Referendum on Chavez refused by government

2003-04-26 / etaiwannews.com-Associated Press /

Venezuela's government refused yesterday to sign an agreement that would pave the way for a referendum on President Hugo Chavez's presidency.

Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said the government objected to several points of the agreement, which was announced April 11 by the Organization of American States after five months of negotiations.

Rangel's statements cast doubt on prospects for any vote on Chavez's six-year term, which ends in 2007. In December and January, Venezuela's opposition staged a general strike that briefly shut down the world's No. 5 oil exporter to demand a vote. Chavez didn't budge.

Venezuela's opposition wants to ask citizens whether Chavez should resign. Such a vote is allowed in Venezuela's constitution.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell recently said that if Chavez agreed to the vote, "then he will be showing a commitment to democracy of the kind we believe is the correct form of democracy for our hemisphere."

Rangel countered yesterday: "We reject all pressure coming from here and abroad."

Saying "Venezuela is not a colony," Rangel objected to a proposal that the process be monitored by the OAS, the United Nations and the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center.

An OAS-brokered proposal to disarm civilians before elections also violates Venezuelan sovereignty, Rangel said. Dozens have been killed in political violence over the past year. Chavez has been accused of arming thousands of civilians to defend his government.