Posted on 20-2-2002
Another
Turn Of The Coup
(Photo shows Chavez shaking hands with the president of the
Venezuelan
senate after taking the oath of office)
Preface: Former coup leader-turned-politician Hugo Chavez was
sworn in on
Feb 2 1999 as Venezuela's new president, promising constitutional
reform,
an end to corruption and the redistribution of oil wealth. Almost
seven
years to the day after leading a failed coup that won him instant
fame,
Chavez, 44, raised his hand and immediately broke with the wording
of the
traditional oath of office by calling the constitution "moribund."
"I swear
in front of my people, that over this moribund constitution,
I will push
forward the democratic transformations that are necessary ...,"
he said,
standing before a Congress packed with legislators, supporters,
journalists
and 16 heads of state.
CARACAS, Venezuela 19 Feb 2002: A Venezuelan Navy vice admiral
demanded on
Monday that President Hugo Chavez resign in the latest show
of discontent
among the military top brass with the leftist President's stewardship
of
the South American nation. Vice Adm. Carlos Molina Tamayo, who
serves as
Venezuela's ambassador to Greece, urged his colleagues at a
news conference
in Caracas to add their voices to increasing demands that Chavez
step down.
Molina Tamayo was the highest-ranking officer to demand that
Chavez, a
former army paratrooper, resign. Earlier this month, an air
force colonel
and a National Guard captain also demanded Chavez's resignation.
Their
demands generated spontaneous anti-Chavez protests that drew
thousands to
Caracas' streets and spurred millions of dollars in capital
flight. Wearing
his full colours and reading a prepared statement, Molina Tamayo
accused
Chavez and a National Assembly, Supreme Court, elections board
and finance
ministry dominated by Chavez allies of seeking to impose a totalitarian
regime here. He warned that Chavez's combative style of government,
and his
creation of neighbourhood committees known as "Bolivarian Circles,"
could
provoke unnecessary bloodshed between Chavez defenders and an
increasingly
potent opposition.
The vice admiral - who said he was trained in electronic warfare
in the
United States - accused Chavez of veering Venezuela away from
its
traditional allies, such as Washington, and damaging its interests
by
cozying up to Cuba and other totalitarian regimes. "I publicly
state my
rejection of the conduct of President Chavez and his regime,"
he said. "We
demand a truly democratic system." Molina Tamayo condemned what
he called
"a lack of state of law" in Venezuela; condemned Venezuela's
relations with
"the terrorist Colombian guerrillas;" lambasted what he called
illicit
"enrichment" of top government officials; accused Chavez of
installing "an
extreme leftist" regime; and demanded an end to Venezuelan sales
of oil to
Cuba.
His demands were likely to exacerbate uncertainty about Venezuela's
political stability and its economic prospects. Investors and
citizens sent
hundreds of millions of dollars abroad after the earlier demands
for
Chavez's resignation by Air Force Col. Pedro Soto and National
Guard Capt.
Pedro Flores, who claimed to be speaking for most of Venezuela's
armed
forces.
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