AFP. 12 April 2002. Venezuelan officials charge Chavez ousted in coup. CARACAS -- Venezuela's comptroller general and attorney general Friday charged president Hugo Chavez was pressured out of power in a coup d'etat.
"We are in a situation of a coup d'etat that has taken place in Venezuela. Constitutional order has been interrupted," comptroller Clodosvaldo Russian, still on the job, told reporters at a press conference in his office. Under the country's constitution, if the president resigns he is supposed to be replaced by the vice president or if that is impossible, the speaker of the National Assembly, which has not taken place. Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez said "the president has not resigned, we have not seen any clear evidence of any such resignation, and President Chavez continues to be the president of Venezuela." Rodriguez complained that Chavex was being held incomunicado and that his office has not been permitted to contact Chavez. "This is a situation in which there is a total and absolute violation of the inter-American Human Rights Convention," he said. "If he is being deprived of his personal freedom, what crimes did he commit? Is the resignation a crime... and if he resigned, and that is a crime, why is it that my office is not being permitted to interview him," in violation of his civil rights, the attorney general asked. Chavez "told the military staff he was not resigning, that they could go ahead with their coup and take responsibility for it," said Aristobulo Isturiz, the education minister who was with Chavez at the Miraflores presidential palace until he was taken to Fort Tiuna base, just hours after his government collapsed. "They took him away under arrest," Isturiz said, denying press reports the elected leftist former paratrooper was in hiding and that authorities were searching for him. ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
