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Chavez threatens police with tanks

People opposed to Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez demonstrate in Caracas on Saturday, a day after demonstrations in favor of a referendum on recalling Chavez turned deadly, with two people killed and at least 51 injured just outside the summit of the Group of 15 developing nations. PHOTO: AFP

President Hugo Chavez threatened to use tanks against the capital's opposition-controlled police force, which he said did nothing to stop marchers from clashing with the National Guard during a two-day summit of developing nations.

Chavez on Saturday accused his political opponents of "seeking blood" by marching on the summit, where leaders of poorer countries demanded that industrialized nations dismantle protectionist trade barriers.

"If I have to turn tanks on the city police, I will do it," Chavez said as the summit of the Group of 15 concluded on Saturday. "I am not going to allow the police to turn into a subversive force."

One person died and at least 41 were hurt when opposition marchers clashed on Friday with National Guardsmen providing security for the summit. The Caracas police are controlled by Mayor Alfredo Pena, who is sided with the opposition.

After a brief calm, hundreds of government foes returned to the streets late Saturday.

Protesters blocked a central Caracas highway and several main avenues with burning tires and debris to demand a recall referendum on Chavez's rule. Opposition sympathizers waved Venezuelan flags and anti-Chavez banners.

The opposition has collected 3.4 million signatures in a petition to force the referendum on Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 to a six-year term. Chavez claims the opposition used fraud to collect the signatures.

Chavez, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and other leaders issued a summit declaration calling on the US and Europe to drop agricultural subsidies to level the free trade playing field.

The group, which actually includes 19 countries, represents 2.2 billion people in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It called for an international fund similar to the International Monetary Fund that would be devoted exclusively to reducing poverty.

And they demanded foreign debt relief.

"We've paid it twice, and this debt is still there," Chavez said. "The debt will never be paid ... and in Venezuela we've made our debt payments religiously."

He said billions of dollars Latin America spends servicing foreign debt could be better spent assisting the region's millions of poor.

To strengthen the G-15, Vene-zuela, Iran and other energy-producing nations pledged to share technologies and use oil to help fellow states' development.

Venezuela and India agreed to provide US$120 million to launch a Bank of the South, which will help Third World nations finance growth, said Tarek William Saab, who heads Venezuela's congressional foreign affairs committee. India is providing US$100 million, the bulk of the startup aid, the state news agency Venpres said.

Leaders also pledged to create regional universities; share information and Internet technologies; and create alternatives to international news media "that negatively affect developing countries."

Most G-15 leaders didn't attend the two-day summit, and Khatami called on heads of state from all 19 member nations to attend next year's summit in Algeria to fortify the organization.

Formed in 1989, the group includes Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

The group's influence and work have waned in recent years, and a summit was canceled last year because of unrest in Caracas.
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