Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Danny Glover: Latin station won't demonize U.S.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- American actor Danny Glover on Tuesday defended a new TV station financed by Venezuela's government as a way to bring Latin America together, denying claims by critics that it will be used to demonize the United States.

The channel Telesur, which Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has promoted as an alternative to foreign media giants, began regular broadcasts Sunday and is transmitting news, documentaries and other programs to various Latin countries.

"Certainly the television station itself is not a tool that would be used to demonize the north," said Glover, a member of the station's advisory board. "It is a tool to be used to celebrate the extraordinary diversity of this hemisphere."

Glover's comments came as U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield denied suggestions the United States could try to interfere in Telesur's signal.

The station has drawn concern in the U.S. Congress, where House members last week approved a measure to transmit radio and television broadcasts to Venezuela to ensure citizens receive "accurate news."

Brownfield told the Venezuelan broadcaster Union Radio that the U.S. congressional measure is aimed at responding "only if the messages of Telesur are anti-American" -- and without "violating" Venezuelan airwaves.

The measure -- which still must be approved by the Senate -- wouldn't mean "using the same methodology that exists with other countries like Cuba," he said, referring to Radio Marti, the Miami-based radio station that transmits broadcasts critical of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

"The truth is that, here in Venezuela, messages can be transmitted in a more open way," in contrast to Cuba, Brownfield said. He said it could be simpler for the U.S. government to carry whatever message it may have in the future through existing media in Venezuela.

Chavez, an outspoken critic of the U.S. government and a close friend of Castro, regularly criticizes U.S. "imperialism" in places from Haiti to Iraq.

But organizers of Telesur deny the channel will be a mouthpiece for Chavez and say it will support critical, independent journalism. The station, headquartered in Caracas, is also receiving backing from Argentina, Uruguay and Cuba.

Among programs Tuesday the station carried news of a recent Andean summit, a demonstration by Argentine youths, and footage of Argentine President Nestor Kirchner greeting supporters.

The Guardian newspaper of Britain reported that in one recent broadcast a swastika painted on a U.S. flag flashed across the screen.

But on Tuesday it didn't appear during hours of programming, which featured a historical interview with Castro, a documentary on Palestinians, and segments on sports, festivals and music.

Speaking during a visit to Caracas, Glover said Telesur "came out of an extreme passion, a necessity to discover or to elevate one's own voice."

"This battle of ideas is one that is taking place in every corner of the world," he said.

Glover said the "control of ideas by the established media" in the United States also has created "a large degree of insecurity and fear."

The actor, a supporter of Chavez, praised Venezuela's elections in recent years as examples of democracy and said, "I've been encouraged by what I see here."

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Venezuela-led TV Channel Angers US


“The United States has threatened us with broadcasts to neutralize Telesur. We have scored the first goal,” said Chavez.

CARACAS, July 26, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has launched a new Latin American television channel to fight “cultural imperialism” from US and European media.

Telesur, a Spanish-language station formed by the governments of Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay, began transmissions with round-table commentary from the station's officials and an advisory board of international left-wing intellectuals and celebrities, Reuters reported Monday, July 25.

Chavez, an outspoken left-wing nationalist who often accuses US President George W. Bush of plotting to topple him, said the channel was drawing viewers from around the region and that even Bush was “glued to the television watching Telesur.”

“Telesur depends on no government, no line, it is free to pave the way toward integration,” said Chavez, who sees the network as a means to foster regional unity in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Based in Caracas with 160 employees, Telesur - Television of the South - will have correspondents in nine countries: Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico and the United States.

The company is capitalized with $10 million, and is 51 percent controlled by Venezuela, 20 percent Argentina, 19 percent Cuba and 10 percent Uruguay.

Its advisory board includes American actor Danny Glover, Le Monde diplomatic editor Ignacio Ramonet and Argentine filmmaker Fernando Pino Solanas.

Telesur, which made its first test broadcast in May, will initially offer limited programming for four hours a day but plans to move to a 24-hour format later this year, showing news, documentaries, films and cultural events.

“Al-Jazeera Model”

But just days ahead of the launch, a member of the US House of Representatives accused Chavez of launching “his own television network patterned after Al-Jazeera to spread his anti-American, anti-freedom rhetoric.”

Connie Mack, a Republican representative from Florida, authored a bill adopted by the House of Representatives last week, authorizing the US to broadcast radio and television programs at Venezuela which would counter Telesur's alleged anti-Americanism.

Nicknamed the CNN of the Arab world, the Doha-based Al-Jazeera could be the most-watched channel in the Arab world. Launched in 1996, Al-Jazeera ranked the fifth most influential global brand in an annual survey by brandchannel.com.

“Hugo Chavez is an enemy of freedom and of those who support and promote it,” Mack said when the bill was passed.

Chavez reacted sharply, saying he was ready to enter an “electronic war” and jam the transmissions from the US in the same way Cuban President Fidel Castro did when the US set up Cuba-directed Radio Marti in 1985.

“The United States has threatened us with broadcasts to neutralize Telesur. We have scored the first goal,” Chavez said in a telephone call to the channel during the launch.

Relations with the United States, the top buyer of Venezuela's oil, have deteriorated since Chavez first won office in 1998 and strengthened relations with Communist Cuba.

The United States gets around 15 percent of its oil imports from Venezuela, the world's No. 5 crude exporter.


http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2005-07/26/article01.shtml