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On 7/30/05, Anivar Aravind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Alfonso Daniels in Caracas > Tuesday July 26, 2005 > The Guardian > > A swastika painted on a US flag flashes across the screen. Out of sight a > voice proclaims: "Let's recover our memory and history from the claws of > the > Empire ..." The voice is replaced by anti-imperialist chants and metallic > sounds, then the screen goes dark. > > Welcome to Telesur, Latin America's answer to CNN and the BBC World > Service. > > A few minutes after 12pm local time on Sunday the new TV channel began > broadcasting a pilot service from studios in the Venezuelan capital, > Caracas, with a team of 25 journalists in nine regional bureaux presenting > news "from a Latin American perspective". > > Telesur promoters describe it as an antidote to western-controlled media > hegemony. But even before its launch the channel was being attacked in > Washington as a vehicle for anti-US propaganda, with the House of > Representatives last week voting to enable the US to broadcast its own > signals into Venezuela in retaliation. > > In response, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's left-leaning president, threatened to > engage in "electronic warfare" with the US if the amendment makes it > through > the Senate. > > The war of words has made for a painful birth for the new channel whose > 36-strong advisory committee - designed to offer it an aura of legitimacy - > include Nobel-Laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, film directors Pino Solanas > and Jorge Sangines, and writers Richard Stallman, Eduardo Galeano and Tariq > Ali. > > Telesur's director, Aram Aharonian, says the committee's goal is to remind > Telesur of its objectives: to help integrate the continent, show > perspectives on Latin American countries ignored by large corporations such > as CNN and Reuters, and incorporate those without a voice to transform the > region's unfair structures. > > The channel will also show classic and contemporary Latin American films > and > a mix of experimental documentaries by young filmmakers. > > "We've bought part of the offer available, but we're discovering everyday > new young directors," says Telesur's producer Nohra Rodriguez, amid the > excited buzz of the 60, mostly young, staff coming from across Latin > America. > > If the pilot succeeds, Telesur's staff will rise by September to 150 with > inhouse programming jumping from four to eight hours a day, adding new > features such as in-depth news reports, and regional music and tourism > shows. > > All will be produced for and by Latin Americans, except some contemporary > independent films dubbed Nojolivud (No Hollywood). > > Although Telesur is backed by the governments of Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay > and Brazil, the driving force has been President Chavez, whose government > has contributed 70% of Telesur's $10m (£5.7m) financing and owns 51% of the > channel. Real power inside Telesur will rest on a seven-strong board of > directors led by Venezuela's communications minister, Andres Izarra - "the > Turner of Telesur" as he is dubbed, in reference to Ted Turner, founder of > CNN. > > The direct involvement of Caracas has fuelled criticism in the US. Ties > between the two countries have deteriorated in the last few years, most > notably after the implicit support by the US for the failed coup against Mr > Chavez in April 2002, and Washington's rising anger over the Venezuelan > president's close association with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. > > At the heart of US concern is Venezuela's position as one of the US's most > important - and until recently reliable - oil suppliers. Last week's > amendment to the Foreign Relations Authorisation Act allowing the beaming > of > pro-US television and radio broadcasts into Venezuela was supported by both > Republicans and Democrats, with one member of Congress accusing Mr Chavez > of > being a "menace in our hemisphere". > > But the new channel Telesur has not been immune to criticism in Latin > America, with some dubbing it "Telechavez". > > Critics say that in December Mr Izarra was responsible for passing a new > media law allowing the prosecution of opposition TV and radio stations and > that Telesur's headquarters are located in an annex belonging to > Venezuela's > communications ministry. > > During Sunday's launch Mr Izarra told Telesur's audience that the station > was not directed against the people of the US, but was "erupting onto the > international scene" to counter cultural imperialism. > > The channel's first news programme began with a critical report on the > failure of the humanitarian mission in Haiti, led by Brazil, followed by a > story on the plight of refugees in Colombia. > > If Telesur continues in a similar vein the US may not be the only country > to > have its feathers ruffled by the new television station. >
