AFP. 13 April 2002. Chavez supporters negotiating his release so he can return to office: assembly president.
CARACAS -- Ousted president Hugo Chavez is being held prisoner at Turiamo naval base outside Caracas, and supporters are negotiating his release so he can return to office, William Lara, the president of Venezuela's newly-restored National Assembly, said Saturday. "We are waiting for Vice President Diosdado Cabello to come to the Miraflores presidential palace, which should happen as soon as possible, so that he can assume the functions of president temporarily. This interval of time will be used for negotiations with the group of military officeers who are holding Chavez prisoner, to gain his liberty," Lara said on YVKE World radio. Lara said he was at the palace together with ministers from Chavez's cabinet, after tens of thousands of Chavez supporters surrounded the palace and interim president Pedro Carmona sought protection at a military fort. "At least 200,000 people have come spontaneously to demand Chavez's liberation," Lara said of the gathering outside the palace. "The legitimacy of the national institutions usurped by Pedro Carmona has been re-established," he added. Carmona earlier reinstituted the assembly and said Chavez could leave the country for the destination of his choice, after military leaders set those steps as two of 12 conditions for their support of Carmona's government. "In a few moments or in a few hours he will leave the country as he desires," Carmona told the US news network CNN. In Havana, the Cuban government offered to give Chavez refuge. ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
