic shortages of gasoline, food and drinking water. It has cost Venezuela $4 billion, according to the government, and contributed to the plummeting of the bolivar currency.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it will be difficult to make up for shortages of Venezuelan oil in the United States because many U.S. refineries are geared to process heavier Venezuelan crude.

After an early surge Tuesday, European Brent crude fell to $30 a barrel after Venezuelan tanker pilots announced they would resume work – which could convince foreign tanker companies to dock at Venezuelan ports. Foreign companies refused to do so during the strike for security and insurance reasons.

At least six people have died in political violence since the strike began, including a man killed Monday in clashes between Chavez supporters and opposition marchers. The violence in Charallave, 20 miles south of Caracas, also injured dozens.

Six countries – Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States – have begun an initiative called "Friends of Venezuela" to help end the crisis. Diplomats from the six nations will meet at OAS headquarters in Washington on Friday.

The National Elections Council, accepting an opposition petition, agreed to organize a Feb. 2 nonbinding referendum asking citizens whether Chavez should step down.

Chavez says the vote would be unconstitutional and his supporters have challenged it in the Supreme Court. But the president has welcomed a possible binding referendum halfway through his term.

The 48-year-old Chavez was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 on promises to redistribute the country's vast oil wealth among the poor majority.

His opponents accusing him of steering the economy into recession with leftist policies and running roughshod over democratic institutions.

www.cbc.ca 04:29 PM EST Jan 21

CARACAS (AP) - Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said Tuesday he drafted two proposals for leading Venezuela toward elections and ending a deadly 51-day-old strike intended to force President Hugo Chavez from office.

Carter made his proposals after attending negotiations between the government and opposition and meeting separately with Chavez and strike leaders. His Atlanta-based Carter Center, the Organization of American States and the United Nations are sponsoring the talks.

One proposal would amend Venezuela's constitution to allow for early general elections and to cut terms in office, Carter said. The amendment would have to be approved by Congress and voters.

Venezuela's opposition would call off the strike and, in return, the government - which has a majority in Congress - would agree to move quickly to adopt the amendment and organize early elections, Carter said.

Carter's second proposal calls for both sides to wait for a recall referendum on Chavez's rule, which the constitution says can happen halfway into the president's six-year term. In Chavez's case, that is August.

Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, said before leaving Venezuela that the government and opposition would receive his proposals later Tuesday.

"We've been pleased with the reception we've had from both the government and the opposition," Carter said. "My opinion is that both sides want to end an impasse that is destroying the economy."

Business leaders, labour unions and opposition parties launched the strike Dec. 2 to demand that Chavez resign or call early elections.

Chavez said Tuesday he told Carter he would abide by any constitutional changes.

"If the people were to decide it should be four years ... I have no problem with that," Chavez said.

Strike leader Carlos Ortega, president of the one million-member Confederation of Venezuelan Workers, said earlier that Chavez never would accept a vote on his rule.

The strike has crippled Venezuela's oil industry, which was the world's fifth-largest exporter and a major supplier to the United States.

The strike has slashed production by more than two-thirds and caused domestic shortages of gasoline, food and drinking water. It has cost Venezuela $4 billion US, according to the government, and contributed to the plummeting of the bolivar currency.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it will be difficult to make up for shortages of Venezuelan oil in the United States because many U.S. refineries are geared to process heavier Venezuelan crude.

After an early surge Tuesday, European Brent crude fell to $30 US a barrel after Venezuelan tanker pilots announced they would resume work, which could convince foreign tanker companies to dock at Venezuelan ports. Foreign companies refused to do so during the strike for security and insurance reasons.

At least six people have died in political violence since the strike began, including a man killed Monday in clashes between Chavez supporters and opposition marchers. The violence in Charallave, about 30 kilometres south of Caracas, also injured dozens.

Six countries - Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States - have begun an initiative called "Friends of Venezuela" to help end the crisis. Diplomats from the six countries will meet at OAS headquarters in Washington on Friday.

The National Elections Council, accepting an opposition petition, agreed to organize a Feb. 2 nonbinding referendum asking citizens whether Chavez should step down.

Chavez says the vote would be unconstitutional and his supporters have challenged it in the Supreme Court. But the president has welcomed a possible binding referendum halfway through his term.

Chavez, 48, was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 on promises to redistribute the country's vast oil wealth among the poor majority.

His opponents accusing him of steering the economy into recession with leftist policies and running roughshod over democratic institutions.

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.21.03, 1:36 PM ET By Hugh Bronstein

NEW YORK, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Emerging market bond prices edged lower on Tuesday as investors, already nervous about the outlook for the bellwether U.S. economy, cashed in profits earned from Brazil and other Latin American countries since the start of the year.

Traders said the market was not being driven by news. Rather, they said, investors took a breather after bidding Brazilian bonds more than 5 percent higher over the last three weeks.

"You can point to nervousness over the possibility of a war with Iraq, but I think it has more to do with the fact that the market had been up for a while, it stalled and then someone woke up this morning and decided to lessen their position," said Paul Masco, head of emerging market trading at Salomon Smith Barney.

"Selling always begets more selling," he said. "No one wants to be alone out here."

If the United States leads an attack on Iraq, investors fear Latin America could suffer from any short term economic shock waves.

Benchmark Brazil C bonds <BRAZILC=RR> lost 1.0 point to bid 68-3/4. Mexico PAR bonds <MEXPAR=RR> shed 1/8 to bid 98-7/8. Due to Mexico's close trade ties to its northern neighbor, the country is particularly vulnerable to U.S. economic troubles. "As soon as you have any concern or risk looming on the horizon for the U.S. economy, Mexico suffers," said Fernando Losada, senior Latin American economist at ABN-AMRO. "Because there is a lot of uncertainty about a war with Iraq, people in Mexico are nervous."

MARKET DOLDRUMS OVERSHADOW ECUADOR NEWS Despite market predictions that Ecuador would rally on the back of a government austerity plan unveiled over the weekend, the country's total returns slumped 3.26 percent on Tuesday, according to JP Morgan's Emerging Markets Bond Index Plus. "I don't think this necessarily has anything to do with Ecuador specifically," Masco said. "The whole market is lower."

Ecuador's new president, Lucio Gutierrez, will freeze wages and raise fuel prices under an austerity decree aimed at closing a financing gap inherited when he took office, the government said on Sunday.

The decree raises the price of the most commonly used gasoline from $1.12 to $1.48 a gallon for consumers, a hike that some of Gutierrez's leftist and Indian supporters have threatened to protest. Venezuela total returns, already battered by the country's sharp economic downturn and political instability, fell 2.5 percent, adding to losses of 8.36 percent since Jan. 1.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter said on Tuesday he had proposed an agreement on elections aimed at ending a political impasse between leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his foes.

The former U.S. president said after talks with Chavez in Caracas his blueprint included an end to the seven-week-old opposition strike that is crippling the economy of the world's No. 5 oil exporter. Strike leaders have been calling for the populist president to resign and hold early elections.

www.morningstar.ca 21 Jan 03(1:31 PM) |  E-mail Article to a Friend

By Jeffrey Jones

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Suncor Energy Inc. <SU.TO>, Canada's No. 4 oil producer, refiner and marketer, kicked off the industry's fourth-quarter reporting season on Tuesday with a tenfold jump in profit fueled by surging output and prices.

Suncor, best known for its newly expanded oil sands mining and crude processing operation in northern Alberta, said it was concentrating on cutting costs at the operation but warned sky-high prices for natural gas, a fuel for the plant, could hamper its plans.

It earned C$258 million ($168 million), or 56 Canadian cents a share, up from a year-earlier C$26 million, or 4 Canadian cents a share. That beat an average estimate of 50 Canadian cents a share among analysts polled by Thomson First Call.

Cash flow, which gives a glimpse into an oil company's ability to fund pending projects, was C$460 million, or C$1 a share, up from C$133 million, or 27 Canadian cents per share.

Full-year profit rose to C$761 million, or C$1.64 a share, from C$388 million, or 79 Canadian cents a share in 2001.

The oil industry is expected a gusher of hefty earnings for the fourth quarter after crude prices jumped 38 percent on fears of a Middle East war, then a strike in Venezuela that cut shipments from the world's fifth-largest exporter.

Canadian natural gas prices, meanwhile, soared 67 percent from the fourth quarter of 2001 amid cold weather in major U.S. consuming regions and lower-than-average inventories.

Suncor also produces natural gas in western Canada and runs the Sunoco-brand refining and marketing business in Ontario.

It started up a C$3.4-billion addition to its oil sands plant in late 2001, which helped drive production up 40 percent to 261,800 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the fourth quarter. Of that, 227,600 barrels a day was synthetic crude from the oil sands.

Suncor mines oil-laden sands and extracts the tar-like bitumen, which is processed into refinery-ready oil.

Suncor chief executive Rick George said his goal is to shave operating costs from C$12.50 a barrel in the fourth quarter, down from year-earlier C$17.45. Its oil sales price averaged C$39.02 a barrel.

"We still plan to exit 2003 in the C$10 to C$11 barrel range. That means, of course, we have to get another dollar a barrel out (and) we'll be working hard on that," George told analysts in a conference call. "The only exception is natural gas prices. If we see a spike on that, that will have an impact on us."

Suncor expects costs in 2003 to average C$12.50-C$13.20 a barrel on projected oil sands output of 215,000 bpd, a figure that includes a month-long maintenance shutdown starting late late April.

The next expansion project is called Firebag, where oil sands will be extracted using steam pumped into the earth to allow the thick crude to flow in wells instead of mining. That development and new processing equipment at the plant are expected to boost synthetic crude output to 260,000 barrels a day by 2005.

Shares in Suncor were up 26 Canadian cents at C$25.35 in Toronto on Tuesday. The stock is down about 6 percent since the start of the fourth quarter, compared with a relatively flat performance by the Toronto Stock Exchange energy group.

($1=$1.54 Canadian)