New York Times
April 24, 2007
Venezuelans
marched Saturday amid heavy security in the opposition's largest show
of support yet for a television station targeted by President Hugo
Chavez, whom they accuse of suppressing freedom of speech and
democratic rights.
Thousands
of people turned out for the protest against Chavez's decision to
remove Radio Caracas Television, or RCTV, the country's oldest private
TV station, from the airwaves.
Hundreds
of Chavez supporters in red caps and T-shirts mounted a rival gathering
nearby backing the government's decision not to renew the license of
RCTV, which they accuse of backing a 2002 coup that briefly ousted
Chavez.
''Democracy
is being lost in Venezuela,'' said Pablo Mosco, a 72-year-old retiree
from Catia, a vast slum in western Caracas, who opposes the station's
closing.
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Chavez's
opponents charge that the former paratroop commander has decided not to
renew RCTV's broadcast license when it expires May 28 in an attempt to
silence a fierce government critic and also as a warning to other media
outlets.
Chavez's
decision has been criticized by international press freedom groups, the
Catholic Church and others, and RCTV says the government has not
presented a case with sufficient evidence to shut it down. RCTV would
still have the option of continuing as a cable channel, but its top
executive has ruled out that option.
Chavez
and his supporters, however, say the measure is justified. They accuse
RCTV and the country's opposition-aligned private media of supporting
the 2002 coup against Chavez by broadcasting cartoons and movies
instead of street protests that aided his return to power.
Hundreds
of police, including some in riot gear, were deployed across downtown
Caracas to prevent any potential clashes. There were no reports of
violence and the protesters reached their destination without
confrontations.
