Venezuela Strike Leader Gets House Arrest

www.heraldtribune.com By STEPHEN IXER Associated Press Writer

Venezuelan general strike leader Carlos Fernandez, center, surrounded by secret police officers, arrives at the court building in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 21, 2003. Thousands protested Fernandez's arrest, across the country, and nine people were injured in clashes with police in the central city of Valencia Thursday. A leading opponent of President Hugo Chavez who helped lead a two-month national strike was put under house arrest Sunday while charges are prepared against him. Carlos Fernandez, president of the Fedecamaras business chamber, was seized Wednesday by secret police on charges including treason, civil rebellion and incitement to commit offenses. Just over 72 hours later, a judge struck down three of the five charges, treason among them. Rebellion and incitement charges were upheld, said Pedro Berrizbeitia, one of Fernandez's lawyers. Secret police rushed Fernandez, 52, out of the courthouse to be taken to his home in Valencia, 66 miles west of Caracas, while prosecutors formalize the accusations against him. Dario Vivas, a pro-Chavez legislator, said he would challenge the decision to put Fernandez under house arrest, claiming the civil rebellion charge warrants prison. The judge's decision was announced at 2 a.m. Sunday, 13 hours after the hearing began. Strike co-leader Carlos Ortega remained at large on Sunday. As president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, he partnered with Fernandez in spearheading the work stoppage that paralyzed the vital oil industry and devastated the economy. Ortega said he was going into hiding after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Thursday. Chavez has demanded 20-year jail sentences for Fernandez and Ortega, alleging they sabotaged oil installations, incited civil disobedience and trampled Venezuelans' human rights. The two-month strike caused food and gasoline shortages nationwide and cost Venezuela over $4 billion. The United States, the Organization of American States and human rights group Amnesty International voiced concern that Venezuela's crisis is escalating. Chavez rejected the claims. "Venezuela is nobody's colony!" he shouted. "We do not accept and we will not accept outside interference in our own affairs." The Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which supported the strike, expressed its support for Fernandez and Ortega on Saturday. Anti-Chavez lawyers said Fernandez's detention was riddled with problems. The arrest warrant was issued by a judge who had acted as defense attorney for Chavez supporters accused of shooting at opposition marchers before an April coup that briefly toppled Chavez. The case was transferred to a new judge Friday, but Saturday's hearing extended well beyond the court's 7 p.m. closing time and Fernandez's 48-hour detention limit. The hearing was held behind closed doors and under tight security. Soldiers wearing riot gear guarded the Caracas courthouse while a crowd of Chavez supporters waited outside. National guardsmen kept journalists away from the courtroom entrance and Fernandez was closely escorted by secret police officers. Adding to the daylong tension, one soldier accidentally set off a tear gas canister in the courthouse corridor shortly before midnight Saturday, sending journalists running. The OAS, the United Nations and the Carter Center, run by former President Jimmy Carter, have sponsored three months of talks to seek an electoral solution to Venezuela's crisis. The future of those talks was put in doubt after Fernandez's arrest. Venezuela's opposition wants early elections and staged the national strike to back its demand. It has also collected more than 4 million signatures petitioning to cut Chavez's term in power. The government dismisses the petition drive and consistently accuses the opposition of "coup-plotting." Chavez is a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 to a six-year term. Critics accuse him of imposing an authoritarian state and driving the economy into the ground.