Chavez Seizes Opposition TV Station

[onedomino]

There will be conflict with this guy somewhere down the road. America should do whatever it can to support the opposition in Venezuela.

Venezuela Court Orders TV Seizure
By James Ingham
BBC News, Caracas

Venezuela's top court has allowed the government to take control of private TV transmitters as it prepares to replace commercial with state-run TV.

Radio Caracas Television, a station critical of the government, is being forced to stop broadcasting on its public frequency.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to protest against the decision this weekend.

Government supporters are planning a separate show of strength.

The court's decision will allow the Venezuelan government to demand that RCTV hands over its network of transmission sites the moment it comes off air.

'Path of Dictatorship'

From that moment, midnight on Sunday, Venezuelans will be able to tune into a new state-run channel.

Of course that is what has angered so many thousands of people here.

Protesters say President Hugo Chavez is limiting freedom of expression and taking the country down the path of dictatorship.

Remainder of the article: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6694245.stm

 

[musicman]

The most chilling sentence in the entire piece:

Government supporters are planning a separate show of strength.

Oh, I trust them for that. History is rife with episodes from THAT particular show. God help the people of Venezuela.

 

[onedomino]

Danny Glover's favorite socialist dictator: Chavez is trying to create another Cuba. It will have the same disastrous effects on the people.

Complete article: http://news.originalsignal.com/article/335586/venezuela-tv-station-says-troops-seized-equipment.html

Venezuela TV Station Says Troops Seized Equipment
Sun May 27, 2007 7:39PM EDT
By Brian Ellsworth and Christian Oliver

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan troops have seized an anti-government television channel's broadcast equipment, the station said on Sunday, ahead of a controversial midnight EDT/0400 GMT takeover by President Hugo Chavez that will take the broadcaster off the air.

Chavez sparked international criticism with his decision to not renew RCTV's license and to replace Venezuela's most-watched channel with a state-backed network that will promote the values of his self-styled socialist revolution.

RCTV representatives said troops had taken over relay stations across the country amid a show of military force meant to deter possible violence by opposition demonstrators.

"They have taken over the transmission stations," said Edgardo Mosca, Vice President of Engineering Operations at RCTV.

Since coming to power in 1999, Chavez has taken control of the judiciary, army and crucial oil industry as part of his leftist reform campaign.

But until the closure of RCTV, he had not moved aggressively against Venezuela's media, which his critics called a safeguard against him forging a Cuban-style system in the OPEC nation.