September 2, 2006
Why the president is defending the golfers of Caracas
Publisher by The Guardian, in Letters to the Editor.
By Alfredo Toro Hardy
Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, London

"Your report (Caracas golf clubs in a hole as city bids to build homes on greens, August 31) failed to mention that President Chávez's government has disassociated itself from the expropriation of golf courses by the Caracas mayor. In a communique of August 30 it is stated: "Under no circumstances will the government accept the right to property to be made vulnerable. The national government must guarantee juridical security for all citizens with no discrimination whatsoever." The communique also makes it clear that the government has been working to reduce the population density in Caracas, because of the deficit in services and public spaces, as well as to protect existing green and recreational areas in the city.

In another article (Chávez rolls into Damascus to charm another US foe, August 31) you say that earlier this month President Chávez compared Israel's attacks on Hizbullah militants in Lebanon to the Holocaust. This is incorrect. What President Chávez compared to the Holocaust was the systematic and merciless bombing of the civil population. According to his reasoning, in both cases innocents were systematically targeted by a powerful state".