Posted on 12/06/2002 4:35:23 PM PST by Shermy
CARACAS, Venezuela - Shots were fired at an opposition rally in a Caracas square Friday, killing two people and wounding 12, an official said. The violence erupted moments after opposition leaders announced they would extend and expand a walkout aimed at unseating President Hugo Chavez.
The shootings at Plaza Francia in eastern Caracas came as diplomats worked to restart negotiations to end the strike, which has paralyzed Venezuela's oil industry and brought political tensions to a boil.
At least two people were killed and 12 people were wounded, said firefighter Jose Bermudez. Tearful citizens draped the body of one victim in a red, yellow and blue Venezuelan flag.
Occasional bursts of gunfire spread panic in the plaza, filled with hundreds of citizens. Several bloodied people were hustled into ambulances.
The plaza is the main rallying point for more than 100 military officers who declared themselves in rebellion on Oct. 22, demanding that Chavez resign.
"Assassins! Assassins!" general strike leaders yelled when they learned of the shootings during a news conference. Spontaneously, thousands of Caracas residents banged pots and pans in protest.
Hundreds of people listening to a speech fell to the ground to protect themselves.
Many had feared the outbreak of political violence as the strike extended into Venezuela's crucial oil sector and street rallies intensified. An attack on a central Venezuela newspaper early Friday by Chavez supporters increased those fears.
A shutdown of the oil industry raised the stakes in the strike, aimed at forcing a referendum on Chavez's presidency. Many Venezuelans accuse the populist Chavez of ruining the economy, courting communism and stirring class warfare in this deeply polarized South American nation.
The oil crisis forced the government to agree to restart talks — something it had said it wouldn't do until the opposition called off the strike.
Government delegate Jorge Valero said negotiators were meeting informally with mediator Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, to discuss how to restart more formal talks as soon as possible.
Opposition leader Manuel Cova called the government's return a sign of desperation. "The government is returning to the table because it has no other solution," he said.
Shipping agents said oil exports had stopped from Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil producer and a top supplier to the United States. Captains anchored tankers offshore, tugs stopped guiding ships through Venezuela's oil-rich Lake Maracaibo and dock crews stopped loading oil and natural gas.
Several refineries were shutting down in a process that takes several days. Since it no longer could fill orders, Venezuela's state oil monopoly freed buyers and sellers from fulfilling their contracts.
The government insisted that exports were only being delayed. Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said ships in port have a five-day "window" to depart with their loads.
"The fact that none set out yesterday doesn't mean we're not within the window," Ramirez told The Associated Press Friday.
The export shutdown meant workers were unable to pump as many as 500,000 barrels of crude from oil fields as scheduled, Ramirez said.
"We cannot permit the paralyzation of the company," oil company president Ali Rodriguez said.
Venezuela's opposition wants Chavez to call a Feb. 2 nonbinding referendum on his presidency, hoping a poor showing will increase pressure on him to resign. Chavez says the constitution allows only a binding vote in August.
Hundreds of Chavez supporters attacked a newspaper in the central city of Maracay Friday, and two employees were hospitalized with gunshot wounds, said the vice president of El Siglo newspaper, Tulio Capriles.
The U.S. Embassy denounced the "criminal aggression" and Gaviria called it "an assault on freedom of expression."
"We are scared. The news media and journalists have become a target in an undeclared war," said Evert Garcia, director of the Maracay newspaper El Aragueno. Garcia said Chavez supporters painted graffiti and shouted at employees at his newspaper early Friday.
Venezuela's news media have become a major player in the conflict, with Chavez supporters complaining that most newspapers and television stations are mouthpieces for the opposition.
Before Friday's incidents, 12 journalists had been injured covering demonstrations this week in Venezuela, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said.
An oil industry shutdown and a general strike preceded an opposition march in which 19 people were killed on April 11. Dissident officers ousted Chavez April 12. An interim government abolished the constitution, triggering a popular rebellion. Loyalist troops restored Chavez on April 14.
But things are slipping away here. I'm proud of them for standing up against this tyrant who is taking away their democracy, but I'm fearful that a proud nation is going to rip itself apart in a civil war.
And will end up as he did.
CNN reported this the same way -- "shots were fired". The passive voice seems a little strange. Was it the Venezuelan government firing on the crowd?
If it's passive voice, the leftists did the shooting.
If it's active voice, someone on the right is accused of doing the shooting.
Bush should invade Iraq and Venezuela. In two weeks we will control 1/2 of the world's oil reserves.
They don't even want to acknowledge it.
Oh, but the Pro-Chavez threads run on for hundreds of enthusiastic replies when they come up.
Sick. Sick. Sick.
Committing suicide with a sub machine gun? In a particularly ironic twist the gun in question was a gift from Fidel to his good friend Allende.
a.cricket
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