PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA

Stating that there would be no civil war in Venezuela, its President Hugo Chavez Frias said this afternoon at a Headquarters press conference that what his Government was confronting was a “subversive movement”, which used terrorism to impose its views against the national Constitution. 

President Chavez was currently in New York to hand over the chairmanship of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China to Morocco.  He said that following the coup last April, his Government had resumed “a democratic life and the constitutional path”.

Asked if he would accept the referendum proposed for 2 February, he said that it would be “very nearly impossible” to hold such a referendum so soon.  The “desperate people” in the opposition had tried to go around the country's Constitution, which only provided for the possibility of a mid-term referendum.  Mid-term in his current term would mean mid-August.  Calling for elections right now, he stressed, would be a violation of the Constitution. 

As for the proposal by the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Cesar Gaviria, to hold the referendum between May and June, President Chavez said that he was not aware of such a proposal.  Mr. Gaviria, having been invited to Venezuela by President Chavez, was working under a personal mandate and not one from the OAS.  Former United States President Jimmy Carter had also been invited and he would be meeting with him on Saturday.  In addition, the United Nations had sent a senior official from the United Nations Development Programme.  Mr. Gaviria was acting within an international tripartite commission of good offices solely as a facilitator for the dialogue. 

He was also asked if it would be a good idea for former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez to serve as a mediator from the “Group of Friends”.  He replied that once set up, the Group could benefit the situation in Venezuela.  He did not have any information about Mr. Gonzalez's role.  He had also requested the Secretary-General to appoint a special envoy and a list of candidates was currently being reviewed.

Refuting allegations that he was a dictator, he said that he could provide many examples of how his Government had acted on the basis of democracy and with respect for political and human rights.  Thousands in Venezuela were suffering from “psychotic dissociation”, whereby one thing or person -– in this case him

-- was being blamed for all of the country's ills.

Asked how much oil was coming out of Venezuela every day, he said that it was about 1 million barrels a day -- about 33 per cent, getting close to 40 per cent of its production allowed under OPEC allotments.  That decrease was the result of sabotage by those involved in the subversive movement, who had struck at the very heart of Venezuela.  He noted that they had failed in their “oil coup” just as they had failed in the military coup in April.

Concerning the role of the United States in what was happening today in his country, he believed that the psychological campaign underway in Venezuela

was being planned and financed with the help of individuals in the United States.

On Iraq, he hoped that all differences between it and the international community could be resolved through diplomacy. 

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