Chavez savours warm embrace in Arab world (News Feature)

By Nehal el-Sherif Sep 5, 2009, 4:52 GMT

   Cairo - While his opponents are organizing massive marches against him back home, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was greeted Friday by a crowd of hundreds in Swaida, Syria, known as 'Little Venezuela' for the large Venezuelan community that resides there.

   Wearing a red shirt under a beige suit, Chavez spoke at the national stadium in Swaida, 120 kilometres south of Damascus, before a backdrop of a large poster of himself Syrian President Bashar al- Assad.

   Dubbed 'Chavez of Arabia' during a summit earlier this year in Doha, Qatar, he has embraced the governments of Libya, Algeria and Syria, reflecting relationships not only with the leaders of these countries but also his popularity in the Arab world.

   The reception for Chavez during an ongoing Mideast tour, which started Monday, contrasts with his standing in the Western hemisphere, where his rhetoric has made him a polarizing figure from Venezuela to Washington and some points in between.

   He became a favourite in the Mideast for his long-standing defiance of the United States and his stance in recent years alongside Arab countries in opposition to Israeli wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

   'Chavez is a man who resists globalization, colonialism and enslaving people. He resists the hegemony of the rich one-third of the world over the other three-quarters of humanity,' wrote Mohamed Leqab, a columnist in the Algerian al-Ahrar newspaper.

   Leqab even compared Chavez to late Egyptian president Gamal Abdul Nasser, whose speeches excited an earlier generation of Arab nationalists. 'If we heard his statements about the Arab issues, such as Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Sudan, without knowing through media that Hugo Chavez is the Venezuelan president, we would have thought that he is a Nasser-like Arab president.'

   Chavez started his 11-day tour in Libya, joining celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Moamer Gaddafi's rule. After accepting a medal from the Libyan leader, Chavez went to Algeria to discuss strengthening oil ties and enjoy a banquet for iftar, the fast- breaking meal in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, hosted by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

   Chavez had previously played to the Arab masses by ejecting the Israeli ambassador to Venezuela in response to Israel's 22-day Gaza Strip offensive in December and January, and with furious remarks about the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant issued against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

   After moving on Thursday to Syria, Chavez built on his acclaim in the region by lashing out at Israel as 'an enemy of peace,' created to 'divide and impede the unity of the Arab world.'

   'Israel has become a country that annihilates people and is hostile to peace,' he said.

   Chavez hailed the affinities of the Arab and Latin American peoples, especially their 'tendency toward strong independence from colonialism, old and new.'

   During the Friday rally, Chavez said that Syria and Venezuela face 'a common enemy, which is imperialism and its allies, whether in Middle East or in Latin America.'

   'I feel that I am Syrian and committed to the great Syrian people,' he said to great applause. 'I feel that Damascus is my home, and Swaida is my house.'

   He planted an apple tree and marked the naming of a local street for the Bolivian Venezuelan Republic.

   The Chavez tour is scheduled to including Iran before veering to Eastern Europe with stops in Russia and Belarus.