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Bush Says Goals for Chavez Must Be Democracy and Unity By:
Christopher Marquis
Washington, April 18 - President Bush admonished President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela today to follow through on promises to seek national reconciliation, even as Mr. Chávez's top diplomat sounded a defiant note. A week after Mr. Chávez was briefly ousted, then restored, Mr. Bush said he hoped he had learned his lesson and would unify his country by protecting democratic institutions. "It is very important for President Chávez to do what he said he was going to do, to address the reasons why there was so much turmoil on the streets," Mr. Bush said, in remarks to the media after meeting with Colombia's president, Andrés Pastrana. "And it's very important for him to embrace those institutions that are fundamental to democracy, including freedom of press," Mr. Bush said, and "the ability for the opposition to speak out." Mr. Bush's comments were his most extensive yet on the recent turmoil in Venezuela. Responding to bloody clashes between crowds of Mr. Chávez's supporters and foes, military leaders last week removed Mr. Chávez from office, declared that he had resigned and sought to install a businessman as president. Additional protests and internal struggles were the undoing of the takeover, and Mr. Chávez returned to office on Sunday. Diplomats from around the hemisphere met here tonight to consider what action should be taken by the Organization of American States. The 34-nation forum last week had condemned the ouster of Mr. Chávez and the "deplorable acts of violence" that took place. César Gaviria, the O.A.S. secretary general, who had just returned from a fact-finding trip to Venezuela, said he saw "excessive polarization" throughout society and a "dangerous" propensity to involve the armed forces in political affairs. Mr. Gaviria also criticized acts of intimidation by Bolivarian circles, grass-roots groups loyal to Mr. Chávez, and threats to press freedom. Mr. Gaviria said a national dialogue is needed to avert further unrest. "There seems to be a widespread conviction that renewed confrontation between friends and opponents of the government is inevitable and could lead to increased social protest," Mr. Gaviria said. Venezuela's foreign minister, Luis Alfonso Davila, defended the Chávez government, which has tried, he said, to give voice to the poorer sectors that have been locked out of the political process. Mr. Davila denied that Mr. Chávez had trampled the rights of his critics, and asserted that "the true polarization" in his country was caused by poverty and not by Mr. Chávez's leftist policies. "Over three years, this government might have made some mistakes," he said. "But never can it be said that the Venezuelan government violated human rights. There is nobody who is persecuted or detained." The foreign minister offered thanks to several O.A.S. members for supporting Venezuelan democracy during the takeover. He pointedly did not mention the United States, which had blamed Mr. Chávez for his own undoing and established contact with his would-be successor. At the meeting, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell pressed the Venezuelan government to protect the rights of all citizens, but directed most of his criticism toward those who sought to oust Mr. Chávez. "Coups are a thing of the past, not a pathway to the future," he said. "Defending democracy by undemocratic means destroys democracy." Secretary Powell urged the O.A.S. to help broker a national dialogue in Venezuela, which officials said might be conducted with the involvement of the Episcopal Conference of the Catholic Church. FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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