washingtontimes.com EDITORIAL • March 6, 2003

     During a visit to The Washington Times last week, journalists from Venezuela detailed the physical dangers they are facing. And to the extent that the freedom of the press gauges the health of a country's democracy, the intimidation and harassment of the media in Venezuela signals a wider problem for the society and, if instability spreads, for the region.      Luis Alfonso Fernandez is probably Venezuela's most famous reporter. He and his cameramen covered, from the rooftop of a building in Caracas, snipers opening fire at protesters during the infamous demonstration against President Hugo Chavez on April 11 that killed 17 persons. Later, on April 13, as supporters of Mr. Chavez protested a short-lived coup, 23 protesters, probably supporters of the president, were killed.      Mr. Fernandez, a television reporter for Venevision, won a prestigious award from the king of Spain for his April 11 coverage, which documented a member of Mr. Chavez's party in the City Council of Caracas shooting at protesters. Mr. Chavez has charged Mr. Fernandez for fabricating his report in a computer.      Mr. Fernandez also said his colleagues in state-owned media companies suffer abuse from the anti-Chavistas. There were no reporters for state-owned media outlets present at the meeting, but a report put together by journalists lists numerous accounts of physical attacks on journalists for state-owned media.      "We didn't know who they were," said Mr. Fernandez, regarding the rooftop snipers. But after the footage was aired and some snipers were identified, he started getting death threats on a regular basis. Some journalists have been less lucky. One cameramen covering the April 11 protest was fatally shot in the head, said Mr. Fernandez. Another journalist, Alicia La Rotta, a reporter for the newspaper El Universal, said that she was physically assaulted by a member of military intelligence. Journalists photographed the man as he cocked back his fist to hit Mrs. La Rotta. She said she has since gotten numerous death threats, as well, and that her access to official sources has been limited.      Last month, the Chavez government began "administrative procedures" against media outlets for airing reports unflattering to the government. And in late January Mr. Chavez said: "The world should not be surprised if we start closing TV stations in Venezuela shortly," adding, "This is a country at war."      Regardless of how Mr. Chavez and his supporters regard the objectivity the press in Venezuela, the president would make a big mistake to limit its freedoms. After all, Mr. Chavez can use speeches and state-owned outlets to counter any perceived subjectivity or inaccuracies.      Weakened accountability could well result in serious human rights abuses in Venezuela, as seen in other places in the world.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Venezuela's National Assembly Economic Development Commission has met with representatives from the Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) and agreed to push forward with legislation to help develop CVG projects. The initiative includes the interchange of information that will help the CVG to advance with projects that it currently has in the pipeline.

As part of the move National Assembly deputies will study the CVG's upcoming projects in detail so as to allow them to modify specific laws to aid in the realization of these projects.  A work group will now be formed to discuss all the relevant matters that could facilitate the advancement of the projects in question.

www.catholicnews.com

MIAMI (CNS) -- The people of Venezuela are suffering under the government of President Hugo Chavez, and the Catholic Church is suffering along with them, according to Archbishop Diego Padron Sanchez of Cumana. The Venezuelan archbishop, in Miami for a continental congress on catechesis, commented on the political unrest in his homeland during an interview with The Florida Catholic, Miami archdiocesan newspaper. "We do not even have the freedom to express ourselves," Archbishop Padron said, referring to the curtailing of civil liberties. The church has been the object of "rejection, of strong criticism. Offenses have been committed. Right now, it tends to be marginalized. We do not matter," the archbishop said. Government funding for Catholic schools and charitable agencies arrives late and often is less than what had been agreed upon, he said. But it is the people who are truly suffering, the archbishop said. Violence and corruption have increased and jobs have disappeared, to the point that fewer than 20 percent of the people currently support Chavez.

usinfo.state.gov 04 March 2003 Transcript: White House Press Briefing, March 4, 2003 .............. Q: Next question, Ari, please -- recently The Washington Post had an editorial in which it expressed its worries about some of the latest steps taken by President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and asking the United States to get more involved with a group of friends trying to find a democratic solution --

MR. FLEISCHER: The United States is deeply involved in the Mission of the Secretary General of the Organization of American States. They have formed this group of friends that is working very hard to bring solutions to the problem in Venezuela based on a constitutional solution and based on a peaceful model. We're a deeply integral part of that. ...............

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)

www.vheadline.com Posted: Tuesday, March 04, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Comptroller General Clodosbaldo Russian admits that he has ordered an investigation into the role of the top 7 dismissed Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) executives and managers organized in what has been described as the “shadow PDVSA” or "Gente de Petroleo" in Spanish.

Russian claims that the rebels must assume responsibility for the damages they allegedly caused to Venezuela’s prime industry and “patrimony.”

“The PDVSA stoppage was political and aimed at ousting President Chavez Frias and calling elections.”

Urging the seven to turn up at the 50th control court and face the music, Russian says the Comptroller General’s first task is to investigate patrimonial damage caused by not being able to sell oil and sabotage on PDVSA installations.

“Who is responsible for damaging 80 kilometers of pipeline after petrol solidified? Or the money that went into repairing computer equipment, just to mention two examples?”