Thousands march to support Chavez

Supporters of Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, have marched in support of his refusal to grant a license to a opposition-aligned television station, a day after a rally demanding freedom of expression.

Hundreds of thousands gathered on Saturday dressed in red shirts and caps showing Chavez's slogan "democratising television and radio".

"Starting today, the [pro-government] counterattack must be maintained across the country," Chavez told the crowd in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

Coup support

Chavez refused to renew the license of RCTV, Venezuela's oldest and most popular commercial television station, over a week ago, prompting protests in the country and criticism from abroad. During an attempted coup in 2002, the channel openly called for his removal from power.

Chavez said: "If the Venezuelan oligarchy ... does not accept this call to live together in peace that we are making, if it keeps on attacking using the things it still controls, it will keep losing those things one by one." vHe said the earlier demonstration, mostly undertaken by students, was a "destabilising maneuver" and part of a "gentle coup" against the government.

Jose Vicente Rangel, a former vice president, defended the earlier protest, saying: "The students do not want to topple the government. We have to look for a dialogue with them."

RCTV's frequency has been handed over to a government-run public broadcaster.

'Chavez will not go!'

Chavez supporters on Saturday chanted: "Ho! Ho! Chavez will not go", suggesting the demonstration was as much about the president as about the RCTV.

Jesse Chacon, Venezuela's telecommunications minister, supported the move saying: "Today, Venezuela is democratising the broadcast spectrum and takes one step ahead."

But following Chavez's refusal to re-license the popular channel, Brazil's senate formally requested on Wednesday that Chavez reconsider his decision to force RCTV off the air.