***** Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 16:31:41 -0600 From: "Alberto M. Giordano" <narconews at hotmail.com> Subject: [narconews] White House Venezuela Error Backfires Mailing-List: list narconews at yahoogroups.com; contact narconews-owner at yahoogroups.com
December 16, 2002 Please Distribute Widely
Dear Colleagues,
Friday's desperate maneuver by U.S. President George W. Bush -- his cynical call for "early elections" in Venezuela, a country that has had six national elections in the past four years -- has backfired after it was revealed as unconstitutional.
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, earlier today, withdrew that demand with some not-too-fancy semantic footwork:
"Early elections, in the sense that of course, there is a referenda (sic) that can be held earlier that is a reflection of the manifestation of the will of the people and this is the process that is anticipated in the Venezuelan constitution," Fleischer told reporters earlier today.
The White House backpedaling comes on the heels of major developments in Venezuela and our América...
- Stores are open for business now even in the wealthy areas of Eastern Caracas, the last bastion of "The Strike that Wasn't"
- 90 percent of all contract employees of the oil industry are back at work, now that the executives who locked them out have been removed.
- This morning's highway "blockades" (meant to distract from the "strike" collapse this morning) were disbanded by 2 p.m. (See our report today for more details):
Read also, in our report today, about the machinations within the Organization of American States, as we name the names of which countries' leaders have lined up with the coup plotters, which have been strongest for democracy, and which have broken from the United States position in recent hours.
Read also from the transcript of White House correspondents grilling Ari Fleischer on his false claims made last Friday regarding the Venezuela Constitution.
Also, WELCOME BACK to Charlie Hardy and his columns on Vheadline (we quote his analysis of the "Grinch-osition" in Venezuela and link to today's column).
These stories and more are now posted at Narco News.
from somewhere in a country called América,
Al Giordano Publisher The Narco News Bulletin http://www.narconews.com/ narconews at hotmail.com
Subscribe for free alerts of new reports:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narconews
Suscríbete gratis para alertas de reportajes nuevos en Español:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narconewsandes *****
***** Delivered-To: orb-furuhashi.1 at osu.edu Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 23:40:25 -0600 From: "Alberto M. Giordano" <narconews at hotmail.com> Mailing-List: list narconews at yahoogroups.com; contact narconews-owner at yahoogroups.com
December 17, 2002 Please Distribute Widely
Dear Colleagues,
A paragraph in Spanish followed by its translation into English...
"RESUELVE: Respaldar plenamente la institucionalidad democrática y constitucional de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, cuyo gobierno preside Hugo Chávez Frías, y rechazar categóricamente cualquier intento de golpe de estado o alteración del orden constitucional venezolano que afecte gravemente el orden democrático."
- la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA)
"RESOLVED: To fully back the democratic and constitutional legitimacy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, whose government is led by Hugo Chávez Frías, and to reject, categorically, any coup attempt or alteration of constitutional order that seriously affects democratic rule."
- the Organization of American States (OAS)
12:21 p.m. ET, December 17, 2002:
One hour and some minutes ago, the Organization of American States (OAS), for the first time in the organization's history, rejected a major United States initiative.
The OAS backed, by a vote of 32-0 -- with two countries not counted -- a resolution to support the continuance of the democratically elected government of Hugo Chávez of Venezuela.
This unprecedented result of a fierce, tense, and extended, debate marks an historic turning point for our América.
The nations of the Western Hemisphere rejected, once and for all, any attempt at coup d'etat, in Venezuela or elsewhere. Washington's spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down was language backing OAS secretary general Cesar Gaviria to "find a way to channel positive energies" in Venezuela.
In a veiled message of "no confidence" for its own secretary general's pro-coup efforts in Caracas over the past 15 days, the Organization of American States equally called upon the Carter Center and the United Nations to promote dialogue in Venezuela, but not to permit any coup attempt nor pretension of interrupting democracy; not even by the OAS's own representative.
We repeat: 32 American nations tonight, after an unprecedented Authentic Debate among the members of the Organization of American states, rejected destabilizing proposals by Washington to impose its policies on another American country: Venezuela.
The foreign ministries of Mexico and Peru -- who had, 48 hours ago, been willing patsies for Washington in this historic debate -- stuck their fingers in the air, and saw which way the wind was blowing. And by voting with the majority they kept the door open for their membership in the New American Union that will gain traction in 2003.
December 16, 2002: The day the empire died.
At press time, we still don't know which States were the two that did not vote, or perhaps were not present, for the resolution supported by 32 of 34 American countries that have just turned América right-side-up again. We'll find out and get back to you on that.
But we can't help but add: The end of imposition has profound consequences for the pro-narco drug policy imposed by Washington on other nations.
Narco News wishes all our readers, correspondents, sources, professors, students, and allies, a New Year that sneaks up on the old one.
Oh my, it already has.
from somewhere in a country called América,
Al Giordano Publisher The Narco News Bulletin http://www.narconews.com/ narconews at hotmail.com
Subscribe for free alerts of new reports:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narconews
Suscríbete gratis para alertas de reportajes nuevos en Español:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narconewsandes *****
Washington may have backed off from the "early election" idea also because oppositions to Chavez are not united and they would be defeated by him in an election:
***** Diciembre 14 de 2002
EL TIEMPO Si no es Hugo Chávez, ¿quién gobernaría a Venezuela?
La lista de posibles sucesores del Presidente, en caso de un llamado a elecciones anticipadas, es larga. Pero, el reto supera a cualquiera de los líderes actuales. Examen al liderazgo patriota.
En la Venezuela de hoy no solo hay 'colas' para hacer retiros bancarios o para tanquear el carro. En este momento hay otra más, en la que se encuentran los aspirantes a ocupar, de ser necesario, la silla del Palacio de Miraflores en la que está sentado el presidente Hugo Chávez.
Por eso, cuando se habla de elecciones en Venezuela surge una larga lista de opositores que tienen en mente llegar al principal puesto del país. Hay 10, 15 o quizá 20 posibles aspirantes que si se lanzaran al ruedo muy probablemente serían vencidos por Chávez, en la eventualidad de un llamado a elecciones, según lo señala la encuesta de Consultores 21.
Hay que advertir que la investigación, aunque divulgada recientemente, fue realizada entre el 12 y el 22 de noviembre, antes de que se iniciara, el 2 de diciembre, el cuarto paro general contra el Gobierno....
ISMAEL ENRIQUE MEDINA Corresponsal de EL TIEMPO Caracas
<http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/inte/latin/2002-12-15/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-229739.html> ***** -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>