Chile TV Joins Media War Against Hugo Chavez

Chilean journalists repeat version given by Pro-US news agencies

No one can deny that throughout its history, the printed press in Chile has been controlled by the right wing oligarchy, and recent events prove that this situation also affects all television stations.

For those not familiar with it, as follows is a brief description of how the Chilean television system is organized at present. A considerable percentage of the population has access to international cable television, but the majority must still choose between “open” TV stations, that in general show programs dubbed in Mexico such as “America’s Next Top Model”, a large variety of oriental martial arts films or reality shows.

The most important are Channel 13 (UCTV) run by the Roman Catholic Church’s university, Channel 9 (Megavision) owned by Ricardo Claro, one of Chile´s wealthiest businessmen, Channel 11 (Chilevision) (also owned by another local tycoon and former presidential candidate Sebastian Piñera. Channel 4 (La Red) is linked to another of the country’s main “economic groups”, (the Matte family) and finally there is Channel 7 (Television Nacional), the state owned channel that in theory should be plural and give the opinion of all sectors of Chilean society left, right and center. It was surprising to see during how similar the coverage given by TVN of the recent release of prisoners made by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was to the other TV stations that clearly have a pro U.S and right wing opinion, and whose main enemy at present is Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela.

On Christmas day 2007, all the before mentioned stations gave extensive coverage of how FARC had failed to deliver Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez to a delegation of Venezuelan government officials, Red Cross volunteers and well known figures such as film director Oliver Stone. The original plan was that FARC would hand over the two women in a jungle area near the border between both countries, but the rebels issued a statement explaining that due to constant patrolling by the Colombian Army, the operation would have to be postponed until a later date. However Chilean news commentators rarely mentioned this statement and gave the “CNN” version: FARC had lied to Hugo Chavez and were never going to release any of the prisoners. On January 10,2008, TVN and all the other TV stations gave very brief coverage when Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez were finally released by FARC. President Hugo Chavez announced at approximately 3 p.m. local time that the two women were ready to board a helicopter that would take them from the border area to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. At the 6 p.m. edition of its daily newscast, La Red gave a brief five minute segment to inform that the “hostages had been rescued” but did not mention how or by whom.

At the 9 p.m. edition of “24 horas”, TVN´s news program, a young reporter named Jose Antonio Neme (probably a relative of Antonio Neme, a well-known journalist at Channel 13 during General Pinochet´s 17 year dictatorship), spent nearly 20 minutes analyzing the situation in Venezuela. With a photo of President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia in the background, Neme hardly mentioned that it was in fact Hugo Chavez that had convinced FARC to release the two women. Neme declared that among the many prisoners held by FARC are some “American diplomats”. There are indeed three U.S citizens that FARC has recognized to be holding as prisoners: Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes. The U.S government has described the three men as “civilian contractors”, but most probably their real occupation is that of “military advisers”, as they were known during the Reagan era.

The three men were in a Colombian Army helicopter that was shot down by FARC rebels in February 2003 as they flew over a jungle area. In an interview given in 2006, one of the leaders of FARC, Raul Reyes, declared that the three Americans “are spies that were trying to find out the locations of our bases, so it is very difficult that they will go free in the near future.”

Megavision has a Colombian news commentator called Libardo Buitrago that is obviously not sympathetic to Chavez or FARC, while at Chilevision (Channel 11), Monica Sanhueza described FARC as “definitely a terrorist organization”. FARC has been battling the Colombian army many years before Monica was even born, so how can she be so “definitely” sure that FARC is a terrorist organization? At Channel 13 (UCTV), the main international news commentator is Constanza Santa Maria, a graduate of Chile´s most right wing and posh university, and has continued voicing this channel’s traditional anti-left wing opinion, identical to that it had in the seventies, when it played a crucial role in destabilizing the government of Salvador Allende. In those days UCTV´s main commentator was a priest called Raul Hasbun, that is now making comments against FARC at “Megavision”. With regards to Constanza, she described how Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez had suffered “terrible hardships and constant torture” during their five years as prisoners of FARC. Maybe Constanza did not see the moment the two women were handed over to the Venezuelan authorities, both were in perfect condition. While a prisoner, Rojas even gave birth to a baby in a FARC base, unlike the many pregnant left wing militants in Argentina, Chile Uruguay and Paraguay, whose babies were snatched from them before being murdered by U.S trained soldiers and thrown into the sea from planes and helicopters. Most of these children were given in adoption to the same people that had murdered their mothers, and until today the relatives are searching for them.

Chavez Achieves Freedom of Two Farc Prisoners

images by Venezuelan TV (www.vtv.gov.ve) See the moment of reunion Venezuelan President wins important media victory At approximately 3 p.m local time of January 10, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela announced that he had spoken by satellite telephone with Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez. Both women had just been freed in good condition in some remote area of the jungle near the border of Colombia and Venezuela by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The rebels handed over the Colombian citizens to a delegation that included Red Cross volunteers, Colombian Senator Piedad Cordova and the Cuban Ambassador to Venezuela. In a spectacular live broadcast the Venezuelan State television network showed as the two former hostages spoke with Chavez. “A thousand thanks for your good work Mr. President, please don’t lower your guard and continue with your efforts to free the other prisoners,” said Consuelo Gonzalez. “I am very grateful for your mediation President Chavez, I am very grateful,” said Clara Rojas in a very emotional conversation. (by www.vtv.gov.ve) Both women were retained nearly six years ago by the rebels in separate incidents as they entered FARC controlled territory without the necessary authorization. Both women are members of political parties that are involved in the official Colombian parliamentary system, as opposed to FARC that has waged a brutal guerrilla war against the Colombian Army for the past 50 years. Also the Venezuelan television network broadcasted as the women entered an M-17 helicopter of the local airforce that had Red Cross markings and began their flight to Maiquetia International airport near Caracas, the capital of that South American nation. In an emotional interview the elderly mother of Clara Rojas stated that “this has been the biggest miracle that God could have given me.” Clara Rojas was retained by the FARC rebels along with Ingrid Betancourt that was then a candidate in the Colombian presidential election. On that occasion Rojas made a heroic gesture, since she decided to accompany her friend Ingrid into captivity, even if the rebels told her she could go free. During her captivity, Rojas had an affair with a FARC rebel, and gave birth toa boy named Emmanuel in a jungle base. Emmanuel was also supposed to be included in this liberation operation, but one month ago the Colombian government announced that Emmanuel was really in a state run orphanage. Recently the mother of Clara Rojas other relatives had DNA tests and it seems very likely that the boy in the orphanage is Emmanuel, but his real identity is yet to be confirmed. This delicate operation carried out by FARC should have occurred on Christmas day of last year but the rebels informed Chavez that it was impossible to deliver the hostages due to the intense activity carried out by helicopters and patrols of the Colombian Army. It is now clear that the Colombian authorities tried to prevent the liberation of the hostages at all costs, as was proven some months ago when two women were arrested. They were members of FARC whose mission was to deliver “proof of life” to Chavez in the form of recent photographs and personal letters. All these were immediately published by the official press and caused the outrage among the relatives of the hostages. Among the many prisoners retained by FARC that include officers and soldiers of the Colombian Army are three American military advisers Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes whose helicopter was shot down by FARC rebels in February 2003 as they flew over a jungle area. In a recent interview, one of the leaders of FARC, Raul Reyes declared that the three Americans “are spies that were trying to find out the locations of our bases, so it is very difficult that they will go free in the near future.” The main conclusion that can be gathered from this happy ending is that the hero is President Hugo Chavez, while the villain of the plot is his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe, that has been described in harsh terms by Chavez as “ a puppet of Bush and U.S imperialism.” Also today Chavez declared that his next goal will be to free Ingrid Betancourt , that has both dual French and Colombian nationalities. In the last months of 2007, President Nicholas Sarkozy of France made a televised appeal to the leader of FARC, Manuel “Sureshot” Marulanda to release Betancourt. After the success obtained by Chavez, maybe to obtain Betancourt´s release Sarkozy will have to accept the repatriation of Ilich Ramirez, a.k.a Carlos, a Venezuelan revolutionary that has been confined at Clairvaux prison in northeast France since 1994.

Relatives of Colombian hostages demand Chavez mediation

Keith Stansell is held prisoner by Farc rebels in Colombia

Female Guerrilla deserts to Army with 4 year old prisoner

On Dec 4, a female member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC to use the Spanish acronym) escaped from a jungle base along with a four year old boy that was in her custody. According to the Colombian Army, Brian Rincon was kidnapped in June of this year from his kindergarten in the city of Cucuta, in the northern province of Santander. The small boy was taken to a jungle base of the FARC´s 10th Front where he was placed under the care of the woman whose name has not been revealed. A few days later FARC contacted Brian's parents and demanded a ransom of 500 million Colombian pesos (approximately US$245,000). However after nearly six months in her care, the woman took pity of Brian and decided to run away from the base and deliver the boy back to his family. Such was the bond created between the former guerilla and the boy that at first Brian refused to go with his real mother and instead demanded to continue with the woman that seems to be in her mid twenties. The woman also informed the Colombian Army that there are more children being held hostage in the jungle on the border with Venezuela.
This event adds further importance to the recent negotiations that have been carried out between the President of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe
and his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, in order to organize an exchange of prisoners between the Colombian government and FARC.
On Nov 30, Uribe angered the relatives of the many hostages held by FARC after refusing to continue negotiating with Chavez. The relatives claim that Chavez was near to convincing the leader of FARC, Manuel Marulanda also known as "Tirofijo" (The Sureshot in Spanish), to release hundreds of Army officers, politicians and civilians imprisoned in the rebel bases. Today the mother of Ingrid Betancourt, a member of the Colombian congress that was captured by FARC five years ago has traveled to Caracas, Venezuela and asked President Chavez to continue negotiating in spite of Uribe´s refusal. Since Betancourt has dual nationality, the president of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, also met recently with Chavez to discuss the progress of the negotiations. Sarkozy recently proposed to Uribe and FARC that a demilitarized zone be created in some part of FARC controlled territory so that the prisoners can be exchanged. Also the U.S government is interested in reaching a solution since among the prisoners held by FARC are three American military advisers. In February 2003, Thomas Howes, Keith Stansell and Mark Gonsalves were piloting a Colombian airplane over FARC territory when the rebels shot it down with a Stinger missile. Since then the three Americans have been imprisoned in an unknown FARC base deep in the Colombian jungle.

Thomas Howes, American military adviser currently prisoner in Colombia
Only a few days ago, the Colombian Army captured some young women as they headed from the jungle towards a city. Inside their belongings the Army soldiers discovered photos of Ingrid Betancourt, the three Americans and many other hostages that may have been taken very recently, as well as letters for their relatives. It seems that FARC tried to keep the promise made to Hugo Chavez that "proof of life" would be delivered before continuing with negotiations. The relatives have also criticized the Army for revealing the content of the mail, among which are a letter from Keith Stansell to his Colombian wife and last will testaments by the other two Americans.
In an interview earlier this year with Clarin , a well known Argentine newspaper, the spokesman of FARC, Raul Reyes explained why Betancourt and the three Americans are kept as prisoners and also what FARC demands from the Colombian government.

Clarin Reporter : Why has it taken so long to free the prisoners, since some have been held for as long as ten years in the jungle?

Raul Reyes : The last time we negotiated with the government, we released 300 Army soldiers and only 14 of our members that were ill were released. Betancourt has not been "held hostage", to us she is a political prisoner because she is part of the system that were are fighting against.

C.R: What about the three Americans that you hold since 2003?
They are north American agents. FARC did not capture them in
Washington, Nueva York, Texas or Boston, but as they spied in Colombian territory .

C.R : The U.S Government says they are civil contractors......

R.R : That's a big lie. They were spying in Colombia, violating our sovereignty and independence. So we will only release them in exchange for our leaders Simon Trinidad and Sonia that are jailed in the United States, as well as the rest of our troops that are prisoners in Colombian jails.

C.R: Chavez offered his territory to do the prisoner swap. Do you accept this?
R.R: Through Clarin, I want to thank President Chavez for this gesture, for his generosity with Colombia and the relatives of the prisoners. However we have decided that this is a problem caused by the internal conflict in Colombia, so the swap must be done in Colombian territory.

C.R: So you refuse to hand over prisoners in Venezuela?

R.R: Yes, what we want is that first a demilitarized zone be created in Colombia before exchanging prisoners. We also want President Chavez to continue contributing in order to reach an agreement with the Government.