VENEZUELA:Venezuela's replacement of an opposition television station yesterday with a state network promoting President Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution has drawn sharp criticism that the former soldier is attacking democratic freedoms.
The left-wing leader took the RCTV station off the air shortly after midnight on Sunday, silencing a major opponent to reforms that have given him greater control over the judiciary, the military and the oil sector of this Opec nation.
The European Union said it was concerned by the decision to replace Venezuela's most popular television station with a new state-backed public service channel without allowing open competition and a tender process for a new broadcast licence.
"Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are essential elements of democracy," said the EU presidency, currently held by Germany.
The takeover of the channel dramatically boosts the state's presence in Venezuela's media, with the three main broadcast channels either controlled by the government or largely uncritical of its concentration of power.
"We are heading towards . . . the conversion of media into political weapons in the control of the state," Marcelino Bisbal, a journalism professor at Universidad Catolica in Caracas, said in a newspaper interview.
Venezuela's opposition media has been widely accused of violating basic journalistic standards. RCTV and others openly supported a bungled 2002 coup against Mr Chavez, who this year began ruling by decree and forging a one-party state.
In a tearful farewell programme, RCTV staff packed a studio and prayed together.
"Do not lose hope. We will see you soon," RCTV presenter Nelson Bustamante told viewers.
Workers ranging from cameramen to make-up artists have promised to continue showing up at the station as executives discuss plans to broadcast over the internet or via radio.
The new state channel opened its transmission with traditional Venezuelan dance and song, but by early morning was airing an aerobics show featuring tanned and fit Venezuelans doing kickboxing moves to a bouncing electronic beat.
The closure of RCTV was condemned by the US Senate and the European Parliament, but Mr Chavez's supporters justified the move by criticising the journalistic ethics of the channel. RCTV ran films and cartoons when the tide turned in Mr Chavez's favour in the 2002 coup and refused to show huge crowds of the president's supporters rallying against coup leaders.
Pollster Datanalisis found almost 70 per cent of Venezuelans opposed the shut-down, but most cited the loss of their favourite soap operas rather than concerns about limits on freedom of expression.
Among the Chavez supporters swigging beer and dancing in the streets of central Caracas on Sunday, some thought the president should go further and shut down the few remaining opposition networks, such as Globovision. "They all participated in the coup and incited violence," said shopkeeper José Quijada (58), wearing the hallmark red T-shirt of Chavez supporters. - ( Reuters)