MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chavez threatens with leaving OAS if Venezuela is condemned

Chavez turns his back to IMF, WB and OAS

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has threatened withdrawal from the Organization of American States, OAS, if Venezuela is condemned over the case of the private television station, Radio Caracas Television, RCTV.

"If OAS after all that happened here in Venezuela goes ahead and condemns Venezuela, well then Venezuela will withdraw from OAS", warned Chavez during the ALBA (Alternative Bolivarian for America) summit held over the weekend in Barquisimeto. The ALBA project was created to counter the US sponsored Free Trade Association of the Americas and so far is made up of Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua. Haiti participated as a special guest in the summit hosted by Venezuela. President Chavez was referring to the possibility that Venezuela could be condemned by the Inter American Human Rights Court, a judiciary organization in the framework of OAS, because of alleged attacks to freedom of expression and freedom of the press involving RCTV. Chavez has announced that there will be no license renewal (May 27) for the oldest private television organization in Venezuela, RCTV, which he accuses of anti government campaign and having supported the coup that ousted him for two days, five years ago. "Such organizations (OAS) have failed to legitimize themselves for not having condemned the April 2002 coup. Administrations like ours have the legitimacy and moral standing to publicly expose such abuses", said Chavez. Chavez has repeatedly described OAS as the "Colonial Office" of the United States. The Inter American Human Rights Committee is currently considering a demand presented by journalists and staff from RCTV claiming they were persecuted, threatened and attacked on April 11, 2002, following the liberation of Chavez who had been jailed by the aborted coup organizers. The Venezuelan president also emphasized in his closing speech that his country "is far better without the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank", and called on the other ALBA associates to become "independent from current international institutions". "We must find a new institutional framework between all of us", he insisted. Chavez called for an end to the "mechanisms of imperialism" for exploiting small countries. "I want to sign the decree freeing us from the IMF and World Bank as soon as possible, because I want them to give us back what they took from us".