Posted on 05/31/2007 11:57:40 AM PDT by 3AngelaD
CARACAS, Venezuela- The Carter Center called for dialogue Thursday between President Hugo Chavez and opponents protesting his decision to force an opposition TV channel off the air, while calm returned to the streets after three days of demonstrations. The Atlanta-based organization founded by former President Jimmy Carter expressed concern about the potential for escalating violence after the government halted broadcasts by Radio Caracas Television on Sunday. Police have repeatedly clashed with angry crowds hurling rocks and bottles since Chavez refused to renew the station's broadcast license.
"Healthy democracies require spaces for political dialogue and debate to allow divisions about the future direction of the country to be addressed in peaceful ways," the Carter Center said.
Opposition leader Manuel Rosales on Wednesday demanded the release of dozens of students jailed during clashes between protesters and police. Rosales — the governor of western Zulia state who was defeated by Chavez in December elections — said protesters are demanding not only free speech but also the right to protest "peacefully and democratically."
He noted that a home video broadcast on the Globovision network showed unidentified men in the doorway of a government office, apparently Chavez allies, firing guns at unseen targets. "For that there is no justice?" he asked.
As he spoke, about 8,000 student protesters chanting "freedom!" marched through Caracas...
The Carter Center, which has observed past elections here, said it is concerned that "non-renewal of broadcast concessions for political reasons will have a chilling effect on free speech."
"A plurality of opinions should be protected," it said. "The right of dissent must be fiercely defended by every democratic government."
Chavez ... said his decision to replace it with a new state-funded public channel, TVES, was a step toward "democratizing" the airwaves.
(Excerpt) Read more at montereyherald.com ...
Hey Carter Center, If you certified it, you own it!
It's not a democracy, pinhead. It's now a benevolent dictatorship. And dictatorships have one way dialogues.
You have a much lower "benevolence" threshold than I do.
I believe the only way that “Jimma” can get an accurate respresentation of what is going on over there is for him to personally move there. Oops, I mean “permanently”.
Didn’t Carter Himself certify Chavez’s last election, and insist that the process was absolutely fair?
liberals mugged by reality once again.
Apparently the Carter Center still considers the country a healthy democracy...
I guess no one at the Carter Center was willing to give their name for attribution. “It” speaks for itself.
This requires Jimmahs IMMEDIATE presence in Venezeula,and he shouls stay for YEARS!!!!
If Chavez is running a democratic government...I'm a mutant lesbian amazon monkey.
Does this mean Harry Belafonte and Cindy Sheehan were WRONG about Chavez?????????????????????
Snort!
“The Carter Center called for dialogue Thursday between President Hugo Chavez and opponents...”
Sounds like Carter is afraid that the Hugo Chavez regime is on the brink of collapse, and is therefore offering his services to shore up the regime and pacify Chavez’s opponents.
Or anyone else on the left. Jimmy Carter makes abiding by FR's "no profanity" rule very, very difficult.
Breaking News!!!
Chavez just sent Jimmy a check and a note telling him to keep his trap shut.
"Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you happy to see me? "
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