AFP. 8 January 2002. Press highly critical of Venezuela's Chavez after move to sway daily; US concerned by attempts to intimidate Venezuelan opposition, press.
CARACAS -- Venezuelan media declared a "state of alert" Tuesday, citing interference with press freedom by President Hugo Chavez, a day after a group of his supporters surrounded a newspaper office for four hours. Venezuela's Press Association issued the alert after some 200 Chavez sympathizers launched an aggressive protest late Monday outside the headquarters of the El Nacional daily, a vocal critic of Chavez's regime. The protest outside the newspaper's headquarters by demonstrators claiming it was telling lies "is without precedent in Venezuela's democratic era," said Press Association vice president Andres de Armas. The media group said it would denounce the protest, which police eventually broke up with the use of tear gas, to the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and international media. Press editorials and headlines Tuesday described the demonstration as "fascist," saying it pushed Chavez's Venezuela closer to a break with democracy. El Nacional editorial coordinator Sergio Dahbar described Monday's protest as a "well thought out plan to scare off the media." "We have to realize this, understand the plan," said Dahbar. "We have to be alert and on guard." And general secretary of media workers union SNTP Gregorio Salazar said that signs from government leaders clearly showed democracy was under threat. "Signs from government leaders ... lead us to think that the regime will definitively cross that line if it is not controlled by the institutions," Salazar told AFP. Meanwhile [and ominously], the United States [who admits to censoring war coverage in the US] expressed concern Tuesday over attempts by supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to intimidate the country's opposition and independent press. "We're concerned about the attempts by Chavez supporters to intimidate both opposition politicians and the press," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. Boucher said Washington recognized the legality of demonstrations in democratic countries but said the United States was nevertheless "concerned about the events of last (Monday) night." In a show of support for the free press, the US ambassador to Venezuela, Donna Hrinak, was to visit the El Nacional offices on Tuesday, Boucher said. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews
