www.voanews.com VOA News 09 Mar 2003, 07:54 UTC

Venezuelan police clashed with anti-government protesters in the capital, Caracas, Saturday during a failed attempt to arrest an opposition leader.

Police tried to detain Juan Fernandez at an anti-government rally along a crowded highway, but the former executive of the state oil firm (Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.) eluded police, after he addressed the crowd, protesting against President Hugo Chavez.

Mr. Fernandez urged the demonstrators to keep up a campaign of street protests against the leftist leader and warned Mr. Chavez to, in his words, "pack his bags."

Angry protesters hurled stones at the heavily-armed police officers, who in turn, fired tear gas and shots into the air. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The rally was called to show support for opposition leaders who led a two-month general strike against Mr. Chavez that failed to unseat the former paratrooper. The strike fizzled out in early February.

Opposition leaders continue to demand early presidential elections, saying Mr. Chavez is destroying the country's economy. The president has called his opponents coup-plotters trying to return to a time, when he says Venezuela was ruled by an elite minority.

www.thisdayonline.com By Collins Edomaruse in Lagos and Donald Andoor in Port Harcourt

Presidential candidate of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) yesterday in Port Har-court, Rivers State, lampooned the Federal Government over the resurgence of fuel crisis and said: "Obasanjo's government has no shame." The rally was, however, boycotted by former presidential aspirants: Chiefs Rochas Okorocha, Harry Akande, Nnia Nwodo and Edwin Ume-Ezeoke. Buhari, who made the criticism while flagging off his presidential campaign at the Liberation Stadium also dedicated the campaigns to Dr. Marshall Harry, South-South Presidential co-ordinator of the party who was assassinated Thursday morning in Abuja by unknown assailants. The exercise which was conducted amid tight security mounted by the Nigeria Police in all nooks and crannies of Port Harcourt and its environs, was also attended by the party's presidential running mate, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, the National Chairman, Chief Don Etiebet, Chairman Board of Trustees, Admiral Augustus Aikhomu (rtd), presidential campaign co-ordinator of the party, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, gubernatorial flagbearer of the party for Rivers State, Chief Sergeant Awuse and the family of the slain ANPP chieftain led by his son, Mr Sunny Marshall Harry. All extolled his virtues and chorused that he did not die in vain. Buhari told the mammoth crowd at the Liberation Stadium that despite the brutal killing of Dr Marshall, "the ANPP family had decided to go ahead with the rally because he had done all the arrangements and there is no other better way to honour him than to hold the event ... but that the party will no doubt honour him at the appropriate time." He told the jubilant crowd that the PDP government had failed, in all its promises to the electorate and stressed that "the brutal killing of Dr Marshall as well as many other Nigerians was a clear manifestation that there is no security anywhere in this country, in the towns and in villages." He recalled that since the PDP government came to power, the nation has not known any peace "as the government has no solution," he said adding "there is no peace and harmony either in the country or among government officials themselves." Recalling the discordant tunes amongst the government officials over the ongoing fuel shortage in the country, Buhari noted how one government official attributed it to sabotage, another to the crises in Venezuela which has shot up oil prices and how another had promised Nigerians that the shortage wouldbe over in one week and queried "which one do we believe? ... This shows there is no harmony in this government. What a shame!" While dismissing the PDP government as the one that lacks focus and vision, he recalled that the stupendous amount spent on the turn around maintenance of our electricity plants have not produced any practical results while inflation is on an alarming increase, he said "four years is enough for any serious government to have brought about remarkable improvement in the lives of the citizens of this country." On allegations of religious bigotry and that he called on northerners to boycott the ongoing registration of Nigerians for the national identity card scheme "he said all these are acts of desperation." He explained that he was quoted out of context in Sokoto when he was addressing moslem faithfuls by a journalist "who was not even present and canot understand or speak Hausa language." He called on Nigerians to disregard allegations that he is not a democrat by arguing "if I were not a democratc, I could not have joined a political party to seek election and campaigning here and there and I would not have called for a free and fair elections." National Chairman of the party, Chief Etiebet who had earlier dedicated the rally to the slain ANPP chieftain called for three minutes silence in his honour and added "today is a day that Dr Marshall Harry always dreamt of." Etiebet in a lenghting warm tribute to the slain ANPP leader said his spirit will spur those of them alive to work harder to actualise his dream of winning the Presidency and governorship elections in all states in the coming elections. Son of the slain ANPP leader, Mr Sunny Marshall Harry who read the speech which was prepared by his father before life was snuffed out of him announced "The event we are witnessing today marks the beginning of the end of PDP government in this country." The late politician who extolled the exemplary leadership qualities of Buhari stated "the only thing against Buhari is that he is an upright person who has made transparency, accountability and discipline his everyday life." He stated further "it touches my heart to hear an incapable government asking of continuity ... Continuity of what? Continuity to wtich-hunt perceived opponents or continuity of insecurity?" Sunny who made his personal remarks over the death of his father before reading the prepared speech rhetorically thanked the killers of his father "I thank those who killed my father. He was a regional leader but now he is a national hero ... He was not a Martin Luther King but he had a dream to unite the people of the state ... I may not be a Marshall Harry and would not pray to be him and I am not happy that he is killed but I am proud to be his son." Okadigbo wo electrified the gathering with his theatrics both in speech and action said as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethnic and Communal Crisis, he had visited 23 riot spots and it is only those states that are being ruled by PDP that have crisis. He then queried those that are real trouble makers? Awuse, the Rivers gubernatorial flagbearer warned that whoever rigs the coming general elections is inviting chaos and instability. Those who witness the rally include former Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Victor Malu, Jerry Useni, Senators Gbenga Aluko, Rowland Owie, Daniel Saror, Khairat Abdulrazak, Musa Adede; Paul Unongo, all ANPP incumbent governors and gubernatorial flagbearers in all states. A curious development at the event is the absence of the party's former presidential aspirant who pulled out of the party's national convention at the Eagle Square, Abuja on January 7. The former aspirants: Chiefs Rochas Okorocha, Nnia Nwodo, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke and Harry Akande were quoted as saying that they shunned the Port Harcourt ceremony because the party has not taken any concrete steps at reconciliation. A top ANPP member, who pleaded anonymity, told THISDAY that: "The former presidential aspirants are still not happy with the party. "The ANPP leadership has not made any concrete plans to bring them back to the fold. "They are also bitter because they (former presidential aspirants) feel their views are no longer needed as if they are not running for the presidential elections," he concluded.

www.vcrisis.com Emilio Figueredo 28 December 2002

Some international press representatives find it difficult to understand what is happening in Venezuela. For many of them there is no way to explain why the opposition cannot wait until August in order to have a revocatory referendum. A few, also, have bought the regime©ˆs argument that there is a conspiracy to oust the legitimately elected government of president Chávez. Then there are those who no longer act in good faith and see everything as a showing of racism. I feel bound to clarify on each of these arguments. First, both the consulting referendum sought by the opposition and the revocatory one, suggested yet not proposed by the government, are contemplated in the Constitution. In fact, President Chávez made use, on ore than a single occasion, of the consulting referendum, when he had a solid majority backing him. The revocatory referendum, as provided by the Constitution, has provisions that make it hard to apply against officers having been elected with an important volume of votes. In order to be applied, this referendum requires that the amount of votes cast is at least one more vote than all those obtained by the officer when elected. In other words, even if the popularity may have been reduced to minute levels, the original figure must still be overcome. In the case of President Chávez, this would not be a major hurdle, since according to all polls 75% of the voters would cast their votes against him. This would indeed give a number much higher than that of his election. One must underline a specially relevant fact, inasmuch as it has induced the international press to say that there is now ay to understand the opposition©ˆs impatience, insisting on calling for a consulting referendum úa non-biding oneú in February, when they may get the same results with a binding effect in August. What the international press does not show is that there is no way of holding the revocatory referendum in August because the Constitution provides that it may only be held after more than half of the presidential term has gone by and this half is not, as Chávez says, on August 19, it is in February 2004. Why do we hold this? Because if it is true that Chávez was inaugurated in his second term on August 19, 2000, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, in a disputed decision added to his term five months and twelve days, alleging that the period that it called transitory úsome kind of supra-constitutional limboú could not be taken into account and ruled, accordingly that his term ended on February 2, 2007. Now then, if we assume that úprovided the government does not put any hurdlesú one needs at least 30 days to gather the signatures moving for the call of the referendum, ate least 60 additional days for the electoral body to process the information and formally call for it, then the referendum would be held, if everything works under schedule, on May 2. If Chávez©ˆs mandate is revoked, a new election would be called (for thirty days after); some additional 30 days would be needed to register the nominations of the several candidates and 60 more for the electoral campaign. With all these requirements met, we would be electing a new President on September of the year 2004. As it may be clearly seen this would imply that Chávez would be in office for 21 months. Quite clearly, this is unbearable for most of the Venezuelan people. So, my dear friends of the international press don©ˆt buy the story that we are only talking of a six months©ˆ difference! The thesis of the conspiracy has been clearly refuted by the eminently civic and democratic of the people on the streets. A call for elections is the protest©ˆs theme and in order that they may be held Chávez must resign. It is worth pointing out that the opposition is fully aware of the fact that it will have to face Chávez in the elections since it is not preventing him from being once more a candidate. The other outcomes, in the hands of the Assembly are: the constitutional amendment, the constitutional reform or even the call for a new Constituent Assembly. What turns out being fundamental is not only the original legitimating but also that of his performance, one that may only be recovered through the majority decision of the sovereign people. A true democrat is not afraid of electoral tests. The thesis of racism is really exotic. Venezuela, after the federal war, has never again been ruled by an economic oligarchy. The Venezuelan presidents, in their majority, have come from popular sectors, as it was the case with Rómulo Betancourt, Jaime Lusinchi and the very same Carlos Andrés Pérez. The color of the skin has never been an obstacle when trying to reach any political position. Among other presidential candidates we had, for example, Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa and Claudio Fermín and neither of them may be called an Aryan. We could also mention many ministers, ambassadors and governors. But if we want to be sharper, even the father of our nation, Simón Bolívar the Liberator, was a clear example of our nation©ˆs mixture of races. The movement out on the street, spontaneously, waving flags, blowing whistles and banging on pans is made of all races, all social levels, and all ages. To believe that we are dealing just with a middle class movement, is an optical error based on old prejudices and on the will to caricature the Venezuelan reality. What is out on the streets is what the Venezuelan anthem proclaims: ©¯Glory to the brave people thrust by the yoke, abiding to the law, virtue and honor©˜.