Posted on 07/09/2002 2:47:16 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's opposition said it rejected an invitation by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to arrange a meeting with President Hugo Chavez to discuss the country's political crisis.
Carter suggested having the meeting on Tuesday, the opposition leaders said after a closed-door session early Monday. Carter was meeting again with the opposition late Monday. The agenda wasn't announced.
Carter came to Venezuela at Chavez's request to save government-sponsored reconciliation talks after at least 18 people were killed in a massive opposition march, sparking a brief coup.
The opposition claimed Chavez wasn't sincere about dialogue and quit the talks. Many Venezuelans fear the deadlock and deteriorating economy will produce a social explosion.
Some opposition politicians want the Organization of American States, not the private think tank Carter Center, to intervene. Others said they felt Carter was being used by Chavez to buy time for his leftist government. Still others said they won't meet Chavez unless the government guarantees the safety of marchers who will commemorate the April dead on Thursday.
"We told former President Carter that we will not be part of a circus," said Antonio Ledezma, head of the opposition Brave People's Alliance party.
National Assembly President Willian Lara, a member of Chavez's Fifth Republic Movement party, said Carter asked top lawmakers their views on disputes over the elections commission, the judicial system, a stalled probe into the April violence and economic laws decreed by Chavez.
Julio Borges, a lawmaker with the Justice First party, said he wasn't impressed by a negotiating agenda Carter presented Monday. He declined to elaborate, and it wasn't clear whether Carter or the government drafted the agenda. Carter has declined comment during his visit, which ends Wednesday.
"The agenda shown to us seems to us based more on the government's interests, or how the government can stay in power, than with the problems facing Venezuelan society," Borges said. "Trying to talk about all the country's problems tomorrow would be to talk about nothing."
Venezuela's main opposition parties argue the country is ungovernable under Chavez and want him out of office before his term ends in 2007. They have filed court cases alleging corruption and are organizing a referendum that could shorten his term.
Chavez has resisted the idea of OAS mediation, saying Venezuelans can solve their own problems. After the coup, he removed unpopular ministers from his Cabinet and offered to change laws opposed by the private sector.
The opposition wants Carter to stay in Venezuela to witness Thursday's march, hoping his presence will deter violence.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said security forces will stop marchers blocks away from the palace because the government "suspects there is nothing peaceful about their intentions."
He said the march was organized by the same people the government blames for instigating the April 11 shootings, and he cited threats to assassinate Chavez as another reason to restrict the march.
"We told former President Carter that we will not be part of a circus," said Antonio Ledezma, head of the opposition Brave People's Alliance party.
I love that line! The opposition sure has Yimi pegged as well as Chavez who is using that little %/&$%&@ &*^%!!!
The whole thing would be for show, and Carter has no interest in doing anything but providing cover for the left-wing buddy of his best left-wing buddy, Castro.
Bumps!!
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