pennlive.com The Associated Press 3/22/03 5:31 PM

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Government supporters clashed with protesters gathering Saturday for a rally against President Hugo Chavez.

About 60 government supporters, many on motorcycles, blocked roads and threw sticks, stones and fireworks at the group in a Caracas suburb, Globovision television reported.

Six people suffered minor injuries and demonstrators later called off the rally.

The local headquarters of one of Venezuela's main opposition parties, Democratic Action, also was looted and set on fire, said Edgar Leoni, administrator of the Caricuao parish in southwestern Caracas.

Chavez's left-wing presidency has bitterly divided Venezuela's population and clashes between the two sides have become common.

A two-month national strike aimed at forcing the president to resign or call early elections ended in February without success.

www.vheadlines.com Posted: Friday, March 21, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Former Patria Para Todos (PPT) leaders have allied with former guerrilla group, Bandera Roja (BR) to form an anti-government barrio slum organization called Gente del Pueblo.

Former Chavist kingpin, Pablo Medina and Carlos Melo have joined Gabriela Puerta Aponte (BP) and Gustavo Mujica as bridgeheads to break what Medina calls the “imaginary Berlin Wall" that divides east and west Caracas.

The new group’s first action is to organize a signature campaign tomorrow Saturday in Caricuao. Medina has called on Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR) not to interfere and says he wants to show that people in west Caracas are not 100% behind the government, as is commonly believed.

“Popular sectors have had enough of Chavez Frias and we aim to show it by holding assemblies in west Caracas parishes with the help of the Coordinadora Parroquial (parish coordinating committees). Melo says self-defense groups will be on hand to deal with MVR circles that attempt to break up the signature campaign.

The leaders criticize the "government ploy" of organizing a mega-market at the same hour as the signature campaign that will operate a few blocks away and President Chavez Frias’ decision to broadcast his Sunday radio address from Caricuao. “If the President decides to broadcast from Caricuao, he will receive a mega banging of pots and pans.”

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Venezuelan Confederation of Trade Unions (CTV) general secretary, Manuel Cova, currently in Geneva at the International Labor Organization (ILO) HQ to seek support for the CTV and secure a public condemnation of the Venezuelan government, has told Union Radio that he has been exchanging views with ILO general director, Juan Somabia about the labor situation in Venezuela.”

“The general director has promised to continue supporting our struggle to make the government respect international agreements. “

Cova says he hopes the ILO will issue a statement calling on the government to reinstate dismissed oil sector workers.

As a former Construction Trade Union leader, Cova has clinched support from the International Federation of Construction & Timber Workers in the form of a resolution and a visit to Venezuela by the Federation president.

Commenting on reactions to CTV president Carlos Ortega’s asylum, Cova says there is widespread support at the ILO and people realize that it is a political ploy … “the government wants to use the Judiciary to persecute political opponents.”

In a revealing statement, Cova says many people at ILO who questioned the tight bond between the CTV and the Federation of Chambers of Industry & Commerce (Fedecamaras) now understand things better.

www.guardian.co.uk By ALEXANDRA OLSON Associated Press Writer March 20. 2003 12:43PM

An appeals court on Thursday ordered the release of a businessman who has spent nearly a month under house arrest for leading an unsuccessful strike to oust President Hugo Chavez.

The Caracas court ruled that prosecutors have not presented enough evidence to keep Carlos Fernandez in custody on charges of rebellion and instigation, Judge Luis Lecuna told Globovision television.

Fernandez, 52, was arrested by secret police on Feb. 20. He was placed under house arrest three days later in the central city of Valencia, about 70 miles from Caracas.

Fernandez helped organize a two-month strike to demand Chavez's resignation or early elections. The strike paralyzed the world's fifth-largest oil exporting industry and cost Venezuela $6 billion. But it fizzled last month with Chavez firmly in power.

The United States and other countries have criticized Chavez for cracking down on opponents after the strike. Chavez told the United States not to meddle in Venezuela's affairs and insisted independent judges had ordered the arrests.

Chavez has demanded 20-year prison sentences for strike leaders, accusing them of subjecting the population to shortages of gasoline and food. The government had no immediate comment on the court ruling.

Albiz Munoz, vice president of the Fedecamaras business chamber, said Fernandez and other opposition leaders were victims of "political persecution" and have received death threats from armed civilian groups allied with the government.

Another strike leader, Carlos Ortega, slipped into the Costa Rican embassy last week after weeks of hiding from charges of rebellion, treason and instigation. Costa Rica granted him asylum, and Ortega is waiting for Venezuelan authorities to give him safe conduct to the Central American nation. Venezuela's government has indicated it would grant the safe passage. Ortega heads Venezuela's biggest labor union.

On Tuesday, seven former executives of the state oil monopoly emerged from hiding after a judge revoked warrants for their arrests on charges of interrupting the country's fuel supply. The seven were among 15,000 workers - almost half the work force at Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. - fired for participating in the walkout.

Chavez's opponents - labor leaders, the business community, and much of the local news media - accuse him of grabbing too much power in his self-described "revolution" to help Venezuela's many poor. Chavez counters the opposition is trying to overthrow a democratically elected leader and restore power to two corrupt traditional parties.

www.boston.com By Fabiola Sanchez, Associated Press, 3/20/2003

CARACAS - Hundreds of opponents of President Hugo Chavez rallied yesterday to show support for a strike leader who dodged charges of treason and rebellion by winning asylum in Costa Rica.

Supporters of Carlos Ortega cheered and waved Venezuelan and Costa Rican flags in front of the Costa Rican Embassy in Caracas.

The labor leader slipped into the embassy Friday after hiding from authorities for two weeks. He is waiting for the government to give him safe conduct to Costa Rica, which said it granted him asylum for humanitarian reasons.

''I'm here to show him my solidarity,'' 78-year-old Maria Diaz said at the rally. ''He fought against a dictatorship, and I am thanking him for that.''

Ortega led a two-month strike intended to force Chavez's resignation or early elections. The strike fizzled last month without achieving its goal, but crippled the world's number-five oil exporter and cost Venezuela $6 billion.

Venezuela was one of the largest US suppliers before the strike.

Opponents accuse Chavez of trampling on democratic institutions and alienating investment by his leftist policies.

The president says his foes want to oust a democratically elected leader and restore power to two corrupt political parties that ruled Venezuela for four decades.

Foes are pushing to hold a referendum that would end Chavez's rule next year. But the fractious opposition is struggling to recover from the failure of the strike.

The showing of hundreds of people at yesterday's protest was disappointing for a movement that drew up to 1 million people to marches last year.

Strike leaders urged Chavez's opponents not to give up, saying that the president was moving to crack down on adversaries.

''The word is street, street, street, and more street. Not one step back!'' said Horacio Medina, an executive fired from the state oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, for leading the walkout.

Medina and six other former executives emerged from hiding Tuesday after a judge threw out warrants for their arrest on charges of interrupting and damaging the country's fuel supply. Prosecutors have said they will appeal that ruling.

Carlos Fernandez, president of Venezuela's largest business association and another strike leader, is under house arrest pending trial for rebellion and instigation.

With Ortega gone, the opposition would lose one of Chavez's boldest foes and one of the few survivors of the political order the president has striven to dismantle.

Ortega, 56, dealt one of the first blows to Chavez by winning the presidency of Venezuela's largest labor union two years ago, frustrating Chavez's attempt to seize control of one of the opposition's only strongholds.

Oil production is recovering. The government says output is 3 million barrels a day, almost what it was before the strike, while fired executives put the figure at 2.4 million barrels.

But problems persist. The government said it would try today to restart the main gasoline-producing unit at the El Palito refinery, which has been down for a week because of a mechanical failure.

Delays in restarting it could force Venezuela to continue importing gasoline to prevent shortages.

This story ran on page A10 of the Boston Globe on 3/20/2003. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.