Government happy with OAS chief's role as a facilitator

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

According to Venezuelan Executive Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, the government is pleased with Organization of American States (OAS) secretary general Cesar Gaviria's role as a facilitator and is not keen on him becoming more of a mediator. 

"We see him as a facilitator, because mediation introduces a binding element and we don't believe that Venezuela is in that kind of situation."

Rangel went on to say that the Friends of Venezuela group meeting in Brasilia earlier this week had dealt the opposition three separate blows, firstly because its call for Gaviria to become a mediator was refused, secondly the call for a world forum on Venezuela was denied and thirdly President Hugo Chavez Frias was accepted by the group to be a valid interlocutor.

However, government representative Jorge Valero also failed in his main aim to have several other countries added to the current six man group, including France, Russia and some Caribbean countries.