www.roanoke.com Wednesday, February 05, 2003 THE MIAMI HERALD

   CARACAS, Venezuela - For Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Feb. 4 is a holiday, so he'll keep celebrating that historic day he led a failed insurrection that killed at least 60 people.

    "When history is written, it will have to be divided into before and after Feb. 4, 1992," Chavez said Tuesday at a ceremony marking the 11-year anniversary of his failed uprising against former President Carlos Andres Perez.

    "It wasn't a coup," Chavez insisted. "It wasn't a conspiracy of elite, economic, political and military corrupt. It was a volcano that erupted from the moral depths of the military youth who rebelled against a military elite submissive to corrupt governments."

    Chavez honored himself on the 65th day of a strike aimed at ousting him.

    Instead of overthrowing him, the work stoppage dealt severe blows to the state oil industry and national economy until it eventually petered out. Schools, malls and factories swung their doors open this week, while tens of thousands of oil workers continued to strike.

    Chavez is the object of a millions-strong opposition that wants him out of office because of his control over government institutions. But while Chavez assails the opposition as coup-plotting bourgeois, he rarely acknowledges that his own political career began at dawn 11 years ago, when a military tank rammed the gates of the presidential palace.

    Chavez led a group of junior and mid-level officers here in an armed revolt against Perez, who was accused of widespread corruption and ignoring the needs of the poor. The two-hour mutiny killed 14 soldiers, seven presidential guards and at least 40 civilians.

    "Coups are not festive occasions," said legislator Julio Cesar Montoya. "There is a profound contradiction in Chavez when he accuses the opposition of being coup-plotting fascists, when we all know the only one who attacked government institutions with arms was him."

    Chavez, then an army lieutenant colonel, was imprisoned for two years and two months, but continued to organize military upheavals from behind bars. Then he got a pardon and ran for president. And Venezuelans - lots of them - voted for him.

    The majority turned against him later, after he rewrote the constitution, took over control of government bodies such as the Supreme Court and threatened the media. He is accused of arming civilian militias to defend him at all costs.

    "Feb. 4 is an important date: that's the date people woke up," said Omyra Reyes, who attended a Mass Tuesday morning to commemorate the uprising. "It wasn't a coup, it was a civic-military rebellion."

    The Mass was attended by a bulk of Chavez's cabinet, including the vice president, foreign minister and minister of education.

    Shortly after Blanco stepped out of the Caracas cathedral, a band of rock-throwing thugs attacked the office of Chavez's nemesis, greater Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena. He wasn't hurt.     ---     (c) 2003, THE MIAMI HERALD.

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www.globeandmail.com By PAUL KNOX Wednesday, February 5, 2003 – Page A17

CARACAS -- A major thrust of Canadian foreign policy during the 1990s was aimed at giving Ottawa a stronger presence in the affairs of Latin America and the Caribbean. It culminated in the 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, where a timetable for hemispheric free-trade talks was approved and where Prime Minister Jean Chrétien proudly dubbed the 34 member countries a gran familia.

Nearly two years later, the family is struggling. Economic growth in Latin America is at a standstill, and the region continues to frighten mainstream investors. On the social side, Latin Americans are disillusioned with the harsh market-friendly policies that appeal so strongly to the hemisphere's free-traders. They are turning to politicians who offer at least the promise of relief.

Where is Canada now that times have got tough? A lot less visible than it was in Quebec City, even through the tear gas. "The profile we had developed by the time we finally got to Quebec City is starting to dissipate," says John Graham, a retired diplomat and veteran of postings in Latin America. He chairs the Canadian Foundation for the Americas, an independent (though largely government-funded) policy and research group in Ottawa known by the acronym FOCAL.

Two important presidential inaugurations in South America last month were attended not by Mr. Chrétien or Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham or any other cabinet minister, but by relatively low-level parliamentary representatives. In Brasilia, on New Year's Day, it was House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken who watched as Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office. Two weeks later, Canada dispatched Senate Speaker Daniel Hays to Quito for the inauguration of Ecuador's Lucio Gutierrez.

So what, you say. Who cares about formal ceremonies? Don't we take care of business in other ways?

Yes and no. The usual practice among the Latin republics is for the president to attend such events. Actual political business often gets transacted and, if you're not there with a dance card, you don't get out on the floor. "For the Latin Americans, it's hugely important the level at which you turn up at these things," Mr. Graham says.

A higher level of representation might have stopped Canada from being sidelined in activity regarding the acute political crisis in Venezuela. At talks in Quito led by Mr. da Silva, leaders agreed to form a six-nation group known as Friends of Venezuela to offer support to talks between the embattled government of President Hugo Chavez and a broad opposition coalition. This is the kind of thing Canadians are good at. In 2000, Canada played a key role in defusing a political crisis in Peru, and it seemed natural to offer to do so again.

"We had made our desires known," a senior Canadian official says. "We would have been willing to serve." Yet when the white smoke emerged in Quito, the group turned out to consist of Brazil, Mexico, the United States, Chile, Spain and Portugal. (That's right, Portugal.)

Mr. Graham's spokeswoman, Isabelle Savard, says that, under the rules of diplomatic protocol, parliamentary speakers are considered senior to cabinet ministers, and that Mr. Milliken had productive meetings with several Brazilian ministers. But several experienced Latin America hands have told me that protocol is one thing, and possessing the authority or credibility to take part in intense political talks is quite another.

At this point, it's not clear how important the six-nation support group for the Venezuelan talks will turn out to be. But Venezuela aside, Canada needs to be higher on Mr. da Silva's radar screen -- if only to ensure that the ongoing Canada-Brazil dispute over export subsidies for commuter-jet aircraft is managed without ill will.

In an unusually strong editorial in its current monthly bulletin, FOCAL says Ottawa blew it in Brasilia. "The Canadian government squandered a wonderful opportunity to repair a fractured relationship with one of the most important governments in the hemisphere," it says, adding that "if Canada wants to be included in the decisions that are reshaping a continent, it needs to get into the trenches, attend the high-level events and show the respect that the powers and the aspiring powers of the Americas deserve."

There is great uncertainty this year in Latin America. Venezuela and Argentina are swimming in economic difficulties, Colombia's internal armed conflict has escalated and the bloom is off the presidency of Mexico's Vicente Fox.

It's hardly the time for fair-weather friendship. When you're adopted into a gran familia,it's supposed to be a lifelong deal. pknox@globeandmail.ca

www.globeandmail.com By STEVEN CHASE

Wednesday, February 5, 2003 – Page A13

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Jean Chrétien is lobbying heads of state across the Western Hemisphere to hold a special Summit of the Americas this year to bring a dozen newly elected leaders into the fold, most notably Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The next regular Summit of the Americas is not expected to take place until 2005, in Argentina. Federal officials said Mr. Chrétien, chairman of the Summit of the Americas process until June, wants an extra meeting of leaders this year to rekindle enthusiasm for hemispheric co-operation and integration.

Twelve new leaders have been elected among the 34 member countries involved in summit talks since the last official Summit of the Americas in April, 2001.

"It's an occasion for the hemisphere to regroup because a lot of things have happened," a senior Canadian official said. "When we left Quebec City, the hemisphere was in good shape, but the year 2002 was a tough year for the hemisphere."

Argentina and, to some degree, Brazil have been buffeted by financial chaos, while Venezuela's economic downturn has been worsened by the battle between President Hugo Chavez and opponents.

reuters.com Wed February 5, 2003 02:20 AM ET

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were firm on Wednesday waiting to see if Secretary of State Colin Powell could convince skeptics on the U.N. Security Council that Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction.

Powell's briefing to the Security Council, due to start at about 10:30 a.m. EST, may be the last chance for Washington to persuade many of its key allies such as France, Russia and China that Baghdad is a threat because it has hidden biological and chemical weapons.

Many Security Council members want to give weapons inspectors more time to carry out their work in Iraq, but the U.S. has said Baghdad has weeks, not months, to give up suspected arms or face a U.S.-led military campaign.

"The market remains on its toes as the path to war becomes clearer. The presentation to the U.N. Security Council will be critical to the timing of the war," said Sydney-based independent oil analyst Simon Games-Thomas.

Benchmark U.S. light crude was up eight cents at $33.66 a barrel at 0711 GMT, extending Tuesday's 82-cent gain in New York.

Powell has said he will provide "sober and compelling proof" of Iraq's concealment in his briefing, which officials said would include satellite photographs and recorded Iraqi conversations.

But Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, in remarks broadcast on Tuesday, denied Baghdad had weapons of mass destruction or links to the al Qaeda network blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks.

"There is only one truth, and therefore I tell you as I have said on many occasions before, that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction," he said in a rare interview in Baghdad on Sunday and aired on British television's Channel Four News.

Saddam said the United States and Britain were intent on war to control oil in the Middle East. Concern a military strike on Iraq could disrupt crude flows from the Middle East has helped keep oil bubbling above $30 a barrel for the last two months.

U.S. OIL STOCKS SEEN DOWN

Crude's 2.5 percent rally in New York on Tuesday was partly driven by expectations U.S. supplies of heating fuel and gasoline shrank last week on robust demand and a fall in refinery output because of maintenance work.

U.S. fuel stocks have been running close to historic lows as supplies all but dried up from strike-bound Venezuela, which provides about 13 percent of U.S. oil imports.

The government Energy Information Administration is due to release its weekly report on the state of U.S. inventories later on Wednesday.

A Reuters survey of six analysts on Tuesday forecast the EIA data would show a decline of 3.5 million barrels in distillate stocks, which include heating oil, and a drop of 1.7 million barrels in gasoline supplies.

Analysts said the data would show crude inventories rose by 1.5 million barrels, helped by an inflow of supplies from the Middle East and Europe and as exports picked up from Venezuela.

Venezuela's striking oil workers said on Tuesday crude output was 1.2 million barrels a day (bpd), although President Hugo Chavez, who the strikers are trying to force to resign, claimed output was fast approaching two million bpd.

At its lowest point after the strike began in December, Venezuela crude output was running at just 150,000 bpd compared with 3.1 million bpd before the strike began.

Ministers from producers' group OPEC warned this week a return of Venezuelan exports could add to a supply glut and a possible price crash in the second quarter, when demand traditionally drops off with the end of cold weather in the Northern Hemisphere.

www.voanews.com VOA News 05 Feb 2003, 03:38 UTC

Authorities in eastern Colombia say gunmen have shot and killed the private secretary to the regional governor.

Officials in the province of Arauca say the unidentified assailants fired at Rosario Camejo as she left her home Tuesday on her way to the office of Governor Oscar Munoz.

Authorities closed roads and waterways into nearby Venezuela as part of the search for the assailants.

Arauca is one of Colombia's most embattled regions, where leftist rebels, rightist paramilitaries and the government are battling for control of the state's oil-rich plains.

Colombia's RCN radio reports the government has rejected a U.N. proposal for a regional dialogue with the armed groups.

Rebels recently abducted two foreign journalists in Arauca. The two, British reporter Ruth Morris and American photographer Scott Dalton, were released unharmed Saturday after 11 days in captivity.

Seventy U.S. special forces troops are in Arauca to train Colombian troops in protecting an oil pipeline frequently targeted in rebel bombings.