Ruling party legislators accuse Venezuelan journalist of treason *** CARACAS, Venezuela - Ruling party lawmakers said Wednesday they will ask prosecutors to formally charge a Venezuelan journalist with treason for releasing a video in which masked men claiming to be military officers criticize President Hugo Chavez. Three members of Chavez's Fifth Republic Movement party on Wednesday accused journalist Patricia Poleo of conspiring to overthrow President Hugo Chavez, who survived a coup attempt last month. "We are going to file a formal accusation against Patricia Poleo for crimes of treason, for rebellion," lawmaker Cilia Flores told reporters. "These conspirators, including Patricia Poleo, among others, are still determined to depose President Chavez."***
Venezuela Asks Ex-President Carter to Aid Talks *** CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela on Thursday asked former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to help soothe lingering political tensions after April's coup against President Hugo Chavez and welcomed international observers to monitor the nation's democratic process. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said he had written to Carter asking him to help foster dialogue in the bitterly divided South American nation. "We're not considering intervention, we're looking for a process to facilitate talks," Rangel said.
Nearly eight weeks after rebel military and civilian leaders briefly toppled Chavez, Venezuela is still mired in political uncertainty and jitters over another possible uprising. Talks aimed at brokering dialogue between Chavez supporters and his critics have descended into political sniping as both sides blame each other for the deaths of civilians shot by gunmen during the April 11-14 ouster.
Carter, working from his nonprofit Carter Center in Atlanta after leaving office in 1981, has established himself as an elder statesman helping to settle conflicts around the world. Last month he became the most senior U.S. statesman to visit Cuba since its 1959 revolution. He met Cuban dissidents in Havana as part of his push for internal reforms in the island's one-party Communist state.
The Carter Center confirmed it had received the request. "We did receive the invitation from the Venezuelan vice president and we are taking it under consideration," a Carter Center spokesman said. ***