Citing harassment, Venezuela's high court suspends most work

CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Eight of the 20 judges on Venezuela's Supreme Court suspended work Tuesday to protest what they called political harassment from the government during the opposition's crippling general strike against President Hugo Chavez.

The eight magistrates plan to work only on urgent cases of national interest, said Magistrate Alberto Martinez. The protest, which would disrupt most court work, came after the pro-Chavez National Assembly fired Franklin Arriechi, the court vice president, saying he wasn't qualified.

High court justices join strike-Pressure mounts on Chavez as Venezuelans line up for services***The justices' action came a week after the Chavez-controlled Congress voted to fire the court's vice president, Franklin Arrieche, saying he was not qualified for the position. Once considered loyal to Chavez, the court ruled against the president in August when it disallowed the prosecution of military officers who briefly overthrew the government last April. The walkout at PDVSA, which supplies about 80 percent of Venezuela's export income and half of government revenues, further disrupted gasoline and natural gas supplies across the country.

On Tuesday, company officials in one of the world's largest oil refineries, on the Caribbean island of Curacao off the coast of Venezuela, announced the plant was halting the processing of heavy crude oil because of the strike. Heavy crude is used for making lubricating oils.

Cesar Gaviria, the secretary-general of the Organization of America States who is brokering negotiations between the government and the opposition, said talks held Tuesday made little progress. According to Gaviria, the government on Monday had agreed to discuss a timetable for presidential elections. "I couldn't say we have advanced much," Gaviria said in a terse statement, adding that the talks would resume this afternoon.

Across this nation of 23 million people, long lines formed at gas stations, banks and grocery stores as many scrambled in the face of real or imagined shortages.***

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