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U.S., Spain demand Venezuela lift TV station ban
2007-06-01
The United States and Spain on Friday demanded Venezuelan President Hugo reopen an anti-government television station he banned and accused him of repressing free speech. Chavez took opposition TV channel RCTV off the air on Sunday on grounds it backed a 2002 coup against him. It silenced a critic of Chavez's push for nationalizations and his increased control of the military and courts in the OPEC member country. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the move was anti-democratic and isolated Venezuela in a region where most countries were free and democratic. "We called on the Venezuelan government to reverse course and reopen the independent TV station there and cease these attacks on the free press," Rice said at a news conference, after talks with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. Chavez this week widened his opposition media attack to another news channel, Globovision, which he accuses of inciting political violence. The media crackdown has provoked international criticism and street protests in Caracas. Moratinos said Spain and the United States would work together to promote democracy and free speech in Venezuela and Cuba. Moratinos and Rice differed on the correct approach to promoting democracy in Cuba but agreed Chavez should not close television or radio stations that spoke out against him. "We have expressed our wish that Venezuelans regain their access to information, their guarantees to information and expression," Moratinos said.
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