Venezuelans march against closure of TV station

Venezuelans march against closure of TV station

Sat May 26, 2007 2:33PM EDT

By Brian Ellsworth

CARACAS (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Venezuelan protesters marched

on Saturday to the Caracas headquarters of an anti-government

television station, which is being forced off the air after President

Hugo Chavez's administration refused to renew its broadcasting

license.

Waving flags with the logo of RCTV, demonstrators packed the streets

of the capital where news anchors and soap opera stars slammed the

imminent closure of the opposition channel.

"What is happening here is simply the silencing of a television

station," shouted soap opera actress Gledys Ibarra.

The government is not renewing RCTV's license after 53 years on the

air because of accusations that the broadcaster participated in a

bungled 2002 coup against Chavez, incited violent demonstrations and

aired immoral programming.

On Friday Venezuela's top court ordered the military to seize control

of some of the TV station's installations and equipment in a show of

force that included mobilization of anti-riot vehicles to prevent

protests from turning violent.

Critics condemned the closure for silencing an influential opposition

voice and called the move evidence that Chavez's self-styled socialist

revolution is concentrating power and muzzling the opposition.

Late on Friday a group of demonstrators shouting pro-Chavez slogans

spray-painted the headquarters of news channel Globovision, the

country's last openly anti-government station, which Chavez has also

threatened to take off the air for its critical coverage.

The closure of RCTV drew heavy international criticism including a

U.S. Senate resolution last week unanimously condemning "transgression

of freedom of thought and expression" in Venezuela.

For years, Venezuela's television stations were virulently anti-Chavez

and openly supported the 2002 putsch that briefly ousted him. But more

recently the media have slowly started falling in line with the

increasingly powerful government.

Chavez's government announced on Saturday it had renewed the broadcast

license of four other television stations, including Venevision, which

the government said committed many of the same crimes that were used

to deny a license to RCTV.

--

There may come a time when the CO2 police will wander the earth telling

the poor and the dispossed how many dung chips they can put on their

cook fires. -- Captain Compassion.

Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not

on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away

with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone

are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices

me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS

Celibacy in healthy human beings is a form of

insanity. -- Captain Compassion

"Civilization is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant.

Joseph R. Darancette

daranc@NOSPAMcharter.net