www.voanews.com VOA News 23 Feb 2003, 23:45 UTC

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has warned the world to stop interfering in his nation's affairs.

Speaking Sunday on state-sponsored television, Mr. Chavez criticized the United States, Spain and Colombia for siding with his opponents.

Last week, the U.S. State Department criticized Venezuelan authorities for arresting business leader Carlos Fernandez. He helped spearhead the two-month general strike aimed at forcing President Chavez from power.

Sunday, a Venezuelan judge placed Mr. Fernandez under house arrest. He faces charges of civil rebellion and criminal incitement for helping lead the strike.

The strike crippled Venezuela's vital oil industry but fizzled in early February. Another strike leader, Carlos Ortega, is in hiding after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The opposition says the charges against Mr. Fernandez and Mr. Ortega are politically motivated. Meanwhile, police say gunmen killed one police officer and wounded five others in an ambush Sunday in the capital, Caracas. Some police officials say they suspect supporters of President Chavez carried out the attack because of tensions between the police force and the central government.

www.abc.net.au 24/2/2003 Steve Marshall

EMMA ALBERICI: There are growing fears that surging petrol costs will stifle the Australian economy as international oil prices continue to hit new highs. Concerns over Iraq pushed the price of crude to US$37 a barrel last week, for the first time in 2.5 years. However, industry experts say it's not just the high chance of conflict in the Middle East that's driving up the oil price. Steve Marshall explains. STEVE MARSHALL: For a man who analyses oil markets day in day out, Simon Klimt isn't panicking just yet, despite the looming conflict in Iraq. SIMON KLIMT, HEAD OF COMMODITIES, WESTPAC: No panic stations yet. We're still looking at a scenario very similar to what happened in '91. STEVE MARSHALL: The Gulf War 12 years ago shot oil to US$41 a barrel. But it was a brief war matching analysts expectations, meaning the price spike was short-lived. SIMON KLIMT: It's really only the length of time it spends at high prices that causes a problem. If we go up there for short periods of time, it really shouldn't cause too many problems for the economy. STEVE MARSHALL: Even oil companies here are optimistic. JOHN ELLICE-FLINT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SANTOS: I think that there is always overreaction on the oil price but I think what you'll see is it coming back to the 20s, mid 20s. STEVE MARSHALL: Given the media and political focus on the link between possible conflict in Iraq and the price of oil, you'd be forgiven for thinking Iraq was the only oil supplier. But analysts point out there are several other factors affecting price. SIMON KLIMT: You've got very cold weather in the Northern Hemisphere, which is really using up a lot of oil for heating -- heating oil demand. You've got Venezuela, which produces three million barrels a day, that's been struck by a strike for quite a long period of time. And you've got Nigeria, which has just started a strike, which has about as much oil as Iraq -- about 2.5 million barrels a day -- that is currently threatened to stop coming onto the international market. So those are the real factors that are affecting the price at the moment. STEVE MARSHALL: Which ultimately affects the price we pay for petrol. And if wasn't for the strong Australian dollar, we'd be paying a lot more. The strength of the currency is actually helping keep some of the oil price pressure off the retail price at the bowser. Steve Marshall, Business Breakfast.

Please note: Transcripts on this website are created by an independent transcription service. The ABC does not warrant the accuracy of the transcripts. MULTIMEDIA: Hear the audio: War is only one factor affecting petrol prices

www.ktul.com Sunday February 23, 2003 6:40pm  More Information

Caracas (AP) - A leading opponent of President Hugo Chavez who helped lead a two-month national strike was put under house arrest Sunday after a judge struck down a treason charge but left standing two other serious counts. Carlos Fernandez, president of the Fedecamaras business chamber, was seized Wednesday by federal agents. An arrest order was issued for another strike leader who remains in hiding. A judge struck down three of the charges against Fernandez, including treason, in a 13-hour closed-door hearing that ended early Sunday. The court upheld charges of rebellion and incitement, said Pedro Berrizbeitia, one of the business leader's defense lawyers. Separately, gunmen loyal to Chavez ambushed a group of policemen overnight, killing one officer and wounding five others, said Miguel Pinto, chief of the police motorcycle brigade. The officers were attacked Saturday night as they returned from the funeral for a slain colleague and passed near the headquarters of the state oil monopoly, which has been staked out by Chavez supporters since December. Chavez's government has seized thousands of weapons from city police on the pretext that Police Chief Henry Vivas has lost control of the 9,000-member department. Critics allege Chavez is disarming police while secretly arming pro-government radicals. After Fernandez's overnight court hearing, uniformed federal agents rushed the business leader to his home in Valencia, 66 miles west of Caracas. "I declared that all the accusations against me were false," the 52-year-old Fernandez told Globovision television, adding that he was being "politically persecuted." Fernandez said he was well-treated in police custody and "they respected all my rights," but he insisted his midnight arrest on Wednesday was irregular. Fernandez will remain under house arrest while prosecutors formalize the accusations against him. Strike co-leader Carlos Ortega remained in hiding after a warrant for his arrest was issued. As president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, he and Fernandez spearheaded the work stoppage that paralyzed the vital oil industry and devastated the national economy. Chavez has demanded 20-year jail sentences for Fernandez and Ortega, alleging they sabotaged oil installations, incited civil disobedience and trampled human rights. "He is a terrorist and a coup-plotter," Chavez said of Fernandez during the president's weekly television address. "Let the decision be obeyed, it is the court's order. If it were up to me he wouldn't be at home, he would be behind bars." The two-month strike, which ended Feb. 4 in all sectors but the oil industry, caused food and gasoline shortages nationwide and cost Venezuela an estimated $4 billion. Before the strike, Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter and a major U.S. supplier. The arrest was ordered by a judge who previously served as a defense attorney for presidential supporters accused of shooting at opposition marchers before an April coup that briefly toppled Chavez. The Organization of American States, the United Nations and the Carter Center, run by former President Jimmy Carter, have sponsored three months of talks to seek an electoral solution to Venezuela's crisis. The future of those talks was in doubt after Fernandez's arrest. Chavez on Sunday reprimanded OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria for speaking out about the detention, saying his comments were "totally out of place." He also had sharp words for foreign governments critical of Venezuela. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday that Washington was concerned Fernandez's arrest could hinder peace talks. Chavez singled out the United States, Spain and Colombia and warned, "Don't mess with our affairs! "Gentlemen of Washington ... we don't meddle in your internal affairs. Why does a spokesman have to come out and say they are worried? No, that is Venezuela's business." Venezuela's opposition wants early elections and staged the national strike to back its demand. It collected more than 4 million signatures demanding an early vote, but the government dismisses the petition drive and accuses the opposition of "coup-plotting." Chavez was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 to a six-year term. He has vowed to distribute Venezuela's oil riches to the poor, but critics accuse him of imposing an authoritarian state and driving the economy into the ground.

news.bbc.co.uk

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, has welcomed a judge's decision to put one of his leading opponents under house arrest.

The head of the employers' association, Carlos Fernandez, is to remain under house arrest while awaiting trial on rebellion and inciting criminal acts. The judge dismissed a third charge of treason.

Mr Fernandez's case has sparked international concern.

But, speaking in his weekly broadcast, Mr Chavez told the world community to stop meddling in Venezuelan affairs.

Charges denied

Mr Fernandez denies the charges against him and says he is being politically persecuted.

But Mr Chavez has described him as a "terrorist and a coup-plotter".

"Let the decision be obeyed; it is the court's order. If it were up to me he wouldn't be at home, he would be behind bars," Mr Chavez said.

I ask all of the countries of this continent and of the world... are you going to stop this meddling?

President Hugo Chavez

He has called for Mr Fernandez to be given a 20-year prison term for his part in a two-month strike, which paralysed the country's oil industry.

A fellow strike leader, Venezuelan Workers Confederation (CTV) leader Carlos Ortega, is in hiding, saying he will not allow himself to "become easy prey for the current administration".

"It is not possible to come out in public... not only because we might be arrested at any time, but because our physical safety would be compromised," Mr Ortega said in an interview quoted by Venezuelan radio.

International concern

The secretary-general of the Organisation of American States, Cesar Gaviria, has called on the Venezuelan authorities to respect Mr Fernandez's rights and recognise the important role he has played in Venezuelan society.

And the United States has described Mr Fernandez's arrest as a "very worrisome" development that would only increase the political and economic crisis which has beset Venezuela.

Mr Chavez responded on Sunday, saying: "I ask all of the countries of this continent and of the world... are you going to stop this meddling?"

www.kolotv.com by The Associated Press

CAMARILLO, California (AP) -- Gas prices rose $0.07 per gallon over the past two weeks pushing pump prices to near record levels, but the upward pressure on prices may be easing, an industry analyst said Sunday.

The average weighted price for gas nationwide, including all grades and taxes, was approximately $1.70 per gallon Friday, according to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 stations nationwide. That price is within 7 cents of $1.77, the all-time high recorded by the survey on May 18, 2001.

Gasoline cost about $1.63 a gallon on February 7, the date of the last Lundberg Survey, an increase of 11 cents over the previous two-week survey.  The American Automobile Association says the average price in Nevada as of Friday was $1.79 per gallon.

"The pace of gas prices has already slowed," Trilby Lundberg said. "The other indicators show a possible decrease in prices."

Increased production in Venezuela, the approach of warmer weather, and the reopening of various U.S. refineries that had been idled for annual maintenance should help slow or end the price spiral, Lundberg said.

Crude oil prices are also up due to fears of a war with Iraq, but if the U.S. goes to war, or if the crisis is resolved, that oil bubble could burst. Prices rose 30 cents a gallon in 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait, and then dropped 30 cents in 1991 following the Persian Gulf War, Lundberg said.

"The war premium, like a bubble, could burst and crude oil prices will fall," Lundberg said.

The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.67 per gallon for regular, $1.76 for mid-grade and $1.85 for premium.