VENEZUELA: DISSIDENT MILITARY OFFICERS ATTRACT SEVERAL THOUSAND SYMPATHIZERS AS THEY TRY TO MUSTER SUPPORT FOR A POPULAR REVOLT AGAINST PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ

Record ID: 230491

  • Title: VENEZUELA: DISSIDENT MILITARY OFFICERS ATTRACT SEVERAL THOUSAND SYMPATHIZERS AS THEY TRY TO MUSTER SUPPORT FOR A POPULAR REVOLT AGAINST PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ
  • Date: 25th October 2002
  • Summary: (W1) CARACAS, VENEZUELA (OCTOBER 23, 2002) (REUTERS) 1. HAS PLAZA WITH LARGE CROWD; SLV CROWDS WAVING FLAGS (4 SHOTS) 0.24 2. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEMOCRATIC COORDINATION, MARIA YENEZ, SAYING "Because now we are in the streets saying, either resign or call for new elections because we are not going to give you anymore opportunities." 0.39 3. SLV CROWDS WAVING FLAGS 0.44 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEMOCRATIC COORDINATION, LUIS REYES SAYING "We have to administrate our forces because when we decide to call for the indefinite strike, there will be no turning back." 0.57 5. SLV /SCU CROWDS 1.06 6. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FORMER ARMY INSPECTOR, GENERAL HENRY JOSE LUGO PENA SAYING "We are willing to give our lives for liberty. We will not leave here until this de facto government, who has tried to sanction our liberties and our own customs, leaves." 1.20 7. SLV/MV CROWDS CHEERING 1.29 8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VICE PRESIDENT JOSE VICENTE RANGEL SAYING "Those two visions in the country can be perfectly reconciliated and we can find common ground in a round table scenario but what we cannot accept are those people with a coup mentality because that will surely end the rules of the game, it will create a divergence within the opposition and, of course, a reaction from the government. We are not going to allow ourselves to be toppled by those people, if we eliminate the coup factor then a series of problems and contradictions will disappear." 2.00 9. SLV/MV CROWDS IN PLAZA 2.08 10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENT OF WORKERS FEDERATION IN VENEZUELA CARLOS FERNANDEZ SAYING "All of the Venezuelans, every single one without exception, needs to find peace. Venezuela travels on a path towards tranquility, on a path for peace and on a path for understanding." 2.31 11. MV BANNER DEPICTING CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO AND PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ; BANNER SWINGS AROUND TO DEPICT POSTER OF OSAMA BIN LADEN; SLV CROWDS GATHERED IN PLAZA OUTSIDE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE 2.47 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 9th November 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: CARACAS, VENEZUELA
  • Country: Venezuela
  • Reuters ID: LVA6RDUU4QGH2HRL81OYOLS2CZTC
  • Story Text: Dissident Venezuelan military officers attracted
    several thousand sympathizers in Caracas on Wednesday as they
    tried to muster support for a popular revolt against leftist
    President Hugo Chavez, but the armed forces said they firmly
    opposed a rebellion.

    One day after 14 rebel officers appealed for military
    and civilian disobedience against Venezuela's President Hugo,
    the nation's garrisons showed no signs of heeding the call.

    For a second night on Wednesday (October 23, 2002), several
    thousand Chavez foes packed the Caracas' Altamira Square,
    waving flags and honking car horns, in support of the rebel
    officers as they pursued their campaign for popular resistance
    against Chavez.

    But Venezuela's top army commander, moving to dispel fears
    of a fresh rebellion in the world's No. 5 oil exporter, said
    the military remained calm and would respect the constitution.

    "The armed forces in general and the army in particular
    remain firm in their principles," Division Gen. Julio Garcia
    Montoya said in a statement.

    The officers' appeal for a revolt initially stoked fears
    of fresh rebellion after a brief April coup, but the
    government dismissed the protest as the work of frustrated
    coup-plotters with no military authority.

    Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said the officers would
    face charges in military court. More than 300 anti-Chavez
    officers are already under investigation for their alleged
    role in April's coup.

    The rebel officers have accused Chavez, a former paratrooper democratically elected in 1998, of dragging the military into
    politics, dividing Venezuelans with his left-wing policies
    and leading the country toward Cuba-style communism.

    After spending the night camped out in Altamira Plaza, the
    officers on Wednesday insisted they were gathering support and
    said they would only back peaceful means to remove Chavez.

    "We will not leave here until this de facto government,
    who has tried to sanction our liberties and our own customs,
    leaves," Former Army Inspector, General Henry Jose Lugo Pena
    said.

    A festive air hung over the protest camp as supporters
    clamoured for autographs on national flags from the dissidents
    and nearby residents offered accommodation to the officers so
    they could keep up a lengthy protest in the square.

    A handful of officers joined the original dissidents. But
    the country's military establishment and troop barracks
    appeared largely to ignore their rallying cry, which was
    mocked by pro-Chavez politicians. An aide said Chavez was
    working normally at Miraflores presidential palace.

    The government said the dissidents were nearly all the
    same officers who tried to topple Chavez in April's coup.

    Deposed for 48 hours, Chavez was restored by loyal troops but
    not before more than 60 people were killed in street violence.

    Chavez, who promised on his election in 1998 to fight
    poverty and corruption, is locked in a political battle with
    his foes who say his left-leaning interventionist reforms are
    leading the oil-rich country toward economic ruin.

    Opposition leaders, a loose but determined alliance of
    political parties and business and union officials, have
    recently stepped up protests to demand early elections or a
    national referendum. They are collecting more than one million
    signatures required to demand a vote on the president's rule.

    Chavez has refused to step down, urging his foes to wait
    until August 2003, halfway through his mandate, when the
    constitution allows for a referendum.

    The president's foes, apparently fearful over a negative
    international response to the military rebels' statement,
    offered cautious support only if the dissident officers
    shunned a coup and acted within the constitution.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register