Venezuelans march for press freedom

news.bbc.co.uk Saturday, 1 February, 2003, 00:36 GMT

Thousands have turned out to demonstrate

Venezuelans are marching through the streets of the capital, Caracas, in a show of support for the country's radio and television stations and newspapers.

The demonstration comes a day after President Hugo Chavez started legal proceedings against a private television channel.

The legal move is seen as a crackdown by the president on those who oppose him.

The television channel is the third of the four private companies to be placed under investigation.

The president is accused of a media crackdown

The government accuses it of violating telecommunication laws.

The BBC's correspondent in Venezuela, Adam Easton, says the media has given wide coverage to the opposition-led general strike against Mr Chavez, which has been going on for three months.

Leading newspapers in Venezuela however have started to question the wisdom of continuing the general strike.

The dailies widely read by the middle class, many professionals and the wealthier sectors of society, argue that the strike has run its course and is now doing more harm than good.

'Irreparable damage'

A commentary in the right-leaning El Universal on Thursday expressed the fear its continuation will "cause the country irreparable damage".

On the same day, the centre-left El Nacional warns that the opposition strategy has "serious limitations" and that instead of weakening the government, had "strengthened the Chavistas' convictions".

When the strike began, they were generally optimistic the opposition would prevail and the president would be forced to step down or call a referendum on his rule imminently.