www.asiamedia.ucla.edu CARACAS

Attacks on journalists and threats to shut TV channels reflect the polarisation of Venezuela, where private media outlets are openly involved in the political battle against President Hugo Chavez.

Media harassment is not entirely new in the South American country, having started in January last year with physical attacks on journalists and televised interventions by the president "imposed" on all TV channels, says Marcel Granier, president of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV).

RCTV is one of the private channels Mr Chavez refers to as "the four horsemen of the apocalypse" for their open support of an eight-week-old strike that has crippled the vital oil sector.

Mr Chavez said he would set up an "office of shame" to exhibit the lies he says form part of a media tyranny.

Mr Granier said such statements reflected "the permanent intimidation" of private media in Venezuela. "Hundreds of journalists, including 30 from RCTV, have been physically attacked and journalists feel threatened while carrying out their profession," he said.

In recent clashes between supporters and foes of the president, three journalist were shot at, and owed their lives to the fact they were wearing bulletproof jackets, Mr Granier said.

Mr Chavez has initiated legal procedures against RCTV and news channel Globovision, which Mr Granier believes could close the two stations. "Chavez is not a democrat, he is seeking confrontation," he said.

The two sides in the political conflict accuse each other of pushing the country to the brink of all-out violence, prompting the recently formed six-nation Group of Friends of Venezuela to urge the government and the opposition to find ways of easing the tension.

Mr Granier said he was willing to "lower the tone", adding however, that "the tone is set by the president".

One of his pet peeves is the president's often-used ability to impose "at the time that suits him" his live interventions on all television channels and 400 radio stations. In early April, Mr Chavez "appeared 33 times on our screens in the space of 48 hours", he said.

asia.reuters.com Tue January 28, 2003 08:26 PM ET By Ibon Villelabeitia

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Marxist rebels said on Tuesday they would release within the next two days a British reporter and a U.S. photographer they kidnapped last week in a war-torn stretch of eastern Colombia.

"They will be released in the next few days, in one or two days," Antonio Garcia, a senior commander of the Cuban-inspired National Liberation Army, or ELN, told RCN radio.

British reporter Ruth Morris and U.S. photographer Scott Dalton were abducted while traveling on a freelance assignment for the Los Angeles Times along a rural road on Jan. 21 in the violent province of Arauca, where U.S. Special Forces are training local troops in counterinsurgency techniques.

Morris and Dalton, both experienced hands in Colombia, were stopped at an ELN roadblock, hooded and taken to a secret guerrilla camp, said their driver, who was later released.

Garcia gave no details of the planned release but said the ELN was coordinating with the Los Angeles Times.

Colombia is ravaged by a four-decades-old war that pits leftist rebels against right-wing militias and the U.S.-backed military. It is one of the world's most dangerous places for reporters. Eight Colombian journalists were killed last year.

"WE HOPE TO SEE OUR FAMILIES SOON"

In a crackling message broadcast over an ELN clandestine radio station, Morris said the two journalists were fine and in good health, but "very worried" about their relatives.

"I want my family to know that we are fine and in good health, and we hope to see them soon," Morris said in an interview with a man who identified himself as a member of the ELN's Domingo Lain unit, which operates in Arauca.

Dalton's voice was not heard in the message, recorded on Monday and released Tuesday.

The man interviewing Morris said the pair's release would take place "as soon as security conditions permit it."

Garcia, who spoke from an undisclosed location, said Morris was given an opportunity to broadcast a birthday greeting to her father over the ELN radio station.

The Los Angeles Times declined to comment.

Another radio message broadcast last week by the Domingo Lain unit said the release of Morris and Dalton depended on undefined "political and military conditions."

Military intelligence sources have pointed to infighting between the Domingo Lain unit and the ELN's central command. But Garcia, considered the ELN's top military commander and its No. 2 man, said the decision was definitive.

"There is a critical combat situation in the area but the will and the decision of the ELN is to release them in the coming days," he said, adding he hoped the pair's "contact" with the ELN contributes to the understanding of the conflict from the rebel's point of view.

FARC FREE TV CREW

News of the radio broadcast came as rebels of the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as "FARC," on Tuesday released unharmed a five-man Colombian television crew they had kidnapped on Sunday, also in Arauca province.

The RCN Television crew had traveled to Arauca to cover the kidnapping of Morris and Dalton and the region's deteriorating security when they were snatched by the FARC. RCN said rebels took the crew's equipment, including a satellite telephone.

Arauca, an oil-rich region of savannas and swamps bordering Venezuela, is one of the most violent zones in a war that kills thousands every year. Suspected rebels Sunday killed six soldiers after detonating the fourth car bomb in a month in a fresh challenge to hard-line President Alvaro Uribe. Uribe has declared areas in Arauca as "special war zones."

Despite the savagery of Colombia's war, foreign correspondents here have long enjoyed a type of diplomatic immunity, moving relatively free through the countryside and interviewing rebels and militias sometimes fresh from the killing field.

The Cuban-inspired ELN, a 1960s rebel group, kidnaps hundreds of people every year for ransom to pay for their struggle, which they say is to impose socialist reform in a country torn by the divide between rich and poor.

www.therecord.com Wednesday January 28, 2003 - 18:34:45 EST MALCOLM MORRISON AP

Traders negotiate a deal in the Euro Currency Futures pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. (Stephen J. Carrera/AP) Audio clip: The Business Minute TORONTO (CP) - Cautious buying of beaten-down stocks lifted markets Tuesday ahead of the U.S. president's state of the union address in the evening.

Some positive economic news and corporate earnings reports sent the Dow Jones industrial average 99.28 points higher to 8,088.84, after it had lost 141.5 points Monday to close under 8,000 for the first time since Oct. 14. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index was held back by weakness in technology and energy stocks but managed a gain of 13.57 points to 6,570.09. Nortel lost 13 cents to $3.50.

Mining giant Noranda sank 41 cents to $14.55 after saying it is taking a $630-million writedown as it shuts down a new magnesium plant in Quebec for at least a year. Brascan, which owns 40 per cent of Noranda, slipped 23 cents to $31.40.

The Canadian dollar continued to drop as investors took some profits from the dollar's runup of about 2.5 cents from Dec. 31 to a six-year high last Friday on the prospect of higher interest rates and U.S. dollar weakness. The loonie finished down 0.16 cent at 65.43 cents US, after losing as much as 0.51 cent at midday.

"It's nothing sinister," said Steve Butler, director of foreign exchange trading at Scotia Capital Markets.

"We've seen a variety of sort of bigger players, more along the lines of fund managers, taking profits on some long Canada positions."

The TSX Venture Exchange lost 3.54 points to 1,114.42.

The Nasdaq composite was up 16.91 points at 1,342.18 and the S&P 500 gained 11.06 at 858.54.

The market's gains were modest compared with the steep declines in recent sessions, a sign that investors were wary of big commitments ahead of President George W. Bush's speech on the state of the world.

Investors are hoping for a clearer indication of what action the U.S. intends to take against Iraq and what plans Bush has to fix an ailing economy.

"The overall environment is still very risky one to hold stocks and I think people are just jobbing the market, getting in and out quickly and not taking on long-term views," said Jeff Cheah, market strategist at MMS in Toronto.

"The prospects for war are very real and the outcome ranges from the most optimistic to the most pessimistic, but in between, until we get to that event, there's a lot of question marks regarding what kind of outcome the current tension would bring to the financial markets."

On the economic front, new data showed that U.S. consumer confidence continued to take a hit because of war fears and pessimism over the job market.

The Conference Board consumer confidence index dropped to 79 from a revised 80.7 in December. Analysts had been expecting a bigger decline.

That report was counterbalanced by another showing new home sales in the U.S. hit a record high in December to close out the best year ever as the lowest interest rates in four decades enticed home buyers.

Consumer giant Procter and Gamble exceeded expectations in posting net income of $1.49 billion US in its second quarter, compared with $1.3 billion US a year ago. Its shares rose $1.95 to $85 US.

Xerox jumped $1.40, or more than 15 per cent, to $9.45 US after the business machines maker reported it earned $19 million US in the fourth quarter, much better than expected.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. was also a favourite after fourth-quarter profits rose two per cent to $1.89 billion, matching expectations. Its shares finished $2.64 higher to $54.50 US.

In Canada, TransCanada PipeLines had lower revenues but higher profits for 2002, and raised its dividend to by two cents to 27 cents. Its shares gained 14 cents to $22.82.

Quebec-based grocery store chain Metro Inc. posted a 16 per cent increase in quarterly earnings to $35.3 million as sales climbed to $1.3 billion. Its shares were marked up 22 cents to $18.27.

CGI Group rose 14 cents to $7.27 after the technology services company said quarterly earnings surged 21 per cent to $37 million. Revenue was up almost 15 per cent.

Ballard Power surged $1.70 to $16 on indications Bush would propose a significant increase in spending on research into fuel-cell cars.

Aside from Bush's speech, investors were looking ahead to a U.S. Federal Reserve Board monetary policy announcement Wednesday afternoon. While any interest-rate move is regarded as unlikely, the Fed may provide clues to the direction of the economy.

On the TSX, declines beat advances 609 to 488, with 210 issues unchanged.

The gold sector rose as the bullion price picked up 60 cents to $370 US an ounce. Placer Dome was ahead 40 cents to $17.80.

The energy sector was down, although the price of crude oil edged up 20 cents to $32.58 US a barrel in New York on Iraq war fears and Venezuela's continuing disorder. Shell Canada lost 92 cents to $46.06.

The financial sector finished higher with National Bank adding 58 cents to $31.83.

Canadian National Railway gained $1.10 to $61.93.

Toronto market volume was 202.8 million shares worth $2.35 billion.

The Nasdaq Canada index gained 1.02 points at 225.26.

www.thescotsman.co.uk

JEREMY MCDERMOTT THERE has been no formal admission of surrender but Venezuela’s president seems to have beaten the seven-week-old strike aimed at toppling him.

The core of the strike by Venezuela’s opposition was always the oil industry, the country’s economic lifeblood. But with more than 3,000 striking oil workers sacked and production up to almost a million barrels of oil a day, opposition figures are privately admitting it is all over.

"It seems [the president] has won this round. We never thought he would be able to hold on for long," said an opposition politician. "But it’s not over, we will beat him in August."

It is in August that the president, Hugo Chavez, has agreed to hold a referendum on his rule. If he loses he has pledged to go quietly. In the meantime he is tightening his grip on the levers of power, economic, military and political.

He has become increasingly exuberant as the strike collapses and has promised to get the oil industry back on its feet in record time.

"The oil wells are working and we have already exceeded one million barrels a day in oil production and the recovery has been much faster than we hoped," the fiery left-wing president said. "By the end of January, or at the latest in the first week of February, we should be at roughly two million barrels a day."

The key elements in the opposition’s national strike were the oil industry and a call for businesses to close.

After seven weeks businesses face the choice of going bankrupt or of breaking the strike; the vast majority have done the latter. The shopping malls in the wealthier suburbs have begun to open, as have restaurants.

Government supporters scent victory.

"The corrupt oligarchy has been defeated. The rich minority have been shown that the will of the people cannot be stopped," said Lina Ron, an ardent Chavista.

The opposition is by no means a spent force and was able to obtain two million signatures calling for a referendum next month, but the request was thrown out on a technicality by the country’s supreme court.

In addition, the opposition can still mobilise people and persuade them onto the streets. Last weekend over a 100,000 people blockaded one of Caracas’s main highways calling for the removal of Mr Chavez, whom they accuse of wanting to set up a Cuban-style dictatorship.

But the Chavistas have been able to match opposition numbers, with the poor neighbourhoods coming out in support of their idol.

The country is polarised like never before, but the opposition has no leader whilst the charismatic Mr Chavez has already shown he will cling onto power with every ounce of his strength.

But the strike has cost Mr Chavez dearly. Support has shrunk from 60 per cent early last year to less than 30 per cent, and government finances, along with the economy, are in tatters with almost £3 billion in losses. The economy shrank by an estimated 8 per cent last year, whilst unemployment stands at 17 per cent and inflation at 30 per cent.

The president has seven months to get country on course, whilst continuing his "peaceful revolution" to redistribute Venezuela’s wealth in the favour of the poor before he faces the electorate.

www.guardian.co.uk Wednesday January 29, 2003 12:10 AM

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez's government scored a victory in Venezuela's political crisis by producing more than 1 million barrels of oil Tuesday, frustrating a 2-month-old opposition drive to strangle the world's No. 5 oil exporter.

By raising production to a third of its normal rate, Chavez seized another advantage over his opponents - jump-starting Venezuela's oil industry while defeating calls for a February referendum on his rule.

But the 58-day-old strike has put Venezuela on the verge of economic collapse, caused long-term damage to oil infrastructure and forced Chavez to extend his ban Tuesday on U.S. dollar purchases to preserve foreign reserves.

Chavez surpassed the 1 million-barrel benchmark by focusing on newer oil fields where crude is easier to extract. But production may not reach 2 million barrels a day if the government doesn't revive older wells, said Ed Silliere, vice president of risk management at Energy Merchant LLC in New York.

They are going for the lowest hanging fruit on the tree, the easiest to grab,'' Silliere said. In a few weeks, it is going to be a struggle.''

Energy analysts warn that Venezuela has lost production capacity during the strike and that it could take months to restore it. Refining is curtailed, and Venezuela is purchasing its gasoline abroad.

Dissident executives at the state oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., confirmed production surpassed 1 million barrels, compared to a low of 200,000 during the strike. Exports - normally about 2.5 million barrels a day - have reached 800,000, according to shipping agents.

Oil provides half of Venezuela's government revenue and 70 percent of export earnings.

Chavez has fired more than 5,000 striking workers at the state oil monopoly, which employed 40,000, eliminating dissent and trying to increase government control over the semiautonomous corporation.

State oil company executives warn the firings will make it even more difficult to reach full production.

Opposition leaders insist the oil strike will continue. But they are scaling back in other areas, worried about a public backlash over food, gasoline and medicine shortages. The government will impose limits on daily gasoline sales to reduce lines at service stations, said Luis Vierma, director of hydrocarbons at the Energy and Mines Ministry.

Opposition leaders insist the oil strike will continue. But they are scaling back in other areas, worried about a public backlash over food, gasoline and medicine shortages.

Most small businesses are open - either because they never joined the strike or because they couldn't sustain losses.

Factories, shopping malls, restaurants and schools may reopen next week, at least on a part-time basis, said Julio Brazon, president of the Consecomercio business chamber and a strike leader.

Citing political and economic turmoil, Venezuela's opposition called the strike Dec. 2 to force Chavez to call a nonbinding referendum on his rule in February. They delivered 2 million signatures demanding the vote.

Last week, Venezuela's Supreme Court postponed the referendum indefinitely, citing a technicality.

Chavez's foes are now gathering voter signatures to demand an amendment to reduce the president's six-year term to four years - allowing an early binding referendum on his rule.

A similar idea was floated last week by former President Jimmy Carter, whose Carter Center has joined the Organization of American States and United Nations in trying to broker an electoral solution.

Carter also proposed an alternative: Dropping the strike, and holding a binding referendum halfway into Chavez's term, or next August.

Venezuela's opposition - a coalition of labor, business, leftist and conservative political parties - has won international backing for early elections.

Over Chavez's objections, Spain, Portugal, the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Chile have formed a ``Friends of Venezuela'' initiative and are urging both sides to work quickly on the Carter proposals.

Recession, capital flight, stalled investment and strike damage led Santander Central Hispano investment bank to forecast a 40 percent collapse in economic activity the first quarter of 2003.

The finance ministry on Tuesday extended for another week a freeze on foreign currency sales to protect the bolivar, which has lost 25 percent of its value this year. The bolivar was trading at 2,300 to the dollar Tuesday in secondary markets between private parties, bankers said. It was 1,853 to the dollar before the freeze started.

``Chavez many have the initial advantage, but over the long term, he's going to have a much more difficult path,'' said Steve Johnson, senior policy analyst for Latin America at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation.