(26 May 2007)
1. Various of protesters at rally
2. Close up of rally poster depicting Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez as Napoleon
3. Woman carrying placard reading in Spanish, '' Life is a soap opera.''
4. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Vox Pop, no name given:
"I am here like a lot of other students to defend our freedom of expression. A lot of people are becoming more and more scared because of the fear of being punished after having spoken. That is why we are here to defend that."
5. Mid shot of protesters holding Venezuelan flags
6. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Vox Pop, no name given:
"This is a crime against humanity. One person should not have the right to shut something down because they have a difference of opinion than all of us here. I think he is wrong, that is why we here, we are all on the street because what is happening to us can happen to all of you. You must defend your rights, your freedom, because a democracy has choices and I have chosen to defend my rights."
7. Protester flying flag outside Globovision TV station
8. Various of protesters outside Globovision TV station
STORYLINE:
Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets on Saturday chanting "Freedom, Freedom!" to protest President Hugo Chavez's decision not to renew the broadcast license of the country's most widely watched TV station.
Police lined a Caracas avenue while the protesters paraded past, some holding signs reading "No to silence," while others placed tape over their mouths.
Radio Caracas Television, the sole opposition-aligned TV station with nationwide reach, is due to go off the air at midnight on Sunday.
Protesters say that by not renewing RCTV's license, Chavez is attempting to silence critics of his leftist
government.
"I am here like a lot of other students to defend our freedom of expression. A lot of people are becoming more and more scared because of the fear of being punished after having spoken. That is why we are here to defend that,'' said one protester.
Chavez defends the decision as a legal move to democratise the airwaves by turning over RCTV's signal to a public service channel.
The president and his supporters have accused RCTV of supporting a failed 2002 coup against him, violating broadcast laws and regularly showing programmes with excessive violence and sexual content.
In one downtown Caracas plaza, hundreds of red-clad Chavez supporters gathered in front of a large television screen, where alleged violations by RCTV were replayed as the words "Tell the truth" rolled across the screen.
Venezuela's Supreme Court ruled on Friday that broadcasting equipment used by the channel must be made available to the state-funded channel that will replace it.
The Supreme Court said Venezuela's telecommunication commission would assume responsibility for RCTV's equipment, including microwave dishes and antennas, while the court reviews RCTV's appeal of Chavez's decision not to renew its license.
The court also ordered the military to temporarily guard RCTV's broadcasting equipment.
In a speech on Friday, Chavez denied that his decision threatens free speech.
Chavez was re-elected in December by a wide margin. The opposition has held a series of protests demanding that the government allow RCTV to remain on the air.
Backing Chavez's decision, dozens of protesters wearing bandanas over their faces held a rowdy demonstration late Friday outside the studios of another opposition-aligned TV station - Globovision - spray-painting the building with pro-Chavez slogans.
The vandalism later was condemned by the government.
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