AFP. 9 January 2002. Chavez and Venezuelan news media in third day of slugfest.
CARACAS -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused news organizations of "media terrorism" Wednesday in the latest volley of a three-day war of words between him and journalists. An aggressive four-hour picket by his supporters of a newspaper office earlier this week was not "incited" on his orders, Chavez said, after harsh media criticism of Chavez over the incident. The protest "surged up from the throats of the people. So, go on, keep provoking them!" said Chavez, who insisted the demonstration was spontaneous. On Tuesday, media declared a "state of alert," citing Chavez's interference with press freedoms after 200 Chavez sympathizers blocked entry to El Nacional, a vocal critic of Chavez's regime. "Corruption ... is also about perverse manipulation and deterioration in the use of media for bastard interests in acts of media terrorism and endless manipulation," Chavez said from the presidential palace. The US State Department added its voice to Venezuelan media to say it was "concerned" that the protest sought to intimidate the press. But Chavez blamed the opposition for trying to manipulate the media to lie, saying, nonetheless, he had ordered an investigation into the picketing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews
