[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [SRRTAC-L:7845] Confused re CHAVEZ COMEBACK in Venezuela?
Al Kagan
akagan at uiuc.edu
Mon Apr 15 09:43:04 CDT 2002
>Delivered-To: akagan at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
>Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 00:48:56 -0400
>To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l at ala.org>
>From: Mark Rosenzweig <iskra at earthlink.net>
>Subject: [SRRTAC-L:7845] Confused re CHAVEZ COMEBACK in Venezuela?
>Reply-To: srrtac-l at ala.org
>Sender: owner-srrtac-l at ala.org
>Status:
>
>Front-line librarians, confused by the coup in Venezuela about which
>they may have had many (unanswerable) questions, should consider
>this "alternative" article, not likely to be picked up in a casual
>search of the usual indexes or with your favorite search engines..
>
>Also, check out the appeal from the source "Emporors New Clothes"
>which follows the article. They have a tale to tell and a righteous
>plea for support to make...
>
>Mark R.
>
>>
>>CHAVEZ COMEBACK EXPOSES U.S. GOVERNMENT & MEDIA LIES
>>By D. Baatar, Jared Israel, Nestor Gorojovsky & Nico Varkevisser
>>[Posted 14 April 2002]
>>=======================================
>>
>>To paraphrase an old proverb: "Celebrate in haste; repent at leisure."
>>
>>On September 13th the New York Times rushed to gloat that one more
>>opponent of the US Empire had been crushed.
>>
>>Never you mind that Venezuelan President Hugo Ch·vez had been
>>elected by overwhelming popular vote. (In contrast, might we note,
>>to George Walker Bush.)
>>
>>An editorial in the Times described the Venezuelan military/big
>>business coup d'Ètat as an effort to reassert democracy:
>>
>>"Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be
>>dictator...[because] the military intervened and handed power to a
>>respected business leader." - N Y Times (1)
>>
>>And the Times added:
>>
>>"But democracy has not yet been restored, and won't be until a new
>>president is elected." (1)
>>
>>In the bad old Cold War days, the US Establishment used to attack
>>its opponents for not holding multiparty elections.
>>
>>Well, Venezuela did hold multiparty elections and Ch·vez won by a
>>landslide. But this was not sufficient.
>>
>>In the New World Order, democracy is not defined any longer as
>>holding elections. Democracy is defined as supporting US polices.
>>No matter how many elections Ch·vez won by how many landslides, his
>>resistance to US Diktat made him by definition antidemocratic, that
>>is, "a would-be dictator."
>>
>>Thus when the military took over Venezuela three days ago and
>>installed a pro-Washington big business leader as President, the
>>Times did not describe this military coup d'Ètat as a threat to
>>democracy. Rather, they described it as *ending* a threat to
>>democracy.
>>
>>Similarly, in the past, NY Times editorials have immediately
>>applauded coup d'Ètats in Yugoslavia (overthrowing elected
>>President Slobodan Milosevic) and the Philippines (overthrowing
>>elected President Joseph Estrada).
>>
>>But this time the Times gloated a bit too soon.
>>
>>EVERYBODY IS IN SUCH A HURRY
>>
>>Since the New World Order has re-defined democracy as subservience
>>to US diktat, it is only fair that the democratic content of every
>>event should be given a rating by the US government.
>>
>>Thus it is by no means surprising that the US State Department
>>issued a Press Statement rating the democratic content of the
>>Venezuelan coup d'Ètat.
>>
>>The only problem is, the State Department, like the New York Times,
>>published a bit too soon.
>>
>>Within hours of the coup, a State Department Press Statement
>>declared unqualified support for the coup. This document praised
>>the military, which had just seized power, for acting with
>>"restraint" and blamed Hugo Ch·vez for the coup d'Ètat because
>>under his government:
>>
>>"essential elements of democracy...have been weakened in recent months."
>>- State Dep't Statement (2)
>>
>>To what "essential elements of democracy" might State be referring?
>>They didn't say, but all the newspapers have pointed out that the
>>big dispute in Venezuela has been over the State-owned oil company.
>>
>>Venezuelan President Ch·vez had weakened "essential elements of
>>democracy" by appointing as leaders of the state-owned oil company
>>people that were (horrors!) loyal to his administration rather than
>>to Chevron Oil and, perhaps even worse, by selling oil to Cuba at
>>an affordable price.
>>
>>Ch·vez must not have been aware that that willingness to strangle
>>Cuba is a crucial component of the New World Order's definition of
>>"democracy."
>>
>>The State Department declaration repeated the common media line,
>>without introducing a shred of evidence, that:
>>
>>"Ch·vez supporters, on orders, fired on unarmed, peaceful
>>protestors, resulting in more than 100 wounded or killed." (2)
>>
>>And:
>>
>>"The results of these provocations are: Ch·vez resigned the
>>presidency. Before resigning, he dismissed the Vice President and
>>the Cabinet. A transition civilian government has promised early
>>elections." (2)
>>
>>So let's get this right.
>>
>>First, Ch·vez ordered his supporters to kill a few opponents. This
>>could hardly have been expected to disperse a large demonstration
>>which had been called by leading TV stations and part of the
>>military. But it could certainly have been expected to assist
>>military leaders who were openly looking for - or trying to
>>manufacture - an excuse to stage a coup d'Ètat.
>>
>>Having provided this excuse by murdering said opponents Ch·vez then
>>switched character and acted with remorse by firing himself and
>>everyone else who was (we are told) involved. This Ch·vez is very
>>mercurial, no?
>>
>>We can now state with certainty that a) Ch·vez never resigned; b)
>>he never dismissed his vice president and cabinet. In other words,
>>the State Department, confident that Ch·vez had been silenced for
>>good, was lying.
>>
>>But why?
>>
>>Because they wanted the military takeover to appear as a "Change of
>>Government" (which, by the way is the title of the State Department
>>declaration) rather than what it was: a US instigated military coup
>>d'Ètat.
>>
>>To allow this, it was necessary that before departing the scene
>>Ch·vez should dismiss every single top government official, and
>>then himself.
>>
>>Mind you, it would have been entirely unacceptable for Ch·vez to
>>begin by firing himself. Once he dismissed himself he would no
>>longer have had the authority to dismiss the vice president and all
>>cabinet members. This would have violated prescribed State
>>Department procedures, making it undemocratic.
>>
>>Since we know for sure that the State Department was lying through
>>its teeth when it claimed Ch·vez had resigned and fired everyone,
>>isn't it reasonable to believe they were also lying through their
>>teeth when they claimed he ordered supporters to shoot some
>>opponents?
>>
>>Keep in mind that shooting opponents was an act which (like
>>dismissing his government) could only have helped his opponents by
>>giving them a seeming justification for the coup d'Ètat which had
>>been openly called for by some military officers, appearing on
>>"opposition" TV stations.
>>
>>Even as the Mighty and their Media congratulated themselves on the
>>"democratic" coup and admired this reassertion of their
>>invincibility, another voice was heard.
>>
>>The wretched of this earth, residents of the slums of Caracas,
>>whose suffering is the ugly secret of the glossy US Empire, came in
>>their thousands, in from the countryside, down from the hills
>>around Caracas, and with loyalist soldiers they took Venezuela back
>>from the hands of what the CIA boys like to call "Civil society,"
>>and all we can say is this is how the current worldwide empire of
>>lies will end: by just such actions of the ordinary, wonderful,
>>decent people of this world, God bless them.
>>
>>***
>>
>>EMPEROR'S CLOTHES IS UNDER ATTACK! (See below)
>>
>>********************************
>>FOOTNOTES
>>********************************
>>
>>1) The New York Times April 13, 2002, Saturday, Late Edition -
>>Final Section A; Page 16; Column 1; Editorial Desk "Hugo Ch·vez
>>Departs"
>>
>>2) Press Statement Philip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman Washington,
>>DC April 12, 2002 "Venezuela: Change of Government"
>>http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2002/9316.htm
>>
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>>
>>=======================================
>>EMPEROR'S CLOTHES IS UNDER ATTACK!
>>=======================================
>>We need your help. Emperor's Clothes is under attack for telling the truth.
>>
>>A few days ago our Website hosting service received an email from
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>>
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>>
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>>
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>
>--
--
Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA
tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu
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