South America's Telesur Starts Transmitting

A few minutes later than scheduled, just after midday Venezuelan time, Telesur's presenter, Patricia Villegas, welcomed viewers to "this new television station of the south". In its first broadcast, the channel's president, Venezuelan communications minister, Andres Izarra, told viewers in as many as 23 Latin American countries that Telesur was not directed against the people of the US. 'Time for change' The station was, he said, "erupting onto the international scene" to counter cultural imperialism, which he said had gone unchallenged in the region for 50 years. Several international advisors to the new channel, including the Pakistani-British broadcaster and activist Tariq Ali, spoke against the attempts on Capitol Hill to get the US government to counter Telesur with broadcasts of its own. But in a live telephone link, President Hugo Chavez expressed confidence that Telesur had "scored the first goal". The time had come for a big change, he said, and Telesur was part of that change. The channel's first news programme began with a critical report on the failures of the mission in Haiti led by Brazil, followed by another on the plight of refugees in Colombia - a sign that it is not only in Washington that Telesur may be ready to ruffle feathers. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4713361.stm Published: 2005/07/24 23:03:59 GMT © BBC MMV

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