[NYTr] Reconciliatory Chavez Grants Amnesty to Jailed Coupsters, Opponents

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Venezuela Information Office (VIO)
http://www.rethinkvenezuela.com

excerpted from VIO Venezuela Daily News Roundup - Jan 2, 2008

[Yesterday, President Chavez signed a decree granting amnesty to
persons involved in the unsuccessful 2002 coup d'etat against him, as
well as other attempts to assassinate him or overthrow the government.
Live on state television, the Venezuelan president said that this was
an attempt at "turning the page".  The law would effectively codify
civilians right to engage in acts of civil disobedience and would allow
for the immediate release of accused and convicted criminals imprisoned
for civil disturbances so long as they had previously submitted to
authorities, Chavez said.  This reconciliatory move would safeguard
dissent in Venezuela and marks another attempt at reconciliation with
the opposition.  Surprisingly, the story has only been reported on by
the Associated Press and Bloomberg.  -VIO]



Associated Press - Jan 1, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iaZxjPDMi6wSRyvmNFMuiCcsaX-QD8TSMP680


Chavez Pardons Those Accused of Coup

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? President Hugo Chavez granted amnesty Monday
to those accused of involvement in a failed 2002 coup that briefly
drove him from power.

Chavez said he signed an amnesty decree that would also pardon others
accused in suspected attempts to overthrow the government or
assassinate him. It was not immediately clear how many accused
opponents would be affected by the amnesty.

"It's a matter of turning the page," Chavez said in a telephone call to
state television on New Year's Eve. "We would like a country that moves
toward peace."

Chavez read aloud the law, which grants amnesty to those who signed a
decree recognizing the interim government that briefly took power
during the 2002 coup. Chavez was ousted by dissident military officers,
but within two days he was returned to the presidency loyalist generals
amid protests by his supporters in the streets.

Opponents accused of violently taking over the state television channel
would also fall under the amnesty, along with those who sought to
violently sabotage oil tanker ships during an opposition-led strike
that followed the coup.

He reiterated that regardless of the law, no one in Venezuela is jailed
"for his political ideas." 

                               ***


Bloomberg - December 31, 2007
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aQRnOyFvZfrw&refer=latin_america


Venezuelan President Chavez Grants Amnesty to Jailed Opponents

By Steven Bodzin

Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met a
longstanding opposition demand by decreeing amnesty for people
imprisoned for civil disturbances directed against the state during his
regime, including a 2002 coup d'etat.

The law grants immediate freedom to accused and convicted criminals so
long as they have submitted to authorities, Chavez said. Fugitives
aren't included, Chavez added in a call today to state-run Venezolana
de Television.

Chavez has been under pressure to reach out to opponents following the
Dec. 2 defeat of his proposed package of constitutional reforms that
would have increased his power. Following the referendum, some
opposition groups called for the release of what they call political
prisoners as a means of reconciliation.

Chavez questioned that terminology, saying no one in Venezuela was
jailed for their beliefs. Some of those being granted amnesty allegedly
took part in the April 2002 coup that drove him from power for two
days. A group arrested for allegedly planning violence around this
month's election will also be freed, Chavez said.