Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- In a message dated 04/08/01 23:27:04 Eastern Daylight Time, Lahuelga writes: > Venezuela's Chavez blames opposition for bomb > > By Daniel Flynn > > > CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on > Saturday blamed political opponents for a church bombing in Caracas last week, > saying they wanted to destabilize his radical left-leaning government. > > The bomb on July 25, which exploded in a confessional box, slightly injured > a woman. A spate of church bomb scares were reported in the opposition- > controlled media, and major churches in the capital were closed for three > days, but it is not clear how many bombs were actually planted. > > Chavez, who has angered his South American nation's wealthy elite with his > anti-establishment rhetoric, pointed the finger at ex-president Carlos Andres > Perez as the possible mastermind behind the bomb scare. > > "This is another campaign by the squalid opposition to try and weaken the > government, the country, and the Bolivarian revolution," said the former > paratrooper during a three-hour edition of his "Hello President" radio and > television show. > > The populist leader, whose two-year-old leftist "revolution" has split his > nation of 24 million along class lines, reiterated accusations that his > bitter political foe Perez had been instrumental in bringing the fugitive > Peruvian spy master Vladimir Montesinos to Venezuela in December. > > Montesinos was captured in Caracas in June and sent back to Lima to face > charges ranging from corruption and drug- trafficking to running death squads. > > > "It would not surprise me if it was the same bandit (Perez) who paid to have > these bombs planted. It is all part of a plan and they have given themselves > away," said Chavez, who led a failed military uprising against Perez's > government in 1992. > > "They are trying to create panic and some of the media are playing the game > by magnifying the news and leading their own campaign through media > manipulation," said Chavez. > > Earlier this year, Venezuela's Catholic bishops chided the paratrooper- > turned-president for failing to deliver promised solutions to poverty and > crime. They also questioned whether his personal, populist style of rule was > fully democratic. > > Interior Minister Luis Miquilena said on Friday the bomb scares were an > attempt by opponents of Chavez's two-year-old government to force it to > announce a controversial "state of exception." > > The president's announcement in May that he might seek such special powers > to suspend certain civil rights sparked a run on the bolivar currency and > prompted the withdrawal of a junior partner from his ruling Patriotic Pole > coalition. > > 17:24 08-04-01 > ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
Venezuela's Chavez blames opposition for bomb By Daniel Flynn CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday blamed political opponents for a church bombing in Caracas last week, saying they wanted to destabilize his radical left-leaning government. The bomb on July 25, which exploded in a confessional box, slightly injured a woman. A spate of church bomb scares were reported in the opposition-controlled media, and major churches in the capital were closed for three days, but it is not clear how many bombs were actually planted. Chavez, who has angered his South American nation's wealthy elite with his anti-establishment rhetoric, pointed the finger at ex-president Carlos Andres Perez as the possible mastermind behind the bomb scare. "This is another campaign by the squalid opposition to try and weaken the government, the country, and the Bolivarian revolution," said the former paratrooper during a three-hour edition of his "Hello President" radio and television show. The populist leader, whose two-year-old leftist "revolution" has split his nation of 24 million along class lines, reiterated accusations that his bitter political foe Perez had been instrumental in bringing the fugitive Peruvian spy master Vladimir Montesinos to Venezuela in December. Montesinos was captured in Caracas in June and sent back to Lima to face charges ranging from corruption and drug- trafficking to running death squads. "It would not surprise me if it was the same bandit (Perez) who paid to have these bombs planted. It is all part of a plan and they have given themselves away," said Chavez, who led a failed military uprising against Perez's government in 1992. "They are trying to create panic and some of the media are playing the game by magnifying the news and leading their own campaign through media manipulation," said Chavez. Earlier this year, Venezuela's Catholic bishops chided the paratrooper-turned-president for failing to deliver promised solutions to poverty and crime. They also questioned whether his personal, populist style of rule was fully democratic. Interior Minister Luis Miquilena said on Friday the bomb scares were an attempt by opponents of Chavez's two-year-old government to force it to announce a controversial "state of exception." The president's announcement in May that he might seek such special powers to suspend certain civil rights sparked a run on the bolivar currency and prompted the withdrawal of a junior partner from his ruling Patriotic Pole coalition. 17:24 08-04-01
