www.newsmax.com Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2003

Despite his history of abetting Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Jimmy Carter is styling himself as a neutral mediator in Venezuela, where Castro protégé Huge Chavez fights reforms sought by hundreds of thousands of demonstrators.

"My opinion is that both sides now want to reach an agreement to end the impasse that is threatening to destroy Venezuela's economy and social structure," the clueless Carter told reporters today in Caracas before flying back to Atlanta.

The muddled meddler made two unenforceable proposals that pleased his fellow traveler Chavez: amending Venezuela's constitution to allow early elections (not likely!) or waiting until Aug. 19, when the constitution allows a binding referendum on the president's mandate.

"If the people were to decide it should be four years ... I have no problem with that," Chavez claimed.

Strike leader Carlos Ortega, president of the million-member Confederation of Venezuelan Workers, said earlier that Chavez would never accept a vote on his rule.

Still seeking a legacy to make up for his disastrous presidency, Carter likes to play peacemaker but has often done more harm than good. For the whole story about Carter, see the February issue of NewsMax Magazine, which reveals more about his ties to Castro and blows the lid off:

• His treasonous behavior with the Soviets, including recruiting them to undermine President Reagan.
• The continuing disaster in the Middle East caused by his disastrous betrayal of the Shah of Iran.
• His blunders in North Korea, Israel, Panama, Nicaragua and more.

www.morningstar.ca 21 Jan 03(3:39 PM) |  E-mail Article to a Friend

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World oil prices set new two-year highs Tuesday for fear of war in Iraq, holding strong even though cracks started to appear in a Venezuelan strike that has cut deep into exports to the United States.

U.S. light crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled up 70 cents at $34.61 a barrel after hitting a peak of $35.20, the highest level since Nov. 2000. London Brent blend rose 9 cents to $30.73 a barrel.

News from Venezuela that tanker pilots in Lake Maracaibo, a strategic export route, had ended their part in the nationwide strike briefly pulled prices lower; but the market bounced back, surging on fears that war in Iraq could disrupt Middle East oil flows.

With Venezuelan exports running at just 500,000 barrels a day, a fifth of normal levels, crude stockpiles in the United States have slid close to 26-year lows just as a fierce cold snap in the U.S. Northeast has boosted heating oil demand.

While an end to the tanker pilots' action in Venezuela could be expected to lift exports, shippers said deliveries were not likely to rise rapidly until foreign ship operators began using Venezuelan ports again.

Most of those in opposition to President Hugo Chavez extended their strike, aiming to force the leftist leader to resign and call immediate elections.

A spokeswoman for striking oil workers said they intended to send a senior representative to Maracaibo later on Tuesday to try to persuade the pilots not to abandon their action.

"We still have 90 percent of oil workers on strike," she said.

NO IMMEDIATE RELIEF

Even an end to the strike might not bring immediate relief from a price spike that has deepened fears that rising energy costs could derail economic recovery.

"It will be a long, hard road for Venezuela even back to 75 percent of previous production capacity," said Geoff Pyne, consultant to Sempra Energy.

"There is still the threat of war in Iraq and stocks are very low. Traders are going to see it as dangerous to sell at this point."

Fears of war in Iraq, the world's eighth largest oil exporter, rose as President George W. Bush said it was now clear to him that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was failing to comply with U.N. disarmament demands.

"He's delaying. He's deceiving. He's playing hide and seek with inspectors," Bush told reporters at the White House. "It's clear to me now that he is not disarming ... Time is running out."

Oil traders said the remarks appeared to leave little doubt that Washington was close to authorizing the use of military force against Baghdad.

Dealers are counting down toward a major report due Jan. 27 from U.N. weapons inspectors on whether Iraq has met its disarmament commitments. The 15-member Security Council is to evaluate the report on Jan. 29.

OPEC's biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, already is tapping into the world's only significant spare capacity. Industry sources told Reuters over the weekend that Riyadh could be pumping 9 million barrels daily by February, up a million barrels a day from December flows.

"OPEC alone does not have sufficient, readily available spare capacity to replace both Venezuela's and Iraq's oil exports, much less to cope with any supply disruptions from other Gulf producers that might result from any prolonged conflict in Iraq," said London's Centre for Global Energy Studies

"A lack of adequate commercial oil stocks in the U.S. and no nearby replacement for lost short-haul crude from Venezuela has left the oil supply chain stretched almost to breaking point," it said in a report to clients.

If OPEC were unable to cover a dual outage from Iraq and Venezuela, the Paris-based International Energy Agency would be expected to release some of its emergency strategic reserves for the first time since Jan. 1991 during the Gulf War.

"Were an attack to be launched on Iraq, consuming country governments would have to utilize quickly their abundant strategic oil stocks to ensure adequate supplies," said the Centre.

www.news24.com 21/01/2003 23:09  - (SA)   Patrick Markey

Caracas, Venezuela - One person was killed and dozens more wounded by gunfire on Monday during street clashes in Venezuela as Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter tried to salvage peace talks between leftist President Hugo Chavez and his foes, officials said.

Clashes involving police and rival protesters broke out when Chavez supporters attacked an opposition march in Charallave, about 50km south of Caracas.

Demonstrators exchanged volleys of bottles and rocks in confused running street battles. Local television images showed one man opening fire with a handgun as he rode on the roof of a jeep. Both sides blamed the other for the violence.

A Civil Protection official said one man was shot to death and 33 people were wounded by gunfire or police shotgun pellets in the fighting. It was unclear who opened fire. Two others were injured by rocks in the clashes.

Venezuela's tense, often violent political conflict has intensified during a seven-week-old opposition strike aimed at pressing Chavez to resign and call elections in the world's fifth largest oil exporter.

Carter, a former US president on his second visit to Caracas in less than a year, held meetings with Chavez and the opposition, who have been locked in a political stand-off since April when the Venezuelan leader survived a short-lived coup.

"There is always hope for a resolution and I hope that will be soon," Carter told reporters as he arrived in Caracas to meet with Organisation of American States head Cesar Gaviria, who brokered the peace talks.

Carter, who carries out international peace work through his Atlanta-based Carter Centre, has been in Venezuela for about a week on a fishing trip. Carter Centre officials have supported the peace talks since they began two months ago.

Chavez threat to quit talks

Negotiations between Chavez and his foes were thrown into doubt over the weekend after the populist leader threatened to quit the talks even as the international community stepped up support for OAS mediation.

The talks have been stalled over the timing of elections and how to end the opposition strike that has cut oil output and severely disrupted fuel and food supplies.

Chavez, elected in 1998 six years after leading a botched coup, has dismissed his foes as "fascist terrorists" plotting to overthrow him. But his critics, who say Chavez has wielded power like a corrupt, inept dictator, have vowed to keep up the strike until he steps down. Chavez rejects their calls for early elections.

The strike deadlock has raised international concern over global oil supplies at a time when energy markets are already jittery over a possible US-led war against Iraq. Venezuela usually supplies about one-sixth of US oil imports.

Oil prices crept higher Monday after Washington said time was running out for Baghdad to prove compliance with United Nations disarmament resolutions. US crude prices last week hit two-year highs of $34 a barrel.

Crude supply fears have intensified diplomatic efforts to end the Venezuelan crisis. The United States, Brazil and other governments have agreed to form a group of six nations to lend weight to mediation efforts by OAS chief Gaviria.

UN envoy to Venezuela

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan plans to send an envoy to Venezuela to take part in the initiative, which also includes Spain, Portugal, Chile and Mexico. The group will hold its first meeting in Washington on Friday, the Brazilian foreign minister said.

But Chavez cast doubt on the plan by insisting that other countries, such as Russia, Cuba and France, also be included.

Opposition leaders are also planning to hold a non-binding referendum on his rule on February 2. But Chavez insists a binding referendum can only be held after August 19, halfway through his current term.

The Venezuelan leader said on Sunday he was restarting the strike-bound oil industry, which accounts for about half of the government's revenues, using troops and replacement crews. But strikers insist production is still mostly paralysed.

Government officials on Monday warned two private television stations, which have been critical of Chavez, that they faced fines for running commercials backing the strike. The stations slammed the move as an attack on media freedom.

Chavez has also ordered troops to raid factories, banks and schools joining the stoppage, as well as food and drink manufacturers he accuses of hoarding supplies. National Guard troops sparked opposition outrage on Friday after they broke into a local bottling affiliate of Cola-Cola Co to take away crates of drinks.

www.guardian.co.uk Tuesday January 21, 2003 9:00 PM

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter proposed a plan Tuesday to lead Venezuela to elections and end a 51-day-old strike against President Hugo Chavez, which has dramatically cut production in the No. 5 oil-exporting country.

Carter's ideas were the first concrete proposals to emerge from more than two months of talks between the government and Venezuela's opposition, which called the strike to demand early elections or Chavez's resignation.

Both Chavez and opposition leaders reacted cautiously, saying they merited study.

Carter said the first plan would amend Venezuela's constitution to shorten presidential and legislative terms of office and stage early general elections.

It calls for Venezuela's opposition to end the strike and for the government, which has a congressional majority, to move quickly on changing the constitution. Amending the constitution requires the approval of congress and a popular referendum.

Chavez said Tuesday he told Carter he would respect any constitutional changes. ``If the people were to decide it should be four years ... I have no problem with that,'' Chavez said.

Carter's second plan calls for both sides to prepare for a binding recall referendum on Chavez's presidency in August, the midpoint of Chavez's six-year term. Venezuela's constitution allows such a vote.

We've been pleased with the reception we've had from both the government and the opposition,'' Carter said at a news conference before leaving Venezuela. My opinion is that both sides want to end an impasse that is destroying the economy.''

Oil provides 70 percent of export earnings and a third of Venezuela's $100 billion gross domestic product. It is a top supplier to the United States. Venezuela's output stands at about 627,000 barrels a day, compared to 3 million before the strike, according to strike leaders. The government claims production is at at least 800,000 barrels a day.

Opposition negotiator Alejandro Armas welcomed Carter's proposals.

A key point is the fate of workers at Venezuela's state owned oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. Some 30,000 of 40,000 workers are striking. Chavez has fired more than 1,000.

Carter said his proposal would have strikers return to work but allow the government to prosecute anyone accused of sabotaging equipment.

Some analysts say Venezuela's economy, which shrank by an estimated 8 percent in 2002, could contract by as much as 40 percent in the first quarter of 2003. Gasoline and many foods have become scarce. Factories have closed and multinationals have evacuated personnel for security reasons.

Venezuela's opposition, which called the strike Dec. 2, has insisted that Venezuela is too polarized over Chavez's leftist polices to wait until August for an election.

But labor leader Carlos Ortega suggested Tuesday there were differences among opposition leaders over when to end the strike. ``The strike is out of our hands,'' he said, speaking of his Venezuelan Workers Confederation, one of dozens of groups behind the strike.

Chavez, 48, was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 on promises to help Venezuela's majority poor. Constant political unrest has contributed to 17 percent unemployment, 30 percent inflation and a weakening currency, which reached a record low of 1,853 to the U.S. dollar Tuesday.

Oil prices declined Tuesday after some harbor pilots in western Venezuela's oil-rich Maracaibo Lake returned to work. The action could increase exports. Foreign-flagged tankers refused to enter ports staffed by unqualified pilots and dockworkers.

Diplomats from the ``Friends of Venezuela,'' grouping Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States, will hold their first meeting at the Organization of American States in Washington on Friday.

The group will not be changed,'' Carter said. It's a group of very influential countries that can help ensure that any agreement will be honored.''

Venezuela's National Elections Council, after accepting an opposition petition, agreed to organize a Feb. 2 nonbinding referendum to ask citizens if Chavez should resign. Chavez has refused to fund the vote and is challenging its legality before the Supreme Court.

cnews.canoe.ca Tue, January 21, 2003 By ALEXANDRA OLSON -- Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Petroleum prices rose Tuesday as a strike that has disabled the world's fifth-largest oil exporter entered its 51st day and international mediators struggled to resolve the stoppage aimed at forcing President Hugo Chavez from office.

European Brent crude soared to new two-year highs at more than $31 a barrel because of the Venezuelan crisis, possible war in Iraq and cold weather in the United States.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, meanwhile, said it will be difficult to make up for shortages of Venezuelan oil in the United States because many U.S. refineries are geared to process heavier Venezuelan crude.

The strike has slashed Venezuela's oil production by more than two-thirds and caused domestic shortages of gasoline, food and drinking water. It has cost Venezuela $4 billion, according to the government, and contributed to the plummeting of the bolivar currency.

Former President Jimmy Carter was in Caracas trying to help resolve the situation. He was meeting with Chavez at the presidential palace early Tuesday.

Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in October, attended negotiations between the government and opposition Monday and met separately with the president, strike leaders and Organization of American States secretary general Cesar Gaviria.

Carter's Atlanta-based Carter Center, the OAS and the United Nations are sponsoring the talks.

Business leaders, labor unions and opposition parties launched the strike Dec. 2 to demand that Chavez resign or call early elections.

Chavez threatened Sunday to walk out of talks, accusing the opposition of trying to topple him even as they negotiated.

Strike leader Carlos Ortega said Chavez would never accept a vote on his rule.

Ortega, president of the 1 million member Confederation of Venezuelan Workers, said Gaviria and Carter should "convince themselves once and for all that we are dealing with a regime that is not democratic, and that as long as Chavez stays in power there is no possibility of holding elections."

One man was killed and 27 were injured Monday when gunfire erupted as Chavez supporters confronted opposition marchers in Charallave, a town about 20 miles south of Caracas. At least six people have died in political violence since the strike began.

Six countries -- Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States -- have begun an initiative called "Friends of Venezuela" to help end the crisis. Diplomats from the six nations will meet at OAS headquarters in Washington on Friday.

The National Elections Council, accepting an opposition petition, agreed to organize a Feb. 2 nonbinding referendum asking citizens whether Chavez should step down.

Chavez says the vote would be unconstitutional and his supporters have challenged it in the Supreme Court. But the president has welcomed a possible binding referendum halfway through his six-year-term, or August, as allowed by the constitution.