Latest....
Venezuela Protests Go On, Referendum Prospects Fade
By Pascal Fletcher
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Protesters seeking a recall vote against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez barricaded streets in Caracas Monday as international efforts to save the referendum process looked close to collapse.
In an opposition-dominated east Caracas district, masked youths threw stones, bottles and fireworks at National Guard troops who fired tear gas and pellets. Opposition demonstrators blocked a highway and other streets with burning debris.
A long-running campaign by Chavez's foes for a referendum on his rule has turned violent over the last four days. At least two people have been shot dead and dozens injured in violent pro-referendum protests in Caracas and other cities.
Defense Minister Gen. Jorge Garcia said the incidents were isolated and that the armed forces would maintain order.
Opposition leaders accuse the leftist president and pro-government electoral officials of blocking their petition for a vote. They have stepped up protests, threatening renewed political upheaval in the world's No. 5 oil exporter.
"This will go on as long as God wills it. Venezuela is fighting its own war now. We don't want a referendum now, we want (Chavez) to resign," said Juan Carlos Pirela, a protester who confronted troops in Altamira, an opposition stronghold.
The chances of a referendum ever being held suffered another blow Monday when Venezuela's top electoral official quarreled with the Atlanta-based Carter Center over whether that U.S. observer mission was withdrawing from the nation.
National Electoral Council President Francisco Carrasquero announced that a Carter Center observer had told him they were pulling out, because of a dispute among divided electoral officers over how to proceed with the much-delayed referendum process.
Denying this, Carter Center mission leader Jennifer McCoy said: "The mission remains in Venezuela."
Carrasquero insisted: "I'm not lying."
The Organization of American States, which is also observing the referendum process, did not comment. But it has called on the National Electoral Council, where Chavez supporters hold a 3-2 majority, to speed up evaluation of the referendum petition and keep it fair and transparent.
The council was due later Monday to announce a preliminary ruling on the petition.
It was expected to announce further checks on about 1 million pro-referendum signatures, a move that opposition leaders condemn as a tactic to torpedo the poll. Chavez says the vote petition is riddled with forgeries.
The opposition says it handed in 3.4 million pro-referendum signatures in December, well above the 2.4 million required to trigger a vote.
"The electoral council is denying us a peaceful and democratic solution," said Delsa Solorzano of the Democratic Coordinator, an anti-Chavez coalition.
Traffic in Caracas was thrown into chaos Monday by the burning barricades. But outside the trouble spots, the situation was generally calm in much of the capital.
Chavez, elected in 1998 on a promise to fight poverty, has promised to crack down on disturbances and says the United States is backing an attempt by the opposition to topple him.
Sunday, he called President Bush (news - web sites) an "a--hole."
He also threatened to cut off oil supplies to the United States if it tries to invade or blockade Venezuela, which is its fourth-largest oil supplier.
Chavez's comments and the violence helped push oil prices to their highest level since shortly before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (news - web sites) last year. U.S. crude touched $36.45 a barrel.
U.S. officials routinely dismiss his accusations as bluster.
Link
NDD, comments? Is this guy as crazy as he seems?