Venezuela warns the OAS of the destructive potential of anti-democratic rebels

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, June 11, 2003 By: David Coleman

Venezuela has warned of the destructive potential of rebels who attempted to overthrow the government of President Hugo Chavez Frias in an April 11, 2002 coup d'etat and says that they are still trying to overthrow democracy.  Speaking at the 33rd Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly in Santiago de Chile, Venezuela's OAS Ambassador Jorge Valero highlighted the interim dictatorship of Pedro Carmona Estanga, who had moved immediately to dissolve the constitution, congress and the judiciary ... "OAS member nations should not disregard the reappearance of Latin American dictatorships."

Analyzing democratic governability in the Latin American region, Ambassador Valero qualified Venezuelan Foreign Minister (MRE) Roy Chaderton Matos' Monday attack on the opposition-controlled Venezuelan print & broadcast media saying "there are anti-national sectors in Venezuela who obstinately, audaciously and irrationally defend privileges which have been seen in all kinds of anti-democratic actions to interrupt the process of democratic, peaceful  and constitutional transformation the government puts forward."

"In Venezuela we have had to counter enormous obstacles in the exercise of democratic government ... the coup d'etat of April 11-12, 2002, the calling of a series of illegal strikes, the criminal sabotage of our petroleum industry."

"We must not fail to recognize that authoritarian regimes and officious dictatorships can easily return to our continent ... we must make every effort to construct a more equitable society and in solidarity to face-off covert resistance to necessary democratic reforms."