International   

Hero's welcome to Hugo Chavez in London

Duncan Campbell and Jonathan Steele

London: He has been called a terrorist by Washington and has described British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a ``pawn of imperialism''. His opponents in Venezuela have accused him of stifling debate and ruling like a dictator. But on Sunday, on a sunny afternoon in London, the only cries that greeted President Hugo Chavez, the scourge of the United States, were of solidarity and affection.

The Camden centre in north London is usually home to trade fairs, conferences and school exams, but on Sunday it reverberated to scenes more reminiscent of a Latin American political rally.

``We love you,'' shouted a woman at the 800-strong gathering, which Mr. Chavez was invited to attend by London's Mayor Ken Livingstone. ``We love you very much,'' responded the President. And then continued to address the audience in the English he had learned as a schoolboy more than 40 years ago. But his message soon became more serious and — speaking for more than an hour without notes — he managed to compliment women, the Irish, mathematicians, Christians, mothers and even his ``amigo'' Ken.

``Sometimes I'm a terrorist according to Washington or a guy who does military coups,'' said Mr. Chavez, dressed in a grey suit with a red tie and with a backdrop of his country's red, blue and yellow flag. ``But all we did was participate in a revolutionary movement, which is what we are doing now."

He took his admiring listeners through a history of revolution in Latin America and spiced his talk with references to Pythagoras, George Bernard Shaw and Edgar Allan Poe.

He said: ``I am a Catholic and a Christian and a very committed Christian and I was talking to the Pope about poverty and Christ's cause.'' In the next sentence he was talking about the first time he met the Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

He won applause from a large contingent of women when he said that one of the features of capitalism is that it excludes and exploits women. Mr. Chavez arrived in London from a summit in Vienna of leaders from the E.U. and Latin America and Caribbean nations.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Afghan hijackers plead against deportation
Hamas to recognise Israel, says report
The boy king and his secrets
Burglar stuck in chimney
Hero's welcome to Hugo Chavez in London
Nepal House defers move
Rallies mark "catastrophe day"
Volcano activity increases
Benazir, Nawaz Sharif sign "charter of democracy"
Unethical pact, says Islamabad

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu