http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/04/in...rint&position=
March 4, 2004
Venezuelan Ambassador to the U.N. Resigns
By JUAN FORERO
CARACAS, Venezuela, March 4 - The Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations announced his resignation today, saying he could no longer support a government he accused of violating democratic principles and human rights.
Milos Alcalay's announcement in New York energized opponents of President Hugo Chávez, who have launched protests and called for international pressure after electoral authorities sidelined a recall referendum on the president's rule.
The opposition accuses National Guard troops of beating and detaining demonstrators who have violently protested the National Electoral Council's ruling Tuesday that the opposition had not collected enough signatures to trigger a recall referendum on Mr. Chávez's tumultuous rule. Seven people have been killed since Friday, the latest today in the western town of Machiques.
"Today, human rights in my country, I consider, are being violated," Mr. Alcalay told reporters at the United Nations.
The Organization of American States and Atlanta-based Carter Center, monitors of the signature collection, have criticized the council's decision. The opposition needs 2.4 million signatures to permit a recall but only 1.8 million were validated.
Electoral authorities have offered a two-day "repair period" in which 1.1 million citizens can confirm signatures that were disqualified - a proposal so far rejected by government adversaries.
Mr. Alcalay said the disqualification of hundreds of thousands of signatures "violates the spirit and purpose" of Venezuela's constitution and "robs Venezuelans of the right to affect change through the democratic process."
One of Mr. Chávez's allies, the congressman Tarek William Saab, reacted angrily to Mr. Alcalay's resignation, charging that he supported coup plotters who tried to oust the president in 2002.
The government accused the opposition of fomenting violence and said troops were restoring order. By today, violence had largely subsided, but the president's opponents promised a large march on Saturday.
Though the government appeared on the defensive today, political analysts said the opposition will likely have to accept the "repair period" if it wants a legal solution to Venezuela's turmoil.
"Violence, in the end, does not help the opposition," said Ana Maria Sanjuan, a sociologist at the Central University. "Nor do protests in the street."
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