By Xinhua
Caracas : Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has granted amnesty to prisoners including his opponents accused of backing an abortive 2002 coup to unseat him.
Chavez said Monday that the amnesty decree would also pardon those accused of attempting to overthrow his government or murder him in recent years.
“Nobody (in Venezuela) can talk about political prisoners,” Chavez told state television on New Year’s Eve. “It’s a matter of turning the page. We want a country that moves toward peace.”
“We want there to be a strong ideological and political debate but in peaceful conditions,” he added.
Those pardoned include opponents accused of taking over Venezuela’s state television channel during the coup, and others who tried to sabotage the oil industry during an opposition-led strike that followed, Chavez said.
The president said 36 common prisoners were also pardoned and released Monday.
In 2002, Chavez was ousted by dissident military officers, but loyalist generals restored him to power within two days amid street protests by his supporters.