| The former Ambassador also criticized the process of re-validation of signatures in suspected petition forms to demanded a recall referendum against President Chavez.
Alcalay is a diplomat who made his career serving the two party system that governed Venezuela for forty years, whoose squandering of the country's resources and corruption led Venezuelans to elect President Chavez twice with record percentages of votes. During the brief dictatorship that replaced Chavez following the coup d'etat of April 2002, Alcalay sent a fax to the dictator's appointed Foreign Relations Minister, offering his services to the new regime. Alcalay's criticisms of the Chavez government sharply contrast with his silence on the gross Human Rights violations during the dictatorship of Pedro Carmona. As a result of Alcalay's position, Venezuela failed to make a compelling case at the United Nations in support of its democracy. Andean Parliament vice-president deputy Jhannett Madriz Sotillo said that Alcalay had been cooperating directly and secretly with Venezuela's opposition coalition Coordinadora Democratica. "He used his UN post and his contacts in foreign countries," added Madriz. The Andean Parliament will meet on March 10 in Bogota to discuss the Venezuelan political situation. The head of Venezuela's National Assembly foreign relations commission, Deputy Tarek William Saab, also criticized Alcalay for supporting the Carmona dictatorial regime. According to Saab, the reason Alcalay remained in his post was that the Chavez government "has respected the diplomatic careers of many, such as Toro Hardy [the Ambassador to England], such as [former Ambassador to Italy] Fernando Gerbasi, who are openly with the opposition." Venezuela's recently appointed Foreign Relations Minister, Jesus Perez, characterized Alcalay's speech at the UN criticizing the government of Venezuela as an "usurpation of power". Alcalay spoke at the UN as Venezuela's Ambassador to the UN, but he was named Ambassador to Britain last month. The government claims to have known about Alcalay's collaboration with the opposition for a long time but decided to transfer him to Britain instead of firing him, out of respect for his diplomatic career. |
I wonder why the "dictator" Chavez didn't clean house of all these opposition people. I guess he's just not a very competent dictator. (Actually, some of his supporters are complaining that he hasn't removed them.)
The fact that, from the onset of his term in office, Chavez created an electable National Assembly, which the Carmona coup immediately dissolved and which Chavez reinstated, and the fact that he allowed the Carmona coup staff to go free without any accounting for what they had done, and the fact that he continues to allow opposition members to hold offices in government, should be enough for anyone to recognize that this man is not at all what the opposition and the U.S. try to portray to the world.
People don't really want to think about things, do they? Just wave a flag and shout. And have an enemy. A demon, at that.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
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