Rebel Plaza Altamira General holds puny six-month anniversary rally and says he's still around 

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, April 28, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Rebel Army General (ret.) Enrique Medina Gomez has called on the opposition to form a single block again to bring down the government of Hugo Chavez Frias. 

The Plaza Altamira military rebels have been celebrating six months since they jumped the gun in November 2002 and took over the plaza as the military opposition HQ. 

From forcing the pace of opposition action against Chavez Frias in December, the rebels have become the pariah of the opposition ... nobody wants to touch them with a barge pole, least of all the main opposition group Coordinadora Democratica (CD).

The media reported poor attendance at the anniversary rally but indicate that emotions ran high despite a heavy downpour of rain. 

Medina Gomez insists that Venezuela is fast becoming a totalitarian state and that the only answer is a popular insurrection and stronger civil disobedience. 

"We should not fall into the trap of asking the Armed Force  ( FAN)  to intervene ... the FAN knows what it has to do in the circumstances ... if the FAN has not understood its role in preserving the security of society, it runs the risk of being overrun by society." 

The rebels also condemned the arrest of dismissed National Guard (GN) General Carlos Alfonzo Martinez and the political persecution against officers, who have been forced to seek asylum in Embassies.