Probe of Venezuela Coup Attempt Stalls

by Jose Zambrano

The Attorney-General's Office, aided by the investigative police, has questioned 400 people and visited more than 100 locations to substantiate the 50 open cases. It has issued nine arrest orders for civilians charged with firing weapons on an anti-government march and killing 18 people.

Also under investigation are a dozen military officers -- generals, admirals and colonels -- accused of leading an insurrection against President Hugo Chavez, as is business leader Pedro Carmona, who served as de facto president for 48 hours during the failed coup and is now exiled in neighboring Colombia.

The Venezuelan parliament, meanwhile, questioned 34 people -- 20 from the military and 14 civilians -- allegedly involved in the incidents, for a total of 3,000 questions during 300 hours of hearings. The proceedings were broadcast live by the state-run television channel, and the private news channel Globovisi—n also transmitted a large portion of them.

This cycle of televised hearings, unprecedented in Venezuela, began with the questioning of Carmona on May 2, and concluded May 31 with Chavez in the defendant's seat. The military officers who took the stand caused a sensation by publicly expressing their points of view.

However, the heated political debate has pushed the Truth Commission to second priority. The forum was created, with parliamentary approval, to investigate the deaths that can be attributed to the political events of Apr. 11 and to the massive protests and chaos of Apr. 12-14.

Several human rights groups refuse to take part in the Commission until a law is in place that specifies its power, mandate and resources. Parliament has yet to approve the legislation.

Attorney Lilian Ortega, director of the human rights organization COFAVIC, said "it is disappointing that the country -- 60 days after Apr. 11 -- has not produced even minimal results. This has much to do with the degree of impunity existing in Venezuela."

Carlos Correa, coordinator of another human rights group, Provea, agreed that "there is a great deal of impunity. Incidents occur and no one is punished, there is no justice."

The Attorney-General's Office and the People's Defender "have not acted with sufficient diligence," he added.

Provea and other non-governmental organizations are calling for the resignations of the Attorney-General, People's Defender and Comptroller General (members of the Citizenry Branch, one of the five government powers created by the 1999 Constitution), saying they are not sufficiently credible to carry out the investigations.

Also demanding the resignations of these officials are the opposition parties, trade union leaders, the directors of some media outlets, and even artists and comedians, who presented the Attorney-General's Office with a petition to that effect today.

The families of 14 of the 18 people who were killed on Apr. 11 lamented the politicization of the debate and of the investigation.

They issued a statement, saying "it is important to take on the obligations of an independent investigation that, rather than favoring a political position, benefits the institution of democracy."

The families have demanded that the Attorney-General's Office give them access to the official documents of the cases opened and that they be kept informed of the investigation's results.

Starting last week, the organizers of the Apr. 11 protest march have staged vigils and other events, and are preparing a march for Jun. 15.

Today, hundreds of members of the opposition, wearing at least one black item of clothing to symbolize "active mourning," observed a minute of silence at midday in the middle-class and commercial districts of Caracas that have become identified with their anti-Chavez movement.

Chavez's followers, who blame snipers they say were allied with the coup leaders for most of the deaths occurred on Apr. 11, staged another rally today, with thousands of people marching through the streets of downtown Caracas.

In Valencia, an industrial city 100 km west of the capital, where the regional governor is an outspoken critic of the Chavez government, the "Chavistas" organized a march that ended in violent clashes.

This mutual finger-pointing in a highly-polarized country -- with a virtual vacuum at the political center -- is making the investigation into the April killings an uphill struggle amidst the struggle for power, agree observers.

Rumors of possible military uprisings have reappeared this month in the wake of television broadcasts of statements by supposed military officials whose faces are covered by hoods.

They say they are "ready to go" with their guns and kill "the first and last" of the civilian Chavistas they find in possession of weapons.

Chavez warned on Jun. 9 that he might revoke the broadcast rights of any television channel that disseminates that kind of video or other "terrorist messages or war propaganda." The owners of the media dismissed the president's warning.

The government has asked the U.S.-based Carter Center, led by former president Jimmy Carter, to act as a mediator in conciliation talks, but opposition parties reject the gesture.