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Diplomatic spat: King Juan Carlos and
President Hugo Chavez at the summit |
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela received an
angry rebuke from the King of Spain when the
monarch pointedly told him to "shut up" at a
summit of leaders from Latin America, Spain and
Portugal.
Mr
Chavez, the outspoken Left-wing leader who
called President George W. Bush the "devil" on
the floor of the United Nations last year,
triggered the exchange by lashing out at the
former Spanish prime minister José Maria Aznar."
Mr
Aznar, a conservative who backed the US-led war
in Iraq, "is a fascist", Mr Chavez said in a
speech to leaders at the Ibero-American summit
in Santiago, Chile. The Venezuelan leader added:
"Fascists are not human. A snake is more human."
Spain's current Socialist prime minister, José
Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, responded during his
own allotted time by urging Mr Chavez to be more
diplomatic in his words and to respect other
leaders despite political differences.
"Former prime minister Aznar was democratically
elected by the Spanish people and was a
legitimate representative of the Spanish
people," said Mr Zapatero, eliciting applause
from the gathered heads of state.
Mr
Chavez repeatedly tried to interrupt, but his
microphone was off. King Juan Carlos, seated
next to Mr Zapatero, angrily turned to Mr Chavez
and said: "Why don't you shut up?"
The
Venezuelan leader did not immediately respond,
but later used time ceded to him by his close
ally, President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, to
answer Mr Zapatero's remarks.
"I
do not offend by telling the truth," he said.
"The Venezuelan government reserves the right to
respond to any aggression, anywhere, in any
space and in any manner."
The
diplomatic spat came on a day when hundreds of
protesters marched in Venezuela's capital to
call for a "no" vote in a referendum next month
that could pave the way for Mr Chavez to stay in
power indefinitely.
The
procession in Caracas, organised by various
opposition groups, took place amid high tensions
following violence in recent days between
protesters and pro-Chavez supporters.
Four
students suffered gunshot wounds on Wednesday
when an armed group stormed the university
campus in Caracas as demonstrators were
returning from a protest.
On
Friday, six people - four of them policemen -
were wounded by shots in the western town of
Merida during another student demonstration.
University students are in the vanguard of the
opposition against the December 2 referendum
called by Mr Chavez that proposes 69
constitutional amendments.
The
Venezuelan leader, popular among his country's
many poor, is seeking changes to extend his term
of office, and allow him to seek re-election as
often as he wants.
Yesterday's march saw a two-mile procession
through the streets of the capital led by a
lorry blaring out slogans denouncing the
referendum and the recent violence.
Mr
Chavez has struck back at the students in
particular, calling them "spoiled little brats",
and on Friday accusing them of waging a "fascist
assault" orchestrated by the United States - a
country he has persistently lambasted.
IN DUTCH
SANTIAGO
De Spaanse
koning Juan Carlos heeft tijdens een
topontmoeting van Spaanse, Portugese en
Latijns-Amerikaanse leiders in Chili fel
uitgehaald naar de Venezolaanse president Hugo
Chávez. "Houd je waffel eens dicht'', zei de
koning met opgeheven vinger tegen Chávez.
Steen des aanstoots waren opmerkingen van Chávez
over de vorige, rechtse
premier van Spanje, José Maria Aznar. De linkse populist Chávez, niet
vies van
provocaties, had de oud-premier bij herhaling een fascist genoemd en daar
sprak Zapatero hem op aan. Chávez was niet onder de indruk en hij
herhaalde
tot irritatie van de Spanjaarden de kritiek op Aznar.
Respect
Zapatero wees Chávez erop dat Aznar weliswaar
een politieke tegenstander was, maar ook een
democratisch gekozen functionaris die respect
verdient. Juan Carlos, gezeten naast Zapatero,
ergerde zich zo aan Chávez dat hij tijdens het
debat tussen Zapatero en de Venezolaan voor het
oog van de camera's uit zijn koninklijke rol
viel. |
