Chavez backer held over TV attack Chavez支持者袭击电视台

A pro-government activist¹ in Venezuela has handed herself over to the authorities a day after a violent attack on an opposition² TV station.

一名委内瑞拉前政府活动分子向当局自首，因一天前曾暴力袭击一家反对党电视台。

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Lina Ron has been one of Mr Chavez's most ardent supporters

President Hugo Chavez said left-wing militant⁴ Lina Ron, who has been one of his most ardent（热心的，激烈的） supporters, would now face the full weight of the law.

He deplored⁵（悲悼） the attack on Globovision TV, and said it would help his opponents brand him as a tyrant⁶（暴君）.

More than 30 people stormed the station in Caracas, firing tear gas.

"She [Lina Ron] handed herself in, and it's good that she presented herself, and has been arrested. There was no other alternative," Mr Chavez said.

He described the attack as a "counter-revolutionary" act, saying that it "gives the enemy weapons to attack me even more as a tyrant".

The attackers have been identified by officials as activists⁷ from from the Union Patriotica Venezolana (UPV), which supports Mr Chavez.

Globovision, which has been highly critical of President Chavez, is facing several investigations⁹ that could also take it off air.

New media bill

Monday's attack came as the arguments over control of the media in Venezuela became increasingly bitter.

Thirty-four radio stations were ordered off air after the government said they were in breach¹⁰ of the rules for registering or had allowed their broadcast licences to expire（期满，失效）. Some 200 other stations are under investigation⁸.

The government in Caracas says it is trying to make the media more democratic.

"The state is retaking control of concessions¹¹ that were being used in an illegal way over more than 30 and 40 years," said Public Works Minister Diosdado Cabello, who is the head of the telecommunications agency.

"It's an act of justice."

But critics say the move is aimed at giving more space to media that support Mr Chavez and is an attempt to muzzle¹²（上口罩） any critical voices.

Venezuela's National Assembly is due on Tuesday to begin discussing legislation under which journalists could be imprisoned¹³ for up to four years for broadcasting or publishing material that attacks "the peace, security, and independence of the nation and the institutions of the state".

Venezuela still has many private radio stations and newspapers that are stridently（轧轧地响） opposed to the president but in recent years the government has built up its network of state-run media.