Venezuela TV station asks ex-Pres Jimmy Carter to act

The independent television station closed by Hugo Chavez asks President Jimmy to act. But this is counter to his track record. He only helps dictators; he doesn't aid independent speech. Here is RCTV's request at El Universal.com with a bit of humor.

Private television station RCTV Monday summoned The Carter Center to make the Venezuelan government comply with its commitments under the so-called Roundtable of Negotiations and Agreements in 2003.

In a public letter, signed by RCTV chair Marcel Granier, The Carter Center is asked to act with "firmness" in this sense, following its "shy" and "tardy" statement on President Hugo Chávez' refusal to renew the broadcast license for RCTV.

In the document, Granier demanded an equalitarian treatment for RCTV, which last May 27 became the only television channel whose broadcast license was not renewed, even thought it dealt with the events of April 11-12, 2002 the same way other private TV channels did.

RCTV asked The Carter Center to mediate so that Chávez' administration to give them back both the broadcast license and the broadcast equipment the government confiscated from the television network.