VENEZUELA: Venezuelan government and opposition representatives signed an eight-point Declaration for Peace and Democracy and against Violence on Tuesday, committing both sides to seek a peaceful outcome to the nation's bitter political conflict.
The ink was barely dry on the document when the corpses of three army soldiers and a woman were discovered, with signs of torture, on a roadside 18 miles from Caracas.
State investigators kept an open mind on possible motives amidst reports that the three soldiers had visited a group of dissident army officers who camped out in a public square last month, demanding the resignation of President Hugo Chavez.
One women who was in the company of the three men was shot, but is recovering in hospital. Relatives of the victims also hinted at a family feud which may have motivated the killings.
In further violence a Chavez supporter was shot dead by police outside a Caracas hospital on Tuesday in a street brawl which followed the fatal police shooting of a doctor mistaken for a criminal suspect.
Meanwhile, President Chavez welcomed the peace plan which rejected "verbal aggression and mutual recrimination"
The agreement urged the legislative assembly to activate a Truth Commission to investigate recent acts of violence, beginning with victims of last April's failed coup attempt. The pact called for an end to "all attitudes of hostility and violence that limit the rights enshrined in the constitution and its laws". Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel described the accord as "highly positive" and offered state support for a campaign to disarm the civilian population, a move considered vital in order to reduce social tension.
The preliminary accord called on the national media to broadcast programmes that promote "peace and tolerance" while respecting freedom of expression.
The opposition accepted the terms of the agreement as a prelude to a recall referendum which would allow voters to decide whether President Chavez should remain in office until his term ends in 2006.
The alternative would be for parliament to approve a constitutional amendment which would cut short Mr Chavez's term by two years.
Government supporters have begun a signature campaign to challenge every elected opposition governor and mayor, who are also subject to the recall polls.