MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chavez thanks OAS for not intervening in the RCTV case

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez thanked all Organization of American States, (OAS) country members for not supporting a United States proposal to “intervene” regarding the non license renewal for Radio Caracas Television, one of the country?s main opposition television stations.

"We must recognize and thank all those countries who left the empire alone, by itself, not one, not even Canada, supported the imperialist proposal to intervene in Venezuela" said Chavez on national television. Last June 6 during the OAS assembly in Panama, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice proposed including in the agenda freedom of expression situation in Venezuela because of the RCTV case, which Venezuela rejected point blank as an intervention in the country's internal affairs. Finally Rice's proposal was not included and Chavez celebrated that Washington was once again "defeated" in OAS and in its attempt to coordinate an international condemnation of Venezuela, which did not go further than "a few statements here and there". The decision to discontinue the TCTV license, Venezuela?s longest established television station was condemned by international organizations linked to the press, human rights and by some governments and personalities, while it was supported by overseas groups linked to the Chavez regime. "We're no longer the back yard of Washington", underlined Chavez. OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza said he was willing to lead a mission to Venezuela aimed at addressing the discontinuation of Caracas-based private television channel RCTV, provided that the member countries of the regional bloc requested him to do so. "If the United States made a formal petition, then I would contact Venezuela and the rest of the countries. If they believe I should go, then I will go" Insulza told reporters in a news conference in Uruguay. "I have an obligation to make consultations, which does not diminish the fact that the Secretary-General has a certain degree of freedom to take actions. However, in this case I have to make consultations with the member States," Insulza added. When asked why OAS did not make any formal statement on the RCTV case, Insulza replied: "We should wonder why a number of democratic countries where freedom of expression prevails decided not to take a stance on this issue". "I believe the reason is that they believed this is an administrative measure a member State has taken which does not endanger its democracy". Insulza claimed that, under OAS, certain interventions are allowed "only when there is a serious threat of rupture of democracy." However, in his view democracy in Venezuela is not threatened, he added.