Posted on 05/24/2002 2:09:05 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of President Hugo Chavez' opponents marched in Caracas on Thursday, calling for the resignation of the left-wing leader and his attorney general whom they accuse of bias in the probe of killings during last month's coup.
With chants of "out, out," and "Hugo, Hugo, time to go," demonstrators snaked through Caracas to the office of Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez, who is investigating the fatal shooting of 17 people during an anti-government rally on April 11 that triggered the coup.
"The criminals are still walking about free," said Mohamad Mechi, whose 18-year-old son Jesus Mohamad Capote was killed when gunmen opened fire on the anti-Chavez protest.
"If we don't get justice, those who killed my son will kill others," he said outside the attorney general's office.
Several dozen more people were killed and hundreds wounded in the days of rioting and looting that followed the April 11 march on Miraflores presidential palace.
In the chaotic hours after the shootings, rebel civilian and military leaders removed Chavez from power. Loyal troops reinstated him two days later.
Chavez opponents claim pro-government gunmen opened fire on their peaceful protest while the president accuses rivals of orchestrating the April 11 rally as part of a wider conspiracy to topple his populist government.
On Thursday protesters handed in more than 3 million signatures demanding the resignation of Rodriguez, who has denied allegations he is too closely linked to Chavez to investigate the deaths.
Opponents claim the government's investigation is biased because it is unwilling to implicate itself should the facts lead in that direction.
POLITICAL MOVES
Six weeks after Chavez survived the brief ouster, the former paratrooper faces increasing political divisions and economic instability in the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.
His political opponents are now weighing political moves to try to remove Chavez from office, including a referendum, new elections or amending the constitution to shorten the president's term in office.
"He's going to go. He has to. Who could stand this pressure every day," said Hildegar Rodriguez, an economist who joined the rally outside the attorney general's office.
But most opposition proposals still involve delays, legal wrangling or must pass through Venezuela's National Assembly, where Chavez's supporters hold a majority.
Only four people so far have been arrested in the investigation into the April 11 shootings.
A small group of Chavez supporters on Thursday gathered near Miraflores to denounce the anti-government protest.
"They want to get rid of Chavez. They're trying everything they can to get him to resign. But he's never going to resign," said Gabriela Pastor, a leader of one of the pro-government Bolivarian Circle social groups.
"Without any doubt," said Tal Cual," it (the government) used part of the money to cover ordinary government expenditures, but a fair amount was used to finance the expenses and trips to Cuba of the Bolivarian Circles," the government's highly criticized militia.***
Venezuelan Coup Leader Escapes***CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - The businessman who become interim president during the short-lived overthrow of Hugo Chavez escaped from house arrest Thursday and took refuge in the Colombian embassy, the foreign ministers of Venezuelan and Colombia said. Pedro Carmona has asked Colombia for political asylum, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Luis Alfonso Davila said. Davila did not say how the Venezuelan government planned to react. In Bogota, Colombia Foreign Minister Guillermo Fernandez said his nation would try to decide on the request quickly.
Carmona's escape came a day after an appeals court ordered him transferred from house arrest to jail. Echeverria said the ruling, which was cannot be appealed, violated Carmona's right to be tried in freedom. Carmona, 60, was being held pending charges of rebellion and conspiracy. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Carmona disappeared Thursday morning after going for a walk outside his home in a western Caracas neighborhood, his lawyer, Juan Martin Echeverria had said earlier. Echeverria had said he did not know where Carmona was. Secret police vehicles had been posted outside the apartment building since the early morning. It was not immediately clear how Carmona eluded the police.***
Encouraging sign!
Good morning, Cincy.
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