NGO: Chávez wants to force the Armed Force to take sides

Opposition leader Luis Manuel Esculpi warned that the president's statement according to which the National Armed Force is Chavist seeks to encourage radical positions

Rocío San Miguel, the president of NGO Control Ciudadano (Citizen’s Control): "Chávez does not represent the prevailing sentiment in the Armed Forces" (Photo: Gabriela Pulido)

Venezuelan activist Rocío San Miguel, and opposition leader Luis Manuel Esculpi, agreed on saying that President Hugo Chávez Frías seeks to provoke and instill fear when he admonished that the National Armed Force supports Chávez.

San Miguel is the spokesperson of NGO Control Ciudadano (Citizen's Control), a private organization focused on national security and defense issues, and Esculpi chaired the Venezuelan Parliament's Committee on Defense.

"Venezuelans and the international community should be alert to Chávez's remarks because his words clearly show the illegal behavior of the President who is forcing the National Armed Force to take sides. It is an unprecedented behavior in the democratic era of the continent."

In the opinion of the expert in military affairs, "his speech is disgusting and represents by no means the prevailing sentiment in the armed forces. Articles 328 and 330 (of the Constitution), which refer to the military behavior, have been violated."

For his part, ex deputy Esculpi feels that the Venezuelan president seeks to provoke military officials in declaring that the army supports him.

His words are "provocative remarks against the Armed Force and military officers." "He means to encourage radical positions," he concluded.