Smiling Chavez arrests critic

www.theage.com.au February 22 2003 By Owain Johnson Caracas

Venezuela's opposition has accused President Hugo Chavez of beginning a witch-hunt against his critics, after a leading opposition figure was arrested in a dramatic raid and another was forced into hiding.

Henry Ramos Allup, president of the opposition party Democratic Action, said he had reliable information that the Government planned to arrest a further 25 key opponents. He said the list included politicians, businesspeople, union leaders, representatives of striking oil workers and media bosses.

The claim came after the arrest of Carlos Fernandez, the leader of business association Fedecamaras, in a swoop on a Caracas restaurant by masked, armed police just after midnight on Wednesday. Mr Fernandez was a leader of a crippling two-month general strike that forced Venezuela to suspend crucial oil exports and severely damaged its fragile economy.

According to witnesses, the heavily armed men did not show identification or an arrest warrant. Mr Fernandez tried to escape in his car but was quickly caught and taken to police headquarters. Diners who tried to stop the arrest were driven off by the police, who fired into the air.

Mr Chavez spoke about Mr Fernandez's arrest at a trade forum on Thursday: "I went to bed with a smile. One of the coup plotters was arrested last night. It was about time, and see how the others are running to hide."    advertisement       advertisement

A second leader of the general strike, Carlos Ortega, president of the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers, was in hiding yesterday with a warrant out for his arrest.

He said he did not trust Venezuelan justice and warned that the Government wanted "to kidnap me and eliminate me".

A pro-Government deputy, Luis Velasquez, later confirmed that 100 people could expect to be questioned about their role in promoting the strike. "This shouldn't be a source of alarm," Mr Velasquez said. "They simply have to answer to the courts."

The Government had asked the public prosecutor's office to charge Mr Fernandez and Mr Ortega with rebellion, treason, instigation to commit criminal acts, conspiracy and sabotage.

Mr Fernandez's arrest took place just days after the discovery of the bodies of three dissident soldiers and a young woman, who had disappeared over the weekend. The four victims, who had been shot dead, were found bound and gagged. Their bodies showed injuries consistent with torture.

The three men were part of a group of rebel officers who have declared themselves in rebellion against Mr Chavez, and their families immediately condemned their murders as politically inspired.

The opposition was due to hold crisis talks late Thursday to discuss its response to these latest developments in Venezuela's long-running political crisis. Last April, dissident military officers launched a short-lived coup.

Mr Chavez's opponents accuse him of authoritarianism and of seeking to install Cuban-style socialism in Venezuela. The President rejects these allegations and accuses his critics of seeking to prevent him carrying out much needed social reforms.

A senior opposition figure, Andres Velasquez, leader of the Radical Cause party, has urged his colleagues to call a further one-day strike to protest against the arrest of Mr Fernandez.

Mr Velasquez said the arrest had "torn into pieces" the accord reached on Tuesday by the Government and opposition to ease tension in the oil-rich country. The accord was the first tangible sign of progress in three months of negotiations between the two sides under the auspices of the Organisation of American States.

Mr Velasquez said the opposition leader's arrest was "an insult" to OAS secretary-general Cesar Gaviria, who chaired the negotiations and had left Caracas only hours earlier.

• Guardian