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Students protest on removal of anti-Chavez channel

26 January 2010 23:33 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ziya Agazade â€“ APA. Thousands of university students protested anew against President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday, accusing the socialist leader of forcing an opposition-sided TV channel off cable and satellite as a means of silencing his critics, APA reports citing â€œAssociated Pressâ€.

Demonstrators marched from Caracas’ central plaza to the headquarters of the leading government-run television channel where they condemned the removal of Radio Caracas Television Internacional, or RCTV, and accused state media of biased reporting.

Government officials argue that RCTV violated recently approved regulations that
require two dozen local cable and satellite channels to televise mandatory programming, including Chavez’s speeches, whenever the government deems it necessary.

The channel, which has been fiercely critical of Chavez for years, did not transmit the president’s speech to his supporters over the weekend. RCTV was forced to move to cable in 2007 after Chavez refused to renew its license for regular airwaves, accusing the station of plotting against him and supporting a failed 2002 coup.

For years, Chavez has frequently forced television channels to air his marathon speeches. But the rules had applied only to broadcast TV until last month, when the state-run telecommunications agency expanded them to include local pay-TV stations.

The new regulations have been roundly criticized by Chavez opponents, the Roman Catholic Church and media organizations.

Two youths were killed on Monday amid skirmishes involving police, anti-Chavez students and government supporters in the western state of Merida. One of the victims was shot dead while the other was killed by an explosive, according to Merida Gov. Marcos Diaz.

Tuesday’s demonstration in the capital was peaceful. AP journalists estimated the crowd’s size at about 3,000.