VENEZUELA NEWS BULLETIN No.951

(Updated) One Death During Clashes Between Venezuelan Opposition Militants and Troops as G-15 Summit Starts

Saturday, Feb 28, 2004		Print format
		Send by email

By: Martín Sánchez / Portia Sánchez - Venezuelanalysis.com

Editors note: Newly released medical reports indicate the protest left one person instead of two, and 30 wounded instead of 18.

Sophisticated gas masks were used by opposition demonstrators seeking to oust Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, during clashes with National Guard toops.
Photo: Ernesto Navarro

Caracas, Venezuela. Feb 27, 2004 (Venezuelanalysis.com).- Militants from political parties opposed to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attempted to march into the building where Presidents from 15 developing countries are meeting as part of the G-15 Summit in Caracas.

One person was reported dead and more than 30 wounded. Among the wounded are several supporters of President Chavez, and National Guard officers, but the majority were opposition demonstrators wounded by rubber bullets.

The demonstration was organized by opponents of the President to pressure the National Electoral Council (CNE) to approve a recall referendum on the President. The opposition claimed that the goal was to deliver a document to the G-15 presidents urging them to p ut pressure on the CNE to approve the recall.

Elections officials are currently counting and validating petitions collected by the opposition, but numerous irregularities have forced the officials to delay a decision, and ask people listed in petitions with irregularities to re-confirm their signature.

Opposition demonstrators attacks National Guard troops guarding the G-15 Summit. Commercial media outlets called the demonstration "peaceful", and argued that demonstrators were "provoked" by troops.
Photo: Ernesto Navarro

Government authorities warned opposition politicians about the security perimeter established to protect the presidents and their delegations. Radical opposition militants decided to try to break the perimeter and clashed with National Guard officers who used tear gas and rubber bullets to prevent the demonstrators from advancing towards the building where the G-15 Summit was being held.

Chavez’s party headquarter torched by opponents

A local headquarter of President Chavez’s party Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) was torched by opposition militants. Antonio Ledezma, a leader of the Coordinadora Democratica (Democratic Coordinator) opposition coalition, was seen at the MVR headquarter giving orders to opposition militants. National Assembly deputy Francisco Ameliach sh owed pictures of his party's building burned with Mr. Ledezma nearby. "This is the last time they do this to us," said Ameliach, who also announced legal action against the political leader. Last year, another MVR party building was burned by opposition militants.

A building of the pro-government Fatherland For All (PPT) party was also vandalized by opponents of Chavez.

Up to six opposition sharpshooters were detected by authorities hiding in rooftops near the demonstrations, according to National Assembly deputy Francisco Solorzano.

Sophisticated gas masks were used by opposition demonstrators seeking to oust Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, during clashes with National Guard toops.
Photo: Venpres

Opposition militants wore professional gas masks, prompting pro-government political commentators to claim that the opposition’s actions were well planned and financed.

TV footage showed officers from the opposition-controlled Metropolitan Police, helping the demonstrators as they changed locations to clash with National Guard troops. Venezuelan Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel said the government could take control of that police force for their anti-government actions. Several Metropolitan Police officers are facing trial for some of the deaths during the coupt d' etat of April 2002.

Leopoldo Lopez, an opposition leader and Mayor of Venezuela´s wealthiest municipality (Chacao), leads demonstrators towards the perimeter set by authorities to protect foreign delegations attending the G-15 Summit.
Photo: Venpres

Interior Minister condemns violence

"They weren’t holding rosaries and bibles, they came with a violent attitude, holding sticks, bottles and stones, to confront the National Guard, which had to respond with tear gas to control the situation and guarantee order," said Interior Minister Lucas Rincon holding a police helmet stained with blood, and penetrated by a bullet shot by opposition demonstrators. "It wasn't confetti what they threw at the troops," added Rincon.

Rincon, said there were five people detained with weapons without permits, and two police officers from opposition-controlled municipalities wearing body armor and holding weapons disguising in civilian clothes.

"The march achieved its goal," said the Coordinadora Democratica in a statement after the clashes. Opponents claimed that Chavez pretended to use the G-15 Summit as a propaganda platform.

Anti-Chavez demonstrators block traffic in south eastern Caracas to protest electoral authorities' decision to ask people listed in petitions with irregularities to reconfirm their signature.
Photo: N. Heredia

The Coordinadora Democratica announced militant actions after the Electoral Council (CNE) announced that recall petitions with irregularities require re-confirmation by signers. The CNE decided to ask for reconfirmation instead of invalidating the petitions in order to defend the signers´ will. However, opponents accuse the CNE of dragging their feet to delay the referendum. Last Wednesday, opposition leaders said they no longer recognized the authority of electoral officials due to this decision.

Interior Vice-minister, Carlos Vettiol, commented that the government of Venezuela is obligated by international law to protect the integrity of the foreign delegations attending the summit. "We explained that to the opposition leaders, but they chosed not to hear us," said Vettiol.

The Attorney General, Isaias Rodríguez, and the Public Ombudsman, had sent public defenders to monitor the opposition march. Rodriguez said that the actions of the opposition "contradict the Constitution, the law, and the peace of the country."

Media offensive

Venezuelan commercial media ran ads inviting people to attend the "peaceful demonstration", and gave non stop coverage to the protests and clashes with authorities since early that morning. Government officials said the media coverage was reminiscent of the days before the coup d'etat of April 2002, and the lock-out and strike of late 2002.

"She what happened in Haiti? That’s what’s going to happen here," said an opposition political leader.

"Hugo: to stop me from protesting, you will have to kill me".
Photo: Ernesto Navarro

Opposition leaders appeared in the media encouraging supporters to continue demonstrating until Sunday, when electoral authorities are scheduled to announce how many petitions to demand the recall of several elected officials are valid.

Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel criticzied the local media, and international oulets such as CNN, for not showing any images of the demonstrator's attacks against the security perimeter.

Opposition Mayor Leopoldo Lopez, has been accused of providing demonstrators with anti-gas masks like the one he used when trying to break the security perimeter that protected foreign delegations attending the G-15 Summit.
Photo: Venpres

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1205

****************************************************************************************************

VTV reporta dos muertos por arma de fuego en acciones

Por: Amaro Magenta
Publicado el Domingo, 29/02/04 02:25am


	imprímelo

	mándaselo a tus panas

Poco después de la medianoche, VTV reportó la muerte
de una joven por disparo de un ciudadano que se
molestó ante la quema de cauchos y el cierre de la vía
en la Avda. Fco. Miranda, a la salida del Metro de Los
Cortijos, en el Mcpio Sucre. Aparentemente, el
conductor increpó a los alborotadores, y sacó su
revolver, causando la muerte de la joven por disparo
en la cabeza. No se mencionó si la víctima participaba
activamente en la quema.

También se reportó la muerte de un ciudadano en zonas
de La Urbina, en el sureste de Caracas, por increpar a
otro foco de disturbios; supuestamente, uno de los
violentos habría sacado su arma y le habría disparado.

Son asesinatos de venezolanos y venezolanas. A priori,
entenderíamos que todos debemos lamentarlo. Sin
embargo, es necesario asumir que este tipo de acciones
es parte de lo que los más fanáticos están buscando,
con el objetivo de generar un escenario del tipo
Haití. Por eso, ellos no se lamentan, sino que lo van a
alentar.

http://www.aporrea.org/dameverbo.php?docid=14347

**********************************************************************************************************

Caracas, Venezuela. Feb 26, 2004 (Venezuelanalysis.com).- Complaints of misuse of people's names and data during the petition drive to demand a recall referendum on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, continue to grow as the process of counting and verifying the signatures is coming to an end.

A web site where people can check if their national identification number or that of deceased relatives were used in the opposition-sponsored petition drive has sparked thousands of complaints about the misuse of people’s data. Centers have been set up in several cities across the nation, where people can check if their names were illegally used in the December petition drive.

An unspecified number of signatures have already been found to be invalid by electoral authorities for belonging to deceased people, minors, foreigners, and individuals not registered to vote.

The pro-government Comando Ayacucho group claims to have found around 27,000 signatures from deceased individuals during a review of copies of opposition signature forms obtained from the National Electoral Council (CNE).

An organization called “Victims of Fraud” was recently created by supporters of President Chavez to process complaints. The group is threatening to file a lawsuit against SUMATE, an organization opposed to the government, which organized the logistics for the anti-Chavez petition drive. According to declassified documents available at www.VenezuelaFOIA.info, SUMATE, as well as other anti-Chavez organizations, are being financed by the U.S. National Endowement for Democracy, which in turn receives financing from the U.S. government.

Military officers complain of misuse of data

Today, Venezuela’s Minister of Defense Jorge Garcia Carneiro sent an official request to electoral authorities requesting to exclude from the signature count 85 military officers who complained about the illegal use of their names in the petitions collected by opponents of President Chavez last December. Among the officers are generals, colonels, lieutenant colonels, and lower-ranking officers.

“As a citizen I consider misusing my identity as an act of dishonesty, especially since the Constitution bars military personnel from participating in these type of processes, and since the CNE also explicitly prohibits us from participating,” said General Mario Arvelaez Rengifo at a press conference today. General Arvelaez said he does not plan legal action, but claimed that such incidents hint at a lack of transparency in the signature collection process.

Army Mayor Gustavo Marcano requested from SUMATE, a copy of the form where his data was used, and asked the Scientific Police to perform handwriting analysis to prove he did not sign the petition. The results proved the handwriting and fingerprint are not his.

Military personnel are explicitly banned from participating in recall referenda, according to the Constitution and CNE regulations.

Even though the number of military officers complaining of misuse of their names is low, it gives credibility to reports of fraud committed by the opposition during the petition drive.

Opposition organizers waited three weeks after the collection dates allowed by law before delivering the signatures to electoral authorities. Supporters of the government argue that during those three weeks, additional forms were illegally filled and manipulated using people’s data without their authorization.

600 centers for re-confirmation

The National Electoral Council decided Tuesday night to set aside for further review 148.000 petition forms that present similar calligraphy or other irregularities. The signatures whose authenticity is in doubt will then be subject to re-confirmation by individual signers. The forms contain approximately 1.4 million signatures.

According to CNE board member Oscar Battaglini, 600 centers will be set up across the nation to allow people listed in the petitions with irregularities to re-confirm or deny their vote. A five-day period will be give to those listed in the petitions against President Chavez and lawmakers from the parties who support him. After this, five days will be given for those who signed against lawmakers from the opposition.

International observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Carter Center consider legitimate the CNE concerns with regard to determining if one person has signed for someone else, which is contrary to the norms approved by the CNE. The observers, however, proposed a statistical method to decide what percentage of the signatures are fraudulent.

"There is preoccupation about the validity of the signatures in the so-called 'writing exercises forms', where the writing of the persons' data have similarities," said OAS representative Francisco Jaramillo reading a joint statement by the OAS and the Carter Center.

See also:

Caracas, 27 de febrero. 2:15 pm.- El Vicepresidente de la República, José Vicente Rangel, declaró, en conversación telefónica con Vladimir Villegas, que el Gobierno Nacional debe tomar medidas con respecto a la Policía Metropolitana, porque es un cuerpo “extraño y cómplice de los golpistas”. Expresó que se comprobó la acción de vehículos de la PM trasladando cauchos en la noche anterior a la marcha, y la Policía de Libertador no podía intervenir porque neutralizaban sus acciones. Aseguró que la PM apoya el caos, y debe ser controlada por el Gobierno.

Asimismo, declaró que no había razón para que la oposición convocara esta marcha para el día de hoy, coincidiendo con un evento cumbre donde están representantes extranjeros.

Hizo un llamado a los militantes de la Coordinadora Democrática, como Carlos Ocariz y Manuel Cova, quienes irresponsablemente llamaron a romper las barreras de seguridad, pero no aparecen apoyando la marcha.

Denunció a partidistas de Bandera Roja y Acción Democrática como responsables de originar los hechos violentos, al adelantarse a la marcha y tratar de romper el cordón de la Guardia Nacional, lanzando piedras y actuando agresivamente contra los funcionarios de seguridad.

Comentó que la política comunicacional de la oposición venezolana es “agresiva, golpista y terrorista”, y buscan causar un efecto internacional negativo, propiciando a que los medios extranjeros como CNN titulen en Internet que la Guardia Nacional Venezolana agredió a manifestantes pacíficos, convirtiendo los hechos en agresiones contra la nación.

Acotó que es necesario respetar el estado de derecho, defender a los ciudadanos como una obligación del Estado Venezolano.

Finalizó afirmando que “la situación está completamente dominada, la ciudad está en calma tanto el este como el oeste, así como el interior de la República”