Wednesday, February 5, 2003 Charita Goshay www.cantonrep.com

Imagine for a moment, that you are the Most High Exalted, Glorious Grand Pooh-bah and President for Life.

Your word is law. Schoolchildren sing your praises. You have unlimited wealth. Palaces. Yachts. Hummers. A luxury suite on the 50-yard line.

Your country is floating on a sea of oil.

Life is good.

Then one day, the most powerful nation on earth rings you up and tells you to dump your stockpiles of anthrax and poison gas, or prepare to be turned into a parking lot.

Would you do it? Or would you stick out your tongue and say, “Make me.”

That pretty much sums up the situation for Saddam Hussein.

Even if I didn’t have any weapons of mass destruction in my arsenal, I think I’d whip up some to turn over if it meant the United States would leave me alone.

Then again, Saddam is the same megalomaniac who vowed that the desert would be pockmarked with American graves during the Gulf War. Instead, ill-equipped Iraqi soldiers were begging to be captured.

Guess it’s hard to fight a war in dress shoes, especially when you haven’t eaten in three days.

Perhaps Saddam is looking to become a martyr.

If so, he’s about get his wish.

In Venezuela, the doltish Hugo Chavez is regularly and publicly humiliated by his wife, but it hasn’t loosened his grip on the government, which is in chaos.

A few weeks ago, Chavez fell for a telephone prank, in which the caller pretended to be Fidel Castro.

What, no caller I.D. in the presidential palace?

The only ones who might be more dense than Chavez are the Bush administration operatives who fumbled an attempt to overthrow him when their elderly, hand-picked successor promptly suspended all civil liberties.

Chavez was back at his desk in two days, because even a dolt is preferable to a doddering despot.

If you were to call Central Casting and say, “Get me a dictator,” chances are, Kim Jong II would show up.

With his Elvis eyeglasses and Don King hairdo, North Korea’s fearless leader looks like a bargain-basement villain from a James Bond knockoff.

A frustrated actor who starves his own people, a man whom supporters say was born on a “magic mountain,” Kim II has dared the world to do something about his nuclear arsenal.

So, what are we going to do about him?

Not much.

Why not?

No oil.

Too many times, we’ve crawled into bed with dictators because they served our purpose at the moment, or because they were preferable to communists, only to have them bite us in the end.

Augusto Pinochet. Manuel Noriega. Fulgencio Batista. The Duvaliers. Marcos. Mugabe.

The world always will be plagued with strongmen. We can’t eradicate them all. But we can, and should, promote democracy wherever possible. When people have a real voice in how their government is run, they’re not too quick to give that up in exchange for the trains running on time.

If Saddam was at all smart, or even sane, he would opt for exile.

He might even get to keep his luxury box.

You can reach Repository writer Charita Goshay at (330) 580-8313 or e-mail:

charita.goshay@cantonrep.com

www.roanoke.com Wednesday, February 05, 2003 THE MIAMI HERALD

   CARACAS, Venezuela - For Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Feb. 4 is a holiday, so he'll keep celebrating that historic day he led a failed insurrection that killed at least 60 people.

    "When history is written, it will have to be divided into before and after Feb. 4, 1992," Chavez said Tuesday at a ceremony marking the 11-year anniversary of his failed uprising against former President Carlos Andres Perez.

    "It wasn't a coup," Chavez insisted. "It wasn't a conspiracy of elite, economic, political and military corrupt. It was a volcano that erupted from the moral depths of the military youth who rebelled against a military elite submissive to corrupt governments."

    Chavez honored himself on the 65th day of a strike aimed at ousting him.

    Instead of overthrowing him, the work stoppage dealt severe blows to the state oil industry and national economy until it eventually petered out. Schools, malls and factories swung their doors open this week, while tens of thousands of oil workers continued to strike.

    Chavez is the object of a millions-strong opposition that wants him out of office because of his control over government institutions. But while Chavez assails the opposition as coup-plotting bourgeois, he rarely acknowledges that his own political career began at dawn 11 years ago, when a military tank rammed the gates of the presidential palace.

    Chavez led a group of junior and mid-level officers here in an armed revolt against Perez, who was accused of widespread corruption and ignoring the needs of the poor. The two-hour mutiny killed 14 soldiers, seven presidential guards and at least 40 civilians.

    "Coups are not festive occasions," said legislator Julio Cesar Montoya. "There is a profound contradiction in Chavez when he accuses the opposition of being coup-plotting fascists, when we all know the only one who attacked government institutions with arms was him."

    Chavez, then an army lieutenant colonel, was imprisoned for two years and two months, but continued to organize military upheavals from behind bars. Then he got a pardon and ran for president. And Venezuelans - lots of them - voted for him.

    The majority turned against him later, after he rewrote the constitution, took over control of government bodies such as the Supreme Court and threatened the media. He is accused of arming civilian militias to defend him at all costs.

    "Feb. 4 is an important date: that's the date people woke up," said Omyra Reyes, who attended a Mass Tuesday morning to commemorate the uprising. "It wasn't a coup, it was a civic-military rebellion."

    The Mass was attended by a bulk of Chavez's cabinet, including the vice president, foreign minister and minister of education.

    Shortly after Blanco stepped out of the Caracas cathedral, a band of rock-throwing thugs attacked the office of Chavez's nemesis, greater Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena. He wasn't hurt.     ---     (c) 2003, THE MIAMI HERALD.

    Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at www.herald.com

    Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

www.roanoke.com Wednesday, February 05, 2003 THE MIAMI HERALD

   CARACAS, Venezuela - For Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Feb. 4 is a holiday, so he'll keep celebrating that historic day he led a failed insurrection that killed at least 60 people.

    "When history is written, it will have to be divided into before and after Feb. 4, 1992," Chavez said Tuesday at a ceremony marking the 11-year anniversary of his failed uprising against former President Carlos Andres Perez.

    "It wasn't a coup," Chavez insisted. "It wasn't a conspiracy of elite, economic, political and military corrupt. It was a volcano that erupted from the moral depths of the military youth who rebelled against a military elite submissive to corrupt governments."

    Chavez honored himself on the 65th day of a strike aimed at ousting him.

    Instead of overthrowing him, the work stoppage dealt severe blows to the state oil industry and national economy until it eventually petered out. Schools, malls and factories swung their doors open this week, while tens of thousands of oil workers continued to strike.

    Chavez is the object of a millions-strong opposition that wants him out of office because of his control over government institutions. But while Chavez assails the opposition as coup-plotting bourgeois, he rarely acknowledges that his own political career began at dawn 11 years ago, when a military tank rammed the gates of the presidential palace.

    Chavez led a group of junior and mid-level officers here in an armed revolt against Perez, who was accused of widespread corruption and ignoring the needs of the poor. The two-hour mutiny killed 14 soldiers, seven presidential guards and at least 40 civilians.

    "Coups are not festive occasions," said legislator Julio Cesar Montoya. "There is a profound contradiction in Chavez when he accuses the opposition of being coup-plotting fascists, when we all know the only one who attacked government institutions with arms was him."

    Chavez, then an army lieutenant colonel, was imprisoned for two years and two months, but continued to organize military upheavals from behind bars. Then he got a pardon and ran for president. And Venezuelans - lots of them - voted for him.

    The majority turned against him later, after he rewrote the constitution, took over control of government bodies such as the Supreme Court and threatened the media. He is accused of arming civilian militias to defend him at all costs.

    "Feb. 4 is an important date: that's the date people woke up," said Omyra Reyes, who attended a Mass Tuesday morning to commemorate the uprising. "It wasn't a coup, it was a civic-military rebellion."

    The Mass was attended by a bulk of Chavez's cabinet, including the vice president, foreign minister and minister of education.

    Shortly after Blanco stepped out of the Caracas cathedral, a band of rock-throwing thugs attacked the office of Chavez's nemesis, greater Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena. He wasn't hurt.     ---     (c) 2003, THE MIAMI HERALD.

    Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at www.herald.com

    Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

www.globeandmail.com By PAUL KNOX Wednesday, February 5, 2003 – Page A17

CARACAS -- A major thrust of Canadian foreign policy during the 1990s was aimed at giving Ottawa a stronger presence in the affairs of Latin America and the Caribbean. It culminated in the 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, where a timetable for hemispheric free-trade talks was approved and where Prime Minister Jean Chrétien proudly dubbed the 34 member countries a gran familia.

Nearly two years later, the family is struggling. Economic growth in Latin America is at a standstill, and the region continues to frighten mainstream investors. On the social side, Latin Americans are disillusioned with the harsh market-friendly policies that appeal so strongly to the hemisphere's free-traders. They are turning to politicians who offer at least the promise of relief.

Where is Canada now that times have got tough? A lot less visible than it was in Quebec City, even through the tear gas. "The profile we had developed by the time we finally got to Quebec City is starting to dissipate," says John Graham, a retired diplomat and veteran of postings in Latin America. He chairs the Canadian Foundation for the Americas, an independent (though largely government-funded) policy and research group in Ottawa known by the acronym FOCAL.

Two important presidential inaugurations in South America last month were attended not by Mr. Chrétien or Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham or any other cabinet minister, but by relatively low-level parliamentary representatives. In Brasilia, on New Year's Day, it was House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken who watched as Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office. Two weeks later, Canada dispatched Senate Speaker Daniel Hays to Quito for the inauguration of Ecuador's Lucio Gutierrez.

So what, you say. Who cares about formal ceremonies? Don't we take care of business in other ways?

Yes and no. The usual practice among the Latin republics is for the president to attend such events. Actual political business often gets transacted and, if you're not there with a dance card, you don't get out on the floor. "For the Latin Americans, it's hugely important the level at which you turn up at these things," Mr. Graham says.

A higher level of representation might have stopped Canada from being sidelined in activity regarding the acute political crisis in Venezuela. At talks in Quito led by Mr. da Silva, leaders agreed to form a six-nation group known as Friends of Venezuela to offer support to talks between the embattled government of President Hugo Chavez and a broad opposition coalition. This is the kind of thing Canadians are good at. In 2000, Canada played a key role in defusing a political crisis in Peru, and it seemed natural to offer to do so again.

"We had made our desires known," a senior Canadian official says. "We would have been willing to serve." Yet when the white smoke emerged in Quito, the group turned out to consist of Brazil, Mexico, the United States, Chile, Spain and Portugal. (That's right, Portugal.)

Mr. Graham's spokeswoman, Isabelle Savard, says that, under the rules of diplomatic protocol, parliamentary speakers are considered senior to cabinet ministers, and that Mr. Milliken had productive meetings with several Brazilian ministers. But several experienced Latin America hands have told me that protocol is one thing, and possessing the authority or credibility to take part in intense political talks is quite another.

At this point, it's not clear how important the six-nation support group for the Venezuelan talks will turn out to be. But Venezuela aside, Canada needs to be higher on Mr. da Silva's radar screen -- if only to ensure that the ongoing Canada-Brazil dispute over export subsidies for commuter-jet aircraft is managed without ill will.

In an unusually strong editorial in its current monthly bulletin, FOCAL says Ottawa blew it in Brasilia. "The Canadian government squandered a wonderful opportunity to repair a fractured relationship with one of the most important governments in the hemisphere," it says, adding that "if Canada wants to be included in the decisions that are reshaping a continent, it needs to get into the trenches, attend the high-level events and show the respect that the powers and the aspiring powers of the Americas deserve."

There is great uncertainty this year in Latin America. Venezuela and Argentina are swimming in economic difficulties, Colombia's internal armed conflict has escalated and the bloom is off the presidency of Mexico's Vicente Fox.

It's hardly the time for fair-weather friendship. When you're adopted into a gran familia,it's supposed to be a lifelong deal. pknox@globeandmail.ca

www.catholicnews.com

Maryknoll missionaries in Venezuela say Chavez helping poor

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Maryknoll lay missionaries in Venezuela praised beleaguered President Hugo Chavez for improving conditions for the poor and said that unconstitutional means should not be used to topple the democratically elected president. "Our low-income communities give testimony to the fact that the government has indeed given priority to the poor," said a statement signed by all nine missionaries in the South American country. "If unconstitutional or violent means are used to overthrow a democratically elected government here in Venezuela, this may set an undesirable precedent for other countries of Latin America," said the statement. In subsequent telephone interviews with Catholic News Service, several signers said that under Chavez they could see benefits to the poor in terms of better education, health and housing conditions in the low-income neighborhoods where the missionaries work.

U.S. religious criticize embassy's use of theologian to defend war

ROME (CNS) -- A group of American religious superiors and theologians wrote to U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Jim Nicholson to protest his enlistment of a U.S. theologian to defend the idea of "preventive war" to Vatican officials. In a letter faxed to Nicholson Feb. 3, the group said the theologian, Michael Novak, varied from the "almost unanimous" church condemnation of a new war on Iraq and said his "appointment" by the embassy seemed to violate the principle of separation of church and state. The group chided the ambassador for not consulting with U.S. church leaders in his choice of Novak and urged Nicholson to "represent the full voice of the (U.S.) Catholic community" by opening up his meetings with Vatican officials "to others beyond your appointed theologian." The letter was faxed by the Justice and Peace Office of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, based in Silver Spring, Md., and bore nearly 60 names of superiors of men's and women's religious orders, officials of the peace organization Pax Christi USA and various theologians. A copy of the text was obtained Feb. 4 by Catholic News Service. Officials at the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican had no immediate comment on the letter.

New Zealand cardinal says attack on Iraq lacks moral justification

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (CNS) -- A New Zealand cardinal said a U.S.-led attack on Iraq has no justification "on grounds of international law or sane morality." Cardinal Thomas Williams of Wellington said while U.N. inspectors have failed to find proof of Iraq's development of weapons of mass destruction U.S. President George W. Bush still appears intent on invading the Middle East nation. "Why in heaven's name is the Bush administration so hell-bent on attacking Iraq?" Cardinal Williams asked in a Feb. 4 statement. In a separate statement, the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference appealed to Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair "to refrain from an armed offensive against the Iraqi people." In a Jan. 31 statement from their plenary meeting in Pretoria, the bishops said, "To wage war at this stage is immoral and illegal, and therefore must be excluded."