Venezuela Supreme Court Orders PDVSA Oil Restart - [Full Text] CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the restart of operations by the state oil firm PDVSA, which have been crippled by a strike to force President Hugo Chavez to resign. The supreme court ordered authorities and individuals to obey government instructions to guarantee operations at the state oil giant, which provides about 50 percent of government revenues in the world's No. 5 oil exporter.
"This resolution is telling these people (the strikers) that they have to obey government orders and resolutions aimed at restarting the oil industry," a court spokesman told Reuters. But it was not immediately clear whether striking oil workers would obey the court. Strike leaders, including dissident PDVSA managers, have said they will stay out until the president resigns. Chavez has refused to step down and has vowed to break the strike. [End]
Venezuela Strikers Defy Court Order, Press Protest *** Opposition leaders announced a big anti-government protest Friday in Caracas, billed as a "mega-march" that would converge on a central square of the capital. An opposition march last Saturday drew well over half a million demonstrators. "The people will stay out in the streets until this dictator leaves once and for all," opposition union boss Carlos Ortega, a sworn political enemy of Chavez, said. Opponents of the populist president accuse him of ruling like a dictator, threatening democratic freedoms and dragging the country toward Cuba-style communism modeled on the rule of his friend and political ally Cuban President Fidel Castro. ***