Thousands march against closure of Venezuela TV station
Thousands of angry protesters rallied Saturday in Caracas in support of Venezuela's largest private television station, set to go off the air after President Hugo Chavez refused to renew its license.
RCTV has the largest audience for Venezuela's prized soap operas, whose stars took a stage outside the studios as a grand attraction for the rally.
"This is Venezuela, not Cuba!" protesters chanted. "We have what it takes to fight!"
To which telenovela star Alfonso Medina warned from the stage: "Violence will get you nowhere!"
"Whether we like him or not, (Chavez) is president of the republic. We will not disrespect all those Venezuelans who voted for him," he said.
The rally outside RCTV studios is reminiscent of protests that led to Chavez's two-day ouster in a 2002 coup, for which Chavez partly blames RCTV.
He has not forgotten RCTV's cheerleading for the two-day coup, and vowed soon after he was re-elected in late 2006 to close it.
He has been tightening his grip on the levers of power in Venezuela, and has ruled by decree since January, enabling him to take action in most areas without legislative backing.
The televison station's license runs out at midnight Sunday, so the station cannot claim to have been surprised, Telecommunications Minister Jesse Chacon said.
"They know that the license has run out and should by now have taken measures," Chacon told foreign journalists.
Chacon may not like their measures, however: employees plan to occupy the studios overnight Sunday, possibly to hinder the station handover to the government on Monday.
"Management has already sent around an email message so that everyone comes to work," he told AFP.
"A lot of us will sleep here in the station," said news director Manuel Gago.
Chavez plans on Monday to relaunch the channel as a public service station, rechristened TVes, with four million dollars of government start-up money.
As of Monday, the government will control two of the four nationwide broadcast channels in Venezuela.
Venezuelan journalists and international human rights advocates criticized the move, as did Peruvian President Alan Garcia. "We respect freedom of expression and of the press in Peru, which we feel are the oxygen of democracy," Garcia said.
A unanimous US Senate resolution expressed "profound concern" over Chavez's decision.
Although Venezuela is a key supplier of US oil, Chavez has had a rocky relationship with US President George W. Bush, whom he claims participated in the 2002 coup and whom he calls the "devil."
On Sunday protesters plan to march on the offices of the National Telecommunications Commission, while Chavez supporters are organizing what they describe as a vast public party, until dawn, celebrating the birth of the new "socialist television" network and the end of RCTV after 53 years on the air.
Late Friday Venezuela's Supreme Court ruled that RCTV must temporarily hand over to the government its equipment and broadcast infrastructure when they go off the air at midnight Sunday.
The justices said that would guarantee that TVes would provide quality service that could reach the whole country. The antennas, broadcast equipment, transmission towers and other infrastructure will continue to be RCTV property, the court said, and ordered the military to temporarily take custody of the equipment and sites.
RCTV officials described the move as "unconstitutional and illegal" in a statement.
AFP
