Posted on 02/21/2003 8:36:50 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Feb 20 (IPS) - Venezuela's ongoing political crisis worsened Thursday following the court order for the arrest of two opposition leaders, Carlos Fernández, president of the Fedecámaras business association, and Carlos Ortega, president of the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV).
Fernández was detained just before midnight Wednesday and Ortega decided to go into hiding -- just 30 hours after the Hugo Chávez government and the political opposition signed a pact on non-violence in an effort to defuse tensions still simmering after a nearly two-month strike.
Thousands of people gathered in downtown Caracas Thursday afternoon to march in protest against the arrest.
Penal judge Maikel Moreno issued arrest orders Wednesday for the two, who led the December-January strike that sought Chávez's ouster. The judge acted on a request from the Prosecutor General, which accuses Ortega and Fernández of ''rebellion, treason against the fatherland, incitement to crime, assembly for criminal ends, and destruction.''
Opposition parties and trade unions are outraged by the judge's action and by the arrest of Fernández, which took place as he was leaving a Caracas restaurant.
Government agents held Fernández for several hours before allowing him to contact his family and attorneys.
César Gaviria, secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS), who is mediating talks between the government and opposition, called on the Venezuelan judiciary to ensure that its decisions are taken with ''independence, impartiality and in strict compliance with the laws and rights guaranteed by the constitution.''
Gaviria underscored the social and political stature of Fernández as leader of one of the two sides in the talks that began more than three months ago to resolve Venezuela's political crisis.
Chávez commented Thursday, ''At last a prosecutor and a judge issued orders to arrest people who should have been imprisoned a long time ago.''
A day earlier the president had condemned the fact that there are judges in Venezuela ''who sell their rulings for 3,000 to 30,000 dollars.''
''I was informed (of the arrest warrant) at midnight and I told the police to obey the order. And I went to bed with a smile. Later I sent for a papaya tart that my mother made so I could taste it. I don't have a grudge against anyone, I only want justice to be done,'' Chávez said.
According to the political opposition, there is a list of 25 people from among its ranks -- business, union or political leaders -- who the government has marked for arrest. Legislative deputy Luis Velásquez, of the ruling party, said ''justice authorities have been asked to take action against some 100 people considered responsible for the harm caused the country with the coup attempts and illegal labor strikes.''
But Vice-President José Vicente Rangel said that figure ''seems disproportionate.'' He added, however, ''If I were (CTV president) Ortega I'd turn myself into the court, because in Venezuela the right to due process, including the right to appeal, continues to reign.''
CTV secretary-general Manuel Cova announced that Ortega had gone into hiding and that the union federation would bring the case to the International Labour Organization (ILO) as evidence of the violation of labor rights in Venezuela.
Before going underground, Ortega said in radio and television interviews that judge Moreno's arrest orders ''are just the beginning of an escalation organized by the upper government echelons to liquidate the opposition leaders.''
Ortega pointed out that Moreno served last year as defense attorney to Richard Peñalver, a pro-Chávez Caracas city councilor who was among those accused of opening gunfire on an opposition march on Apr 11, killing 18 people.
The incident was part of the social chaos in the days preceding the failed coup that removed Chávez from power for 48 hours.
In issuing the arrest warrants, Moreno referred only to the Prosecutor General's request, which orders Ortega and Fernández to appear in court to hear the charges against them.
The accusations of rebellion and treason reflect the government's stance that the two are involved in supporting the attempted coup of April 2002, and that they continued to seek his ouster, according to Chávez.
The other charges are related to the two men's role in leading the strike that ended Feb 4. The work stoppage practically paralysed Venezuela's all-important oil industry and closed down factories and shops.
''We have not engaged in any actions that are not covered by the constitution,'' said opposition leader Albis Muñoz, vice-president of Fedecámaras.
Rafael Alfonso, a business executive in the food industry and an opposition delegate to the OAS-led talks, commented that Fernández's arrest ''is simply a provocation.''
Criminal lawyer Alberto Arteaga told IPS that ''the arrest orders for Ortega and Fernández are mistaken not only in intent but in form, because the two should only be imprisoned if they are likely to flee, which prior to the arrest warrants was not the case, as day after day they appeared in public and on television.''
Across the board, the opposition considers Fernández's arrest -- so soon after its representatives and government delegates signed a pact against violence and in favour of peace and democratic values -- proof that the Chávez administration lacks the political will to resolve the country's ongoing crisis.
People's Defender Germán Mundaraín, who heads the so-called citizen's branch of the government created by the 1999 constitution, says ''there may have been excesses in apprehending Fernández, but above all else justice must be done. The people demand an end to impunity.''
Venezuelan opposition leader held***The judge who issued the arrest warrant for Fernández, Maikel José Moreno, listed a series of accusations against him, including treason, rebellion and criminal conspiracy. Moreno was only recently appointed a judge, after acting as the defense lawyer for one of the pro-government gunmen involved in the firefight that preceded the April coup.
Arab advisers now are reinforcing a sizable contingent of Cubans in efforts to reorganize Venezuela's security services, assimilate its industries based on totalitarian models and repress a popular opposition movement. "What happens in Venezuela may affect how you fight a war in Iraq," Gen. James Hill of U.S. Southern Command is reported recently to have told his colleague at U.S. Central Command, Gen. Tommy Franks.
"Chavez is planning to coordinate an anti-American strategy with terrorist states," says Venezuela's former ambassador to Libya, Julio Cesar Pineda, who reveals correspondence between the Venezuelan president and Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi about the need to "solidify" ties between liberation movements in the Middle East and Latin America and use oil as an economic weapon.
Exhorting his countrymen to return to their "Arab roots," Chavez has paid state visits to Libya, Iraq and Iran and signed a series of mutual-cooperation treaties with the rogue governments whose operatives now are flooding into Venezuela
Absolutely. The only difference is that the Germans didn't try to resist - the Venezuelans did, and they got no support. And now this.
There are no "conflicts" when you're dictator.
"We've tried flags, we've tried whistles. The world has seen our frustration and nothing has changed," said middle class Luis Alberto, at an opposition rally this week. "The next step is forming self-defense groups and taking up arms."
The mostly poor pro-government "Chavistas," drawn from the country's sprawling urban slums, cheer the president's aggressive rhetoric against the Venezuelan elite and heed his calls to defend his revolution from coup-mongers.
As many Venezuelans arm themselves, there have been worrying outbreaks of violence -- far worse than the street clashes that left seven dead and scores injured since December. In a murky quadruple homicide police are still investigating, a dozen gunmen last week kidnapped, tortured and executed three military dissidents and female protester after a rally.
For analysts watching Venezuela unravel, the question isn't whether Chavez will again strike at his enemies -- but whether he might cross the line looking for revenge.***
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