Venezuelan Strike Leader Seized by Secret Police; Opposition Threatens Another General Strike

santafenewmexican.com By JAMES ANDERSON | Associated Press 02/20/2003

CARACAS, Venezuela - Hundreds of people demonstrated Thursday against the arrest of a leader of Venezuela's general strike, who was snatched out of a restaurant by secret police and faces charges of treason and instigating violence. Protesters took to the streets of Caracas and other cities while motorists honked car horns following the arrest of Carlos Fernandez, president of Venezuela's largest federation, Fedecamaras, who faces charges for his role in the mass, anti-government protests that crippled the nation's economy. Opposition leaders on Thursday threatened to call another strike in response to arrest. Strike co-leader Carlos Ortega, of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, was ordered to surrender, also on treason and instigating violence charges, said magistrate Maikel Jose Moreno. Ortega and Fernandez led the two-month strike that started Dec. 2, seeking to oust leftist President Hugo Chavez. The strike ended this month except in Venezuela's oil sector. Chavez on Thursday gloated over Fernandez's arrest, telling a trade forum that "I went to bed with a smile" Wednesday night when he learned of the magistrate's arrest order. "One of the coup plotters was arrested last night. It was about time, and see how the others are running to hide," Chavez said. Chavez accuses the two strike leaders of trying to topple his government. Ruling party lawmaker Tarek William Saab said Fernandez was accused of participating in a brief April coup against Chavez and of promoting a tax rebellion, a bank strike and the continuing oil strike. Ortega told Globovision television he wouldn't turn himself in. "We have nothing to fear," he said by telephone. "The only one who has a date with justice is the president." Eight armed men seized Fernandez at about midnight Wednesday as he was leaving a restaurant in Caracas' trendy Las Mercedes district, his bodyguard, Juan Carlos Fernandez, said. He said the men, who identified themselves as police agents, fired into the air when patrons tried to stop them from taking Fernandez away. Fernandez's wife, Sonia, spoke briefly with Fernandez by telephone and said that he was in good condition at secret police headquarters despite being hit during his arrest. Fernandez was meeting with his attorneys, she said. Ortega condemned the arrest as "a terrorist act" against Venezuela's opposition, already shaken by the slayings and possible torture of three dissident Venezuelan soldiers and an opposition activist. International human rights groups have demanded an investigation into the slayings of the four, whose bodies were found in the suburbs of Caracas with hands tied and faces wrapped with tape. Darwin Arguello, Angel Salas and Felix Pinto and opposition activist Zaida Peraza, 25, had multiple bullet wounds and showed signs of torture, Raul Yepez, deputy director of Venezuela's forensics police, said Wednesday. He said the four were abducted Saturday night. According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, a witness saw the victims being forced into two vehicles by men wearing ski masks, not far from a plaza that has become the opposition's central rallying point. "The circumstances strongly suggest that these were political killings," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. Yepez said police had "practically ruled out" political motives. There have been no arrests. Dissident soldiers supported the nationwide strike, which demanded Chavez's resignation and early elections. The strike was lifted Feb. 4 in all areas except the oil industry to protect businesses from bankruptcy. The vice president of Fedecamaras, Albis Munoz, warned of another nationwide strike. The workers confederation said a 12- or 24-hour stoppage was possible. "Definitely there will be actions, and very strong actions," Munoz said, adding that Fernandez was "practically kidnapped." Opposition leaders called for street protests and appealed to the Organization of American States, the United Nations and the Carter Center, run by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, which have brokered talks here. One opposition delegate to those talks, Rafael Alfonzo, said Fernandez's abduction made a mockery of a "peace pact" renouncing violence that government and opposition negotiators signed on Wednesday. "This government doesn't want to negotiate. It only wants conflict. We won't back down," Alfonzo said. OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria issued a statement urging Venezuela's judiciary to treat Fernandez's case in "strict compliance with the laws and rights guaranteed by the (Venezuelan) constitution." Chavez was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, vowing to wipe out the corruption of previous governments and redistribute Venezuela's vast oil wealth to the poor majority. His critics charge he has mismanaged the economy, tried to grab authoritarian powers and split the country along class lines. Having abandoned their strike, opponents are now petitioning for a constitutional amendment to cut Chavez's term in power from six to four years. They said Wednesday that more than 4.4 million Venezuelans had signed, well over the 15 percent of registered voters, or about 1.8 million, needed to force a referendum on early elections.