Posted on 05/29/2007 5:26:22 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher
Venezuela says it will file charges against US cable network CNN for linking President Hugo Chavez to Al Qaeda.
It says it will also sue a Venezuelan TV network for encouraging Mr Chavez's assassination.
The move comes a day after popular Venezuelan TV network RCTV went off the air after the Chavez Government cancelled its broadcast licence.
Information Minister William Lara has presented what he says is CNN footage displaying pictures of Mr Chavez juxtaposed with those of an Al Qaeda leader.
Mr Lara says CNN also aired a story about the Venezuelan protests but used images taken in Mexico of an unrelated story.
"CNN broadcast a lie which linked President Chavez to violence and murder," he said.
Denial
CNN has issued a statement strongly denying being "engaged in a campaign to discredit or attack Venezuela".
The news network has acknowledged a video mix-up and "aired a detailed correction and expressed regret for the involuntary error".
Regarding the Al Qaeda leader, the network says "unrelated news stories can be juxtaposed in a given program segment just as a newspaper page or a news website may have unconnected stories adjacent to each other".
The Venezuelan Government has also filed charges against local network Globovision for what it says was indirectly encouraging Mr Chavez's murder by airing footage of the 1981 assassination attempt on late pope John Paul II.
"In my view, this television network, in this specific part of its programming, committed the offence of incitement to assassination against the Venezuelan head of state," Mr Lara said.
Protests
The charges come amid protests against Mr Chavez's shutdown of RCTV, a privately-owned broadcaster of popular comedy and drama shows that was boldly critical of the Venezuelan President.
After 54 years on the air, RCTV went black at midnight on Sunday after the Government refused to renew its licence.
It was promptly replaced by TVes, a state-backed socialist station that began broadcasting cultural shows.
On Monday, several people were injured as Caracas police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to put down a demonstration against the RCTV shutdown.
Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Hey! If Hugo wants to sue CNN, why didn’t he say so? Where do I send a donation to the cause?
Oh this is difficult. Who to cheer for? May their lawyers take them for all they can.
I love it when the left eats their young.
Socialist lawyers? Two things that are bad enough but rotten together.
Lie with dogs ...
With the emphasis on LIE...
Easy. Just buy some Citgo gas. Hugo will get the money.
From the live phone broadcast on Foxnews this morning, it looks like old Hugo has his hands full of problems...
LOL!
Chavez suing CNN is like the pot suing the kettle for calling it “black”
Germany in the 1920 - ‘30s?
CNN is also the network that setup bureaus in Saddam's Iraq and Castro's Cuba in the agreement that they never criticize the regime. Our 4th estate sucks.
Chavez cannot last much longer IMO....now he is medelling into too many rich lives....may his ashes be spread into the sewers of Cracas.....
Even though it is early in the day, dynachrome fires up the popcorn machine.
Chavez is attempting to make news organizations fearful of reporting anything but positives about him and Venezuela. What better target than CNN? Everyone else will get the message and treat him with kid gloves, if they aren’t already. This will give him a freer hand at crushing any opposition incountry, and allow him to solidify his dictatorship.
Chavez may be a thug and oppressed his own people but he certainly didn’t have ties to Al-Queda, he was a secularist. He is not a threat to America.
Just putting the Saddam spin back to work.
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