Cheap words in Venezuela

www.rnw.nl Radio Nertherlands by our Internet desk, 19 February 2003   Hello president: Mr Chavez is well known for his tempestuous speechesAn anti-violence pact signed by both sides in Venezuela's bitter civil struggle has been dismissed by commentators as symbolic and of little value in returning the nation to normality. Even as President Hugo Chavez and the opposition agreed on the seven-point statement, news of the execution-style killings of four anti-Chavez demonstrators emerged in the capital Caracas.

Venezuela has been in a state of turmoil for more than a year, deeply divided over President Chavez's socialist policies and his confrontational style of leadership. In April last year the President withstood a military-led coup attempt, an event which polarised the nation to an even greater extent. Analysts estimate that about 70 people have been killed in street and political violence as pro- and anti-Chavez factions clash, and the Venezuelan economy has been crippled by strikes and loss of market confidence.

No solution The pact signed Tuesday represents a poor antidote to the strife, according to Venezuelan journalist Fred Pals. What the country really needs is an agreement on when elections will be held.

"They have agreed to respect democracy, peace, to make all efforts to end violence which has been rampant in Venezuela the past couple of months, they said they respect freedom of expression, condemning verbal abuse, but after a hundred days of negotiations it's rather meagre, and still a far cry from reaching an electoral deal."

GRISLY FIND: Caracas police announced the discovery of the bodies of four anti-Chavez protestors on Tuesday. Three soldiers and one civilian woman had been killed at close range with shotguns, after being bound and gagged. The bodies were found dumped at separate locations outside Caracas.

The four, who have all been identified, were well known as demonstrators  who frequented Plaza Altamira, a focal point for the Venezuelan opposition. A lawyer for one of the victims said his client had been a witness to a shooting at Plaza Altamira on December 6, in which three people were killed.Clauses which reject "verbal intemperance, mutual recrimination, verbal attacks and any rhetoric aimed at confrontation" are particularly hard to reconcile with Mr Chavez's behaviour. He is well known for multiple-hour-long harangues on television, in which he condemns his enemies as ‘terrorists' and incites his impoverished followers to class war.

Questionable respect The opposition has been pushing for an amendment to the constitution that would allow an immediate referendum on the presidency; at the moment such a referendum is due in August, half-way through Mr Chavez's six-year term. But it is not clear whether Mr Chavez and his supporters will respect the poll, in any case.

Pals says that for this reason, the opposition will keep pushing for a more substantial agreement.

 Fred Pals speaking to Newsline´s Claire Cavanagh 2´21"They will definitely go further, especially the opposition, because they need a formal agreement signed by the government that somehow elections will be respected, and will be funded by the government. So they will keep pushing."