While accusing the US of plotting against the Chavez Government and detailing the techniques that were supposedly being used against the absence of results and the abuses of Chávez and his revolution, Minister of Information Izarra was actually lying and being amazingly sleazy by making accusations that not only does he have no proof about, but he admitted that these were only suppositions.
Izarra is quickly becoming the Goebbels of this empty and sorry revolution and his most recent documents and his presentation yesterday simply prove it. There were two cases in which I think Izarra bordered on the unethical, proved he is cynical and showed he lost any scruples he may have had when in April 2002 he resigned from the private TV station he used to work at over “principles’ that he clearly never had. Let’s look at two events that took place at the same press conference in which Izarra accused the US of lying and staring a campaign against the Chavez Governmen, as outlined in yesteardy’s postt:
–Izarra appeared to say that local newspaper El Nacional was receiving funds to publish information against the Chavez Government. Once El Nacional complained about the charges here is what Izarra said:
“I am responsible for what I say. I said that I would not be surprised if in the future we would find this type of behavior. I have never (!) accused El Nacional , it was a conditional statement”
Well, then what is wrong with anyone stating the facts about the poor performance of the Chavez admisnitartion, its autocratic nature and its association with well-known terrorists like Rodrigo Granda? There is no conditional involved here! We could use conditionals about Chavez “strange” relationship with Fidel Castro, but we refuse to go into that!
–Izarra also suggested (conditional again?) that British Journalist Phil Gunson (Miami Herald) was being financed by the US Government, while later admitting eh could not provide any proof. Here is what Gunson had to say about this:
“At the beginning the charges against me by the Minister seemed to me to be so funny and ridiculous, that I did not even think about replying to him”
However, later he realized how serious the charges were that pictures him as someone financed by unknown interests to damage the reputation of the Chávez Government.
Gunson said that the charges are a “low blow” and Izarra’s attitude is “disappointing”. Said Gunson “It is very delicate to damage your professional reputation inventing stories that they know are not true and they are admitting in front of the microphones they can not demonstrate. For a Minister to do this, is not just anything, for me it is clear that it is an attempt at intimidatng me”
Gunson added: “I can accept criticisms, it does not bother me that somebody makes observations about my work. What I find unacceptable is that I am being disqualified as a person. I hope we can overcome this impasse soon. I will not do anything about it, I do not want to escalate the fight. Up to recently I had, despite some reservations, a good personal relationship with the Ministry, It think Minister Izarra has made an effort to maintain fluid relationships with both Venezuelan and foreign reporters”
Finally he said:
“The funniest thing is that they present me as a spokesman or agent of provocation for the Bush Government…I am not, in any form a follower or sympathizer of US foreign policy. I have been very critical of the Bush Government. Bush, the same way I have been critical about the behavior of the Venezuelan private media in the political crisis that this country went through in these three years. Venezuelan reporters know this”…Gunson reminded everyone that he is not American, he is British, a reporter that has been covei9ng Latin American for decades,” in situations that are more difficult than the Venezuelan one, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the “Southern Cone”countries with its darkest dictatorships and variants.. up to now , the behavior of the Government had been adequate”
Up to now…that seems to be a recent litany about the Venezuelan Government, whether talking about Justice, journalists, terrorism, corruption, abuse of power, individual freedom, you name it…
The Devil's Excrement 
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