Friday, December 29, 2006

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters): Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday the license of opposition television channel RCTV would not be renewed, giving ammunition to critics who say he is muzzling opponents to build a one-party state.

Chavez has had a long-running battle with opposition television channels, RCTV, Venevision and Globovision, which he labels "horsemen of the apocalypse" and "Trojan horses," accusing them of backing a bungled 2002 coup against him.

"This coup-plotting television channel will not be getting its license renewed," the anti-US leader, dressed in his paratrooper officer's fatigues, told soldiers in his Christmas message to the armed forces.

Chavez said the license would expire in March. The channel was not immediately available to comment but under presidential pressure in the past, RCTV has told local media its license does not need renewal until 2019.

Chavez, who has held power in the OPEC heavyweight since 1999, won a landslide reelection earlier this month.

He is now molding the various parties that form his government into a single party, sparking charges that he wants Venezuela to follow the model of his mentor President Fidel Castro in Cuba, where opposition and the press were crushed.

Chavez insists he will always accept opposition parties and will stand down if he loses an election. He says opposition television networks exceeded critical journalism.

Chavez has increasingly extended his control over all state institutions, saying those who did not support him have no place working in the army or the giant oil industry.

With the judiciary and parliament entirely in his power, the openly critical media have been identified by analysts as the prime safeguard against Chavez building a Cuban-style system in Venezuela, a risk often cited by Washington.

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