Original source URL: http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2016 Venezuela¹s Chávez Slams Israeli Bombing of Lebanon Thursday, Jul 20, 2006 By: Steven Mather - Venezuelanalysis.com Caracas, Venezuela, July 20, 2006‹Shortly before his departure on a seven country international tour, Venezuela¹s President Chavez denounced Israel¹s bombing of Lebanon, discussed south-south cooperation, and emphasized the need for a multi-polar world. He spoke at Maquetía (Caracas) International Airport before boarding a plane to Argentina, which will be only the first stop of his international tour. Foremost on his mind was the current crisis in the Middle East. He criticized Israel¹s actions, the responses of many other nations and the media¹s coverage of the events, ³They are bombing entire cities, it is a true genocide. Where will this madness end? God only knows! It extends from Iraq to Lebanon and Palestine. Let¹s hope it doesn¹t spread further.² ³The most virulent, loud, and high-handed critics of North Korea are the same ones that, in view of Israeli aggression against innocent men, women and children, say nothing.² He also addressed the media¹s use of language in their reporting of Israel¹s attacks on Lebanon and Palestine, singling out CNN for special treatment, CNN doesn¹t ³speak of invasion, they don¹t speak of aggression, they don¹t speak of any of that, [they speak of] the conflict, and the Isreali army against the terrorists.² Chávez has long been a vocal proponent of the sanctity of national sovereignty and a fierce critic of US foreign policy which he brands simply as imperialism. His government has criticized CNN in the past and has created a cable TV channel named Telesur which offers an alternative for Latin American viewers to the ³North American-centric² CNN in Spanish. In a direct swipe at the US, their recent veto of a UN resolution that demanded a halt to Israel¹s offensive in Gaza came into the firing line. From there, he glided smoothly on to the subject of his government¹s campaign to win a seat as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. ³They have stabbed the Middle East peace process in the heart, and we see a security council blocked by the power of the veto, that of the government of the United States especially.² If Venezuela could occupy a seat on the council he said he hoped they would be able to, ³Contribute modestly towards the battle to free the world from the imperialist threat². Unsurprisingly, the US government is strongly opposed to Venezuela¹s campaign for the seat and is campaigning hard for Guatemala to take the one to be vacated by Argentina later this year. Guatemala is seen as a government that will not cause trouble for the US, unlike Venezuela. Chávez praised Russia, though, and he mourned the death of the old Soviet Union. In the view of Chávez it seems Russia should be a regional power in a multi-polar world and he wants Venezuela to develop strong economic ties with her. ³Let¹s see what a great scientific and technological contribution Russia is going to give us with the installation of the munitions factory, the armament factory, because it¹s not only the armament, the product, it is the processes applied to many other fields,² said Chavez. His time in Argentina will be spent at a Mercosur Summit, the first for Venezuela since becoming a full member earlier this month. He reiterated his desire for a more ³social² Mercosur. After Argentina he will head to Belarus, Russia, Qatar, Iran, Vietnam, and Mali. There have been some complaints that he should be staying at home as there are enough problems to solve in Venezuela. A number of residents of Coche, in the south of Caracas, where there have been more than five gangland murders since the weekend, say he should be sorting out the problem of insecurity in their area. Elsewhere on the domestic front Chávez announced that National Assembly Deputy Francisco Ameliach would be managing the upcoming presidential election campaign. Ameliach will leave his post as Deputy during that period. -- -------------------------------------------------------- Escaping the Matrix website http://escapingthematrix.org/ cyberjournal website http://cyberjournal.org subscribe cyberjournal list mailto:•••@••.••• Posting archives http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/ Blogs: cyberjournal forum http://cyberjournal-rkm.blogspot.com/ Achieving real democracy http://harmonization.blogspot.com/ for readers of ETM http://matrixreaders.blogspot.com/ Community Empowerment http://empowermentinitiatives.blogspot.com/ Blogger made easy http://quaylargo.com/help/ezblogger.html
