CARACAS, March 7 – So far 10 leaders from foreign countries have confirmed attendance of the state funeral for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
“Nearly all the leaders will arrive here tomorrow to attend the official ceremony scheduled for Friday at the Military Academy in Fort Tiuna,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, Bolivian President Evo Morales, and Uruguayan President Jose Mujica have already arrived in Venezuela to pay their respect to Chavez, according to local media. Peruvian President Ollanta Humala who will also attend Friday’s funeral, has also expressed his country’s “deep sympathy and condolences to the brotherly people of Venezuela.”
“We send them our Bolivarian, South American and Latinamerican solidarity” and wished that in such difficult moments, “unity and reflection will prevail in such a way that things can go ahead peacefully and along the democratic track”,
he was quoted by Andina news agency.
Meanwhile, Cuba decreed two days of official mourning on Wednesday and Thursday and a third day of national mourning on Friday. During the official mourning, the national flag will be hoisted at half-mast on public buildings and military establishments, while on Friday all public entertainment and festive activities will be suspended.
The Cuban government also called on the people to attend Thursday’s memorial activities around the country, which would last from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.. On Wednesday, Communist Party of China (CPC) chief Xi Jinping, Chinese President Hu Jintao and top legislator Wu Bangguo all sent condolences over Chavez’s death.
Chavez was a great statesman and outstanding leader of Venezuela, who led the Venezuelan government and people to huge achievements in the great cause of national construction and won support and respect from the people, Xinhua quoted Xi as saying in his message.
The CPC and the Chinese government and people attach great importance to developing relations with Venezuela, Xi said, adding that China will work with Venezuela to further enhance and deepen the bilateral cooperation so as to lift the bilateral strategic partnership to higher levels.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minster Dmitry Medvedev expressed their condolences to the Venezuelan people over the death of Chavez. Igor Sechin, head of Russia’s oil giant Rosneft, would attend Chavez’s state funeral on behalf of the Kremlin, given “his active role in the bilateral cooperation in energy, banking and other spheres,” the Kremlin said.
Also, the Spanish government said on Wednesday that Chavez’s death would not have an adverse effect on relations between the two countries, which were “solid.”
Chavez has been a controversial figure in Spain ever since he interrupted a speech by then Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a summit in 2007 in order to describe Zapatero’s predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar, as a
“fascist” and to accuse Aznar of having plotted to have him overthrown. In South Africa, President Jacob Zuma praised Chavez for ushering in “a dramatic change under the government’s ‘Bolivarian’ approach in Latin America and beyond in promoting regional integration based on the principles of social justice,” the South African presidency said in a statement.
The Iranian government declared a day of mourning on Wednesday following the death of Chavez, local media reported.
Calling each other allies against “the US imperialism,” Iran and Venezuela have strengthened ties substantially since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to office in 2005.
Chavez had on many occasions lashed out at the Western-engineered sanctions against Tehran over the country’s nuclear energy programme, which Tehran insists was for civilian use only. In addition, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim also offered his condolences on the death of Chavez.
“To the family of President Hugo Chavez, and the Venezuelan people, I would like to extend, from myself and from my colleagues at the World Bank, our deep condolences at this difficult time,” Kim said in a short statement. Chavez died Tuesday in a military hospital in Caracas.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro will serve as interim president until a new election is called. Under the Venezuelan constitution, an election has to be held within 30 days if the president is declared unfit to resume office.
BERNAMA
