RHC Weekend-13/14 April 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit [Here is the delayed RHC weekend report, just received...] Radio Havana Cuba - Weekend News Update - 13/14 April 2002 . *CUBA EXPRESSES CONCERN FOR CHAVEZ; VENEZUELANS TAKE TO THE STREETS *CUBA SAYS US INSTIGATED VENEZUELA COUP, DENOUNCES ILLEGITIMATE JUNTA *VENEZUELAN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT REFUSES TO RESIGN *INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION OF COUP D'ÉTAT IN VENEZUELA *SOUTH AFRICAN OFFICIAL WINDS UP VISIT TO HAVANA *CUBA PARTICIPATES IN CARIBBEAN FORUM IN SANTO DOMINGO *PRESSURE BROUGHT TO BEAR ON ARAFAT IN WAKE OF SUICIDE BOMBING *US PAYS AFRICAN AMERICANS SLAVE REPARATION TAX CREDIT "IN ERROR" . *CUBA EXPRESSES CONCERN FOR CHAVEZ; VENEZUELANS TAKE TO THE STREETS Havana, April 13 (RHC)--The situation in Venezuela remained tense today as the country and the region reeled from the forced removal of President Hugo Chavez, and coup organizers gradually lost control of Caracas, the capital. At the same time, concern increased regarding the fate of imprisoned President Hugo Chavez, whose latest whereabouts was said to be the island of La Orchila, north of Caracas. Starting with a massive media campaign against the government, moving to a so-called general strike and provoking a massive condemnation of deliberately perpetrated violence is a classic coup strategy, say observers. It worked in Chile and it worked this week in Venezuela. The so-called strike, say critics around the world such as the International Action Center, was really an action by the wealthy owners of the factories, aided by the corporate media and a corrupt sector of the trade union movement representing only the most privileged workers in the oil industry. Thousands of Chavez supporters took to the streets Saturday, and managed to get control of Miraflores Palace, the President's residence, from where coup plotter and de facto ruler Pedro Carmona barely managed to escape. Carmona is said to have taken refuge at Fuerte Tiuna. Information from Caracas Saturday evening says the mob of individuals that since Friday had been harassing the Cuban Embassy, destroying embassy cars and threatening to break in, have also fled, as pro-Chavez demonstrations increase. The whereabouts and safety of President Chavez continued Saturday to generate concern. Chavez was moved to the Tiuna Fortress outside Caracas yesterday for fear of demonstrations that are taking place in his favor. However, after crowds gathered in his support outside the military installation, Chavez' daughter reports that her father was seen being loaded into a helicopter that left the base which was later confirmed as the island of La Orchila, raising fears of his assassination. The Italian news agency ANSA is reporting that some sectors of the Venezuelan military - notably the Aragua Paratroop Regiment - do not support the new self-imposed administration headed by corporate businessman, Pedro Carmona and object to his suspension of the 1999 Constitution. Critics say that the intentions of Carmona could not be clearer in his first acts: the suspension of the Constitution - considered to be one of the most progressive in the world, the suspension of 48 laws that increased the State's role in the economy, the dissolution of Congress, the Supreme Court, the offices of the Attorney General and others that could interfere with his agenda. In a statement by General Julio García Montoyo, the Permanent Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Venezuela, he said that the de facto junta was not recognized and demanded the release of Venezuela's constitutional president. He also asked that his country's Constitution be respected so that the Vice-President could take over and elections be held after one month as stipulated by the Constitution, allowing people to decide by referendum if they really want a change of government. The general called on everyone to stay at home to avoid further violence. Eyewitness accounts of the events leading to the forcible removal of President Chavez have revealed that most of the dead in Thursday's demonstration were Chavez supporters fired upon from rooftop positions or by anti-Chavez police within the ranks of the protesters. The 13 deaths were the excuse needed for the coup plotters to put their plan into action. *CUBA SAYS US INSTIGATED VENEZUELA COUP, DENOUNCES ILLEGITIMATE JUNTA Havana, April 13 (RHC)--Cuba reiterated Saturday its denunciation of the situation created in Venezuela with the forced removal from power of President Hugo Chavez. Addressing a mass rally at Guira de Melena, west of Havana, Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations criticized the United States for its complicity with the coup plotters. Bruno Rodríguez described the junta presently in control in Venezuela as selling-out to the United States. He said that Washington had been openly behind the coup against Chavez. The Cuban UN representative also criticized the position of countries of the Rio Group, which while condemning the disruption of constitutional order in Venezuela, failed to demand that that nation's constitutional authorities and president be re-instated. He said those countries that speak of the need to hold new elections in Venezuela forget that legitimate elections were held there not long ago, and that no one should be allowed to annul the results of those elections. Cuban UN Ambassador Bruno Rodríguez also warned about the possibility of President Hugo Chavez being murdered. He said Cuba had had information from reliable sources that indicated that the coup leaders were considering the assassination of Chavez as the only way of consolidating their illegal taking of power. *VENEZUELAN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT REFUSES TO RESIGN Caracas, April 13 (RHC)--The executive vice president of the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez government, will not step down. As executive vice president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, stated Diosdado Cabello, I publicly say that I have not and will not resign from the job to which I was designated. Writing from an undisclosed location, the vice president said that the only government he recognized was that of President Hugo Chavez and that he rejected the coup d'etat mounted against him. On Friday, local television ran images of Cabello's wife and small children being beaten by an anti-Chavez mob. He warned that given his condition as vice president of a highly popular, constitutionally elected president, he would protest to the corresponding international institutions the legitimacy of the de facto government installed in his country. The Venezuelan Vice President discarded claims that the Chavez government had fired on the crowd on Thursday in Caracas which left 15 dead and some 300 wounded, saying, as many others believe, that the incidents were provoked as part of a plan to topple the president. *INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION OF COUP D'ÉTAT IN VENEZUELA Havana, April 13 (RHC)--Latin American and other nations have condemned Friday's coup d'état in Venezuela. The president of Argentina, Eduardo Duhalde, said today that the initial decisions taken by the coup leaders have all the marks of a "typical dictatorship" and he termed the de facto government "illegitimate." In statements made to Argentinean radio from Costa Rica, where 19 regional nations are gathered at a Rio Group meeting, Duhalde lamented that "coup d'états have returned to Latin America overthrowing popularly elected governments." He noted that the intentions of the coup leaders are obviously not democratic. The Argentinean president said that the Organization of American States will take up the topic in a special meeting next week and he urged that the authors of the coup in Venezuela be excluded from the regional organization. The government of Paraguay issued a similar statement. Nicaragua has also condemned the breakdown of the constitutional order with the forced removal of Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez. Nicaraguan Vice President Jose Rizo, also speaking from Costa Rica, said he regretted that the leader had been forced out of office and he reiterated that members of the Rio Group have called for a prompt reestablishment of democracy in Venezuela. Politicians and the press in the Dominican Republic are terming the events in Venezuela a coup d'état. The newspaper Hoy said in an editorial that it should be understood that the arrest of president Hugo Chavez constitutes a civil-military coup d'état. Other journalists maintained that the coup was supported by forces both internally and abroad. In Russia, the newspaper Izvestia, reported that the United States was behind the coup d'état in Venezuela and noted that the majority of Latin American experts that the newspaper consulted, hold the same belief. According to the Russian newspaper, the masterminds behind the military coup are to be found in the United States, and it noted that President Hugo Chavez had antagonized them because he was independent in his relations and outspoken about his opinions about that country. Izvestia says that in his nearly three years in office, the Venezuelan leader never gave in to Washington, made anti-imperialist statements and was an open friend of Cuban president, Fidel Castro. Meanwhile Cuba has refused to recognize the de facto government in Venezuela and has expressed concern for President Chavez's safety. Chavez's Defense Minister, Jose Vicente Rangel stressed that President Chavez did not resign, nor did he ask for asylum in Chile. In a telephone conversation with the Venezuelan daily, El Nacional, Rangel that there had been a military action, which obviously is unconstitutional. *SOUTH AFRICAN OFFICIAL WINDS UP VISIT TO HAVANA Havana, April 13 (RHC)--General Siphiwe Nyanda, head of the South African National Defense Forces, wound up a four-day official visit to Cuba on Friday. Before his departure last night, General Nyanda said that his visit to the island is an expression of South Africa's friendship and solidarity with the Cuban people, its government and its Armed Forces. Cuba is - and will always be - our friend, added Nyanda, who pointed out that the meetings in which he participated during his stay were very productive and described his visit here as a complete success. *CUBA PARTICIPATES IN CARIBBEAN FORUM IN SANTO DOMINGO Havana, April 13 (RHC)--Cuban Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas said on Friday that the objectives of the special meeting of the Caribbean Forum that concluded yesterday were successfully fulfilled. The Cuban official told Prensa Latina news agency that one of the points debated during the encounter was the strengthening of cooperation between member states and with the European Union. Cabrisas also highlighted the position adopted by participants regarding different negotiation processes both with the World Trade Organization and the ones that will be initiated with the ACP Group (Asia, Caribbean, Pacific) in September. The latter will be dealing with the new commercial accords to be signed with the European Union. *PRESSURE BROUGHT TO BEAR ON ARAFAT IN WAKE OF SUICIDE BOMBING Jerusalem, April 13 (RHC)--In a reversal of US pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, US Secretary of State Colin Powell today focused on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the aftermath of another suicide bomber. Powell postponed his scheduled meeting with Arafat until Sunday after a young woman blew herself up killing six people. He also applied pressure on the Palestinian leader to end the cycle of violence. Arafat on Saturday expressed his deep condemnation of terrorism in the wake of the bombing, which was carried out by a 17-year-old Palestinian girl. "We strongly condemn all the attacks which are targeting civilians from both sides and especially the attack that took place against Israeli citizens yesterday in Jerusalem," said a statement issued by the Palestine National Authority. Palestinian officials have been trying to get the US Secretary of State to visit the Jenin refugee camp and other communities, to see for himself the destruction Israeli troops have wrought. It is estimated that over 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since their invasion of Palestinian territory over two weeks ago. Some 28 Israeli soldiers have also died. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has urgently called for an international peacekeeping force to be sent to the Middle East. Saying that the situation is so dangerous and the humanitarian and human rights situation so appalling, sending a force into the region could not be deferred, he told the press in Geneva. *US PAYS AFRICAN AMERICANS SLAVE REPARATION TAX CREDIT "IN ERROR" Washington, April 13 (RHC)--The Washington Post is reporting that the United States Internal Revenue Service has paid out more than $30 million to African American taxpayers in what it termed "an error." Some 77,000 tax returns filed in the 2000 tax year claimed reparations from the US government for the slave trade. Some of the claims were paid out and the treasury Department is now investigating the affair. Some individuals received as much as $80,000 before the IRS realized the payments should not have been made and stopped a further $16 million from being sent out. Most of the payments were for $43,000 which is the current average value of 40 acres of land and a mule paid to freed slaves under an order by a Union general during the Civil War. The IRS said it has every intention of recovering the erroneous payments, threatening taxpayers with a $500 fine if they do not withdraw the slave reparations claims. (c) 2002 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved. ================================================================= 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 ================================================================= rhc-eng-12953 2002-Apr-13 22:09:55