VENEZUELA: SECURITY FORCES PREPARE FOR A GENERAL STRIKE BY OPPOSITION GROUPS DEMANDING REFERENDUM ON THE RULE OF PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ
Record ID:
645575
VENEZUELA: SECURITY FORCES PREPARE FOR A GENERAL STRIKE BY OPPOSITION GROUPS DEMANDING REFERENDUM ON THE RULE OF PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ
- Title: VENEZUELA: SECURITY FORCES PREPARE FOR A GENERAL STRIKE BY OPPOSITION GROUPS DEMANDING REFERENDUM ON THE RULE OF PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ
- Date: 2nd December 2002
- Summary: (W8) CARACAS, VENEZUELA (DECEMBER 01, 2002) (REUTERS) SLV MILITARY PERSONNEL ON STREETS; HAS ANTI-CHAVEZ DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED IN PLAZA; SLV STREET SCENES AND BUSINESSES (9 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BUSINESS OWNER YONATAN PEREZ SAYING: "I don't agree with working tomorrow because the situation in Venezuela is very delicate. The President does not keep us in mind, none of the medium ones (businesses), the big ones or the little ones, there is too much of a crisis in this country and a lot of poverty." MV SMALL RESTAURANTS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BUSINESS OWNER JOSE IRIARTE, SAYING "We are going to open because the only thing that is going to make this country advance is working not all of that fighting. People have to work and fight for the country in order to progress because all of this is holding us back." SLV VENDORS ON STREET
- Embargoed: 17th December 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: CARACAS, VENEZUELA
- Country: Venezuela
- Topics: General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA7ZD58CYOW1Q0WNCPTPF47QY6H
- Story Text: Venezuelan security forces have begun preparing for Monday's general strike by opposition groups demanding that President Hugo Chavez hold a referendum on his rule.
Chavez has claimed victory over his opponents on the eve of the strike, saying that "they have been flattened" and urged citizens to ignore the work stoppage.
Venezuelans geared up on Sunday (December 1, 2002) for the general strike called by opponents of embattled President Hugo Chavez, demanding a referendum on the rule of the former paratrooper.
Military personnel were scattered throughout various points of the capital in preparation for Monday's (December 2) general strike while government opposition groups remained in a plaza just outside the presidential palace.
President Chavez urged his country's citizens on Sunday to ignore the strike and said that the strike would achieve nothing.
"That strike is marked by a giant "F" that stands for failure and a giant "D" that stands for defeat and we have (the government and its supporters) a giant "V" for victory,"
Chavez said during his weekly television and radio address "Hello, President".
The left-wing former paratrooper, who is resisting fierce pressure from foes to quit or hold an early referendum on his rule, spent most of a five-hour television broadcast condemning Monday's planned walkout in the world's No 5 oil exporter.
"Tomorrow, we will defeat those who want to stop the country, they will not be able to succeed, they have been flattened."
Opposition leaders, who accuse the president of ruling like a dictator and trying to install Cuba-style communism, say they have solid labour and business support for Monday's stoppage, which is due to start at 6 o'clock in the morning (1000 GMT).
They are keeping a secret how long the strike will last, whether only a few days or longer.
Chavez, an outspoken populist who was elected in 1998 and survived a general strike and a brief military coup in April, said the opposition challenge had "failed before it started".
The strike has raised fears at home and abroad of a possible escalation of violence in Venezuela, which has been rocked by bitter conflict between Chavez and his foes. Strike supporters have also warned the vital oil sector could be hit.
But a confident Chavez said oil exports would be guaranteed. He said security forces would keep the peace and ordered authorities to investigate and prosecute striking businessmen who locked out employees turning up to work.
He said shopping mall owners could be punished if they stopped stores or pharmacies on their premises from opening.
The government and opposition have been struggling to settle their differences in three-week-old peace talks being brokered by Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria. But they have failed to agree on the timing of elections and the negotiations have been dogged by dispute.
The president, who says his opponents must wait until next August before they can hold a binding referendum on his rule, said the strike was part of a continuing campaign by some of his enemies to try to overthrow him.
He ruled out the possibility of another coup, saying the country's armed forces supported his government.
The opposition handed in to electoral authorities last month two million signatures calling for a nonbinding referendum on whether the president should immediately resign.
The National Electoral Council set a referendum date of Feb 2 but the government rejected this decision as unconstitutional and is appealing to the Supreme Court against it.
During his broadcast, Chavez made no mention of a fire in a Caracas nightclub early Sunday which killed 47 people. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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