Venezuela: Oil Opponents Surfacing Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit [The Perpetual Coup licks its wounds, regroups, and vows to do things smarter next time... Globovision "apologizes" for censorship.] source - JosePertierra@aol.com The Associated Press - 04/16/02 21:18 EDT Opponents Resurfacing in Venezuela by Ian James CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - As signs of opposition to President Hugo Chavez resurfaced Tuesday, the chief of the Western Hemisphere's top diplomatic body urged Venezuelans to express dissent lawfully - not through coups such as the botched one last weekend. Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, met with Chavez and opposition figures two days after the elected president returned to power following a week of deadly tumult and a 48-hour ouster. Gaviria later called for reconciliation between the fiery leader's supporters and his foes. ``Polarization has to give way to reconciliation and understanding.'' Some Chavez critics rushed to cooperate. Caracas Archbishop Cardinal Ignacio Velasco said the president ``promised me he would correct many things,'' and Globovision television apologized for not televising footage of protests Saturday demanding Chavez's reinstatement. But the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers - which led a nationwide strike last week that gave momentum to the upheaval - called for a referendum on whether Chavez's government should stay, and the opposition Democratic Action party said it did not recognize the government. Hundreds of Chavez foes held a memorial service for those who died in a protest last year, shouting, ``Not one step back! Out!'' The criticism came after a brief period of chastened silence from Chavez' opponents and served as a reminder of the rifts that led to the unrest, which left dozens of demonstrators dead. On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch demanded Venezuela investigate the killings. The OAS plans a General Assembly session Thursday on Venezuela's crisis. Friday's coup - reversed when Chavez, the elected president, was reinstated by loyalist military officers Sunday - was condemned by many Latin American leaders, and the United States joined an OAS declaration authorizing Gaviria's mission. Washington on Monday welcomed Chavez's apparent call for reconciliation, though it had also warned him his government he had been given a rare second chance for ``correcting its course and governing in a fully democratic manner.'' The Bush administration expressed no regret last week when the Venezuelan military ousted Chavez, who angered Washington by befriending Cuba, Iraq and Libya and opposing the war in Afghanistan. When Chavez was removed, the White House said he himself was to blame because of his attempts to violently put down a demonstration on Thursday. On Tuesday, the U.S. government denied a report that U.S. officials had given coup plotters a go-ahead wink. ``We explicitly told opposition leaders the United States would not support a coup,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. Chavez has said the plot originated in Venezuela. Also Tuesday, the State Department authorized the voluntary departure from Venezuela of all embassy personnel in non-emergency positions and family members of U.S. government personnel. It also reiterated a warning to Americans against travel to Venezuela, citing the deterioration and continuing volatility of Venezuela's political and security situation. Venezuela's largest business and labor groups called a general strike last week to support an oil workers' protest against bosses appointed by Chavez. Dissident oil executives virtually choked production. On Thursday, hundreds of thousands marched on the presidential palace to denounce Chavez. Gunfire and rioting erupted, and at least 65 people were killed in subsequent violence. Officers rebelled, arrested Chavez, and installed an interim president until another popular uprising - this time by Chavez supporters - induced the military to replace him. Pedro Carmona, the interim president, is under house arrest and faces possible charges of rebellion and usurping authority. Vice President Diosdado Cabello said 80 soldiers were in custody, though Chavez blamed the coup's planning on a group of ``oligarchs'' he has not named. Ten Venezuelans were inside the Bolivian Embassy in Caracas, seeking asylum. They included former Air Force Col. Pedro Soto, who was expelled from the armed forces earlier this year after calling for Chavez's resignation, said Ambassador Ricardo Guillermo Telchi Orellana. Chavez slso met Tuesday with Ali Rodriguez, OPEC secretary general and a former Venezuelan oil minister. Oil prices rose after Chavez's reinstatement. Venezuela's state oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. said Tuesday that crude oil and natural gas production had reached full capacity. Venezuela is the world's fourth-largest oil producer. Cuba issued the loudest condemnation of the coup against Chavez, Fidel Castro's friend and ally, and thousands of Cubans celebrated his return to power at a rally Tuesday on the eve of the 41st anniversary of the U.S.-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs. Participants drew parallels between the unsuccessful Venezuelan coup and the disastrous effort to oust Castro in 1961. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcari-04.17.02-06:15:17-7424