Congresswoman Assaults Host on Live TV

A Venezuelan lawmaker repeatedly slapped a journalist in the face during a television program Tuesday, accusing him of slander after he wrote about the death of her infant son years ago.

Congresswoman Iris Varela stormed onto the set of Gustavo Azocar's morning program on Tachira Regional Television, shouting: "I'm demanding a right of reply from this man who has offended me all the time on this program."

The on-air confrontation, in which Varela slapped Azocar several times and then hit him with the microphone, grabbed national attention in Venezuela and is likely to generate a wider debate in the country about free speech issues and the news media.

Azocar is an outspoken critic of leftist President Hugo Chavez, and Varela is one of Chavez's close allies in the National Assembly.

The lawmaker said her outrage had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with a dishonorable airing of her private life. Azocar recently wrote a book in which he recounted the death of Varela's infant son in a hospital in the early 1990s and called it a determining event in her life.

"He's offended me and he meddled with the most sacred thing, my dead son, and that's why I came," Varela said, holding the microphone after snatching it from Azocar.

He held up his eyeglasses, which were broken from an initial blow, exclaiming, "How about this?" Then he said, "Let me do the program."

"You've slandered me. ... Apologize!," she shouted. After several minutes of ranting, Varela hit him on the head with the microphone and stormed away saying, "Continue with your show!"

"What he's written deserves a trial," she said later.

Azocar said afterward that he holds Varela, the state governor and Chavez himself responsible "for anything, God forbid, that could happen to me or my three sons" as a result.

The incident came as a visiting delegation of the Miami-based Inter American Press Association expressed concern about what it said are threats, intimidation and government pressure facing the press in Venezuela. The IAPA delegation did not address the incident in the southwestern city of San Cristobal, which had not yet been widely reported.

IAPA delegation member Gonzalo Marroquin also said the group is concerned about a measure that critics warn could allow the government to censor the news media if Chavez declares a state of emergency.

"We consider this a regression in the constitution since earlier it was contemplated that even in states of emergency freedom of expression could not be limited," Marroquin said.

Chavez's information minister, Willian Lara, accused IAPA of lying about the constitutional reforms, which are to be decided by voters in a Dec. 2 referendum.

"The constitutional reform expands and puts the finishing touches on freedom of expression," Lara said in a statement.

The organization has been at loggerheads with Chavez's government in recent years. Lara has repeatedly accused if of representing the interests of media executives, not journalists; the organization says it sees serious threats to freedom of expression in Venezuela.

Article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312391,00.html

Video: http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2007/11/22/2098081.htm

Totally a disgrace. Must see.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• congresswoman
• iris
• varela
• Gustavo
• Azocar
• host
• show
• slap
• venezuela

[convener777]

she is in government. i thought she was a prostitute

[titotrampas]

drag her ass back to the kitchen

[rancor260]

Man doing this to a woman=instant jail

[WhiskerScot569]

@neilzep East Indian eh....thats a coincedence my next-door neighbour's east indian too and he runs a pharmacy in paisley which isn't far away from glasgow .....so muchacho where did you here that as it means boy basically it's very common among latinos in America oh well life goes on Adiós mi amigo americano

[neilzep]

@WhiskerScot569 Gracias amigo. I am actually East Indian...lol....going way back to India.

Born and raised here,so that spic comment is even more racist...or maybe not.

We are mentals here trust me,I am a Pharmacist,I see them on a daily basis. Owell,I dont have the answers. Life goes on. Adios muchaho

[WhiskerScot569]

@neilzep if you live in arizona there's a good chance you have spanish origins too due to it's close proximity to mexico anyway no problem about the spic comment because i've heard and been called worse and while most of the Americans i've met in my lifetime have been retards you're an exception as you seem quite the opposite later mate

[neilzep]

@WhiskerScot569

Yes that is a mouthful Scot,I live in Arizona we have alot of Spanish/Mexican here....Catalano blood.

Thats a exotic mix you got there and throw in Scotland for a twist.LOL

I also apologise for my spic comment,you know us Americans we are retarded. Later

[WhiskerScot569]

@neilzep not that i'm offering but you'll love my sister then coz through dad we've got spanish-german blood and through mummy we're sicilian most people love her name as well i'll warn you fair it's a mouthful Catalina Francesca Ibanez-Solano

[neilzep]

@WhiskerScot569 got ya....I like Italian girls...they can be very hot. ALot get very fat too here in the USA,but then again we are all overweight here. later

[WhiskerScot569]

@neilzep sicilians have got spanish, norman, arabic and many other backgrounds in them that's why they have there own dialect too also this has filtered into my family Sicilians have a fierce affection for there friends and relatives and are quick to get angry when they are threatened or in any danger

[neilzep]

@WhiskerScot569 yes sicilians got a nasty tempers,dont know why.

[WhiskerScot569]

@neilzep that word isn't very nice is it though i must agree it's true my sister has a very nasty temper doesn't help that my family is half sicilian