Building the case against Venezuela?

www.vheadline.com Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 By: Joop Kreislan

European media commentarist Joop Kreislan writes: Under the title of Security in Venezuela: A lack of Clarity on Terror, The Economist magazine could well be building a case against Venezuela. In nine main arguments, it leads the readers to deduce how ambivalent President Hugo Chavez Frias is in his attitude toward terrorism. Although it states that none of this amounts to credible evidence of Presidential complicity in terrorism, the nine arguments and conclusion clearly suggest that President Chavez Frias is ... if not an active supporter ... at least a passive accessory to terrorism.

According to the magazine, this passivity would have something to do with not doing enough to stop the fund-raising activities of terrorist groups in Isla de Margarita; not doing anything to help Colombia fight against the guerrilla; not doing anything to close the three Colombian guerilla camps in Venezuela; and with letting Venezuela be used as a transport corridor by the Colombian guerrilla.

As The Economist is a serious magazine, we have no doubt at all that it will soon publish the material evidence of its accusations. The article is not clear as to what President Chavez Frias might effectively be doing that might be called 'active terrorism.' His trip to Baghdad in 2000, his condemnation of the Afghan war, his letters to 'Carlos The Jackal' and the qualification of "terrorist" he gave to some of his opponents, seem to be his most violent and brutal terrorist sins ... because even the bombs against the Colombian and Spanish Embassies (sic) might be attributed to his radical supporters.

But, most interesting for Venezuelan historians, is the accusation that as a young army officer, he was close to Venezuelan guerrillas with links to Saddam Hussein and North Korea.

As (again) The Economist is a serious magazine, we have no doubt that it will soon give us the names of the Venezuelan guerrilla groups in activity in Venezuela 20-25 years ago, and describe the relations of those groups with Saddam Hussein ... and most important, with North Korea. I am not sure that The Economist is really objective when it says that the United States has "applauded" the military coup last April, because as we all know, the United States is "a promoter of democracy" and I cannot imagine that, as such, it can applaud a military coup against a democratically-elected President ruling the country according to its Constitution. And the very truth it that we have not seen any US official clearly clapping in his hands.

To some suspicious readers, the last sentence of the article might sound just like a veiled threat, mentioning that the United States would not tolerate any ambivalence of Mr. Chavez on the terrorist issue. But I know it is not the case, because The Economist ... a magazine which condemns terrorism ... would never try to create terror in a foreign population or in a democratically-elected administration, by threatening with military invasion or occupation.

And those who have listened to the clear condemnation of terrorism made by President Chavez Frias in different speeches, have no doubt at all that we are facing a constructed and artificial accusation with no basis for worry. If this article had been published in another period of history, it might have been very irrelevant because it is rich in rumors and poor on hard facts. But, published the week in which Mr. Bush ... notwithstanding the opposition of the international community and public opinion ... is almost starting a war against Iraq in order "to bring democracy to the region," this article needs to be taken seriously.

In order to maintain its worldwide credibility, The Economist should publish its material evidence, if any.

And if the Venezuelan government has no active or passive terrorist sin to confess, it must clearly communicate to international public opinion, community and the media, its clear condemnation of terrorism.

Joop Kreislan, European Media Commentarist based in Amsterdam (Netherlands). independent Researcher, Lecturer, Writer and Journalist. Soon to be published: "The dictatorhsip of the media: truth o lies? An investigation into European media"