Multitudinous demonstration against violence

The opposition rally of Saturday, February 22 ran smoothly. The peaceful demonstration was attended by major opposition leaders Henrique Capriles Radonski, Antonio Ledezma, María Corina Machado, Lilian Tintori, and Juan Requesens, among others.

Governor terms "unacceptable excess" the militarization of Táchira state

José Vielma Mora, the ruling party governor of the state of Táchira, southwest Venezuela, expressed his disagreement with the imprisonment of former police chief Iván Simonovis and opposition leader Leopoldo López. "I am not part of the regime; I was elected by the people of Táchira".

José Vielma Mora, the ruling party governor of the state of Táchira, southwest Venezuela, has described "as an excess" the military overfly and militarization of San Cristóbal, the capital city of Táchira state, to deter demonstrations taking place in the region in recent days.  "I got angry because of the military planes overflying Táchira; it was an unacceptable excess," Mora said in an interview with radio news station ONDA.

"I am not part of the regime; I was elected by the people of Táchira," the governor pointed out.

Mora admitted that there has been excess when breaking up demonstrations, and commented that he requested the replacement of the chief of the Comprehensive Defense Strategic Region (REDI). "I am against repression. Any student demonstration must be attended to; they (demonstrators) have the right to protest."

The governor highlighted that Táchira state has not been militarized and that the Internet service has not been shut down.

"I am against censorship of any kind," Mora remarked.

He additionally admitted that he has made mistakes in dealing with demonstrators and apologized for his actions.

With reference to political detainees, Vielma Mora commented he was "not in favor of the imprisonment of former police chief Iván Simonovis and opposition leader Leopoldo López," and called for their release.

Furthermore, the governor also admitted that food supply in the region is harmed by the foreign exchange distortions.

Source:
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Spain urges Venezuela to respect human rights

The Spanish foreign minister called for calm among government supporters and dissenters, and said the end of confrontations should be a "priority"

Spain urged Venezuela on Monday to respect human rights and freedom of expression in light of the demonstrations taking place across the South American country since February 12.

The statement was issued by Spanish Foreign Minister Manuel García-Margallo in a press release, DPA reported.

The Spanish official called for calm among government supporters and dissenters, said the end of confrontations should be a "priority." Some 10 people have died and hundreds have been injured in Venezuela amidst anti-government protests.

García-Margallo advocated dialogue between the parties and endorsed the appeals made by the European Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), and the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) to overcome the crisis in Venezuela.

Source: El Universal
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Five injured in demonstrations in north Venezuela

Troops of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) cracked down on Monday on protesters in the streets of Valencia, the capital city of Carabobo state, north Venezuela, with a toll of five people injured, including a 17-year-old boy. All of them were shot with plastic bullets.

The violent clashes took place in the sectors of La Granja and La Coromoto de Naguanagua and La Isabelica, south of Valencia.

Naguanagua Mayor Alejandro Feo La Cruz reported via Twiter that some 300 bikers besieged the headquarters of the municipal police and other sectors of Valencia.

At 2:00 pm, demonstrators reported that bikers shot at vehicles parked at homes and burned one car.

A young girl was beaten by People's Guard troops trying to break up a demonstration at La Espiga de Oro, in La Isabelica. The unidentified girl was hit by both women and men in uniform, reported El Carabobeño daily newspaper in its website. The newspaper posted pictures showing a female military officer who removes her helmet and then uses it to beat the young girl.

Additionally, using their rifles as baseball bats, the People's Guard beat a man who participated in the demonstration.

Source: El Universal
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American inmate killed in Israeli prison after shooting guards

Israeli special forces raided a prison in central Israel on Sunday, killing a notorious prisoner who was serving time for a gruesome murder carried out in the US.

Police identified the inmate as Samuel Sheinbein, an American who fled to Israel after murdering and dismembering another man in Maryland in 1997 and whose case sparked a high-profile row between the two allies.

Police special forces rushed to this prison in central Israel after Sheinbein stole a weapon and shot three guards, wounding two of them seriously. He then barricaded himself inside the compound where a standoff ensued, with counter-terrorism units dispatched to the scene. The inmate then opened fire again, wounding three more guards, before the forces shot him dead, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Hospital officials said one of the wounded guards was fighting for his life. Police and the Israel prison service have opened investigations into the incident. Sheinbein’s lawyers told Israeli TV that their client was under duress and that the Israeli prison service has ignored their warnings.

Sheinbein, 34, was tried in Israel in 1999, two years after he fled to the country and successfully sought refuge from extradition, enraging Maryland authorities and briefly threatening US aid to the Jewish state.

An Israeli court sentenced Sheinbein to 24 years for his killing and dismemberment of 19-year-old Alfredo Enrique Tello Jr. Sheinbein was 17 at the time of the killing and could have faced a life sentence in Maryland. His extradition to Maryland was blocked after a yearlong battle between Israel and the United States over an Israeli law that prohibited it.

Following that embarrassment, Israel changed its laws to allow the extradition of Israeli citizens on condition that they are returned to Israel to serve any sentence imposed.

Sheinbein, of Aspen Hill, Maryland, confessed to strangling Tello with a rope and hitting him several times with a sharp object. Sheinbein then dismembered the body with an electric saw and burned it, authorities said. Another teenager charged in the killing, Aaron Needle, committed suicide while in jail in Maryland.

Sheinbein fled to Israel days after Tello’s remains were found in a garage. He successfully sought refuge under a law that prevented the extradition of Israeli citizens to foreign countries. Sheinbein had only passing contact with Israel, but his father, Saul, was born in the country and Sheinbein qualified for Israeli citizenship.

Israel refused to extradite Sheinbein, prompting protests from senior officials, including then-Attorney General Janet Reno. Some congressmen who had otherwise been friendly to Israel threatened to cut aid in response.

Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, who represented Sheinbein in 1997, bemoaned the “terrible tragedy” that befell the families of both the wounded guards and the shooter and challenged the system for how it has handled her client.

“When he was sentenced, he was 17, without a criminal background, a kid from a normal background,” she said. “It is hard to understand how after all these years in prison it was not able to help him rehabilitate.”

Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, who tried to extradite Sheinbein back to the US as a state’s attorney in the 1990s, said Sheinbein was a troubled young man whose mental health issues continued into adulthood.

Gansler said the timing of Sheinbein’s prison outburst was most striking because he was close to serving two-thirds of his sentence and becoming eligible for parole.

“He’s on the brink of being released from jail and then he goes on what basically seems to be a suicide rampage,” Gansler said. “So this was a young man who was still very troubled, and this ends a very tumultuous life.”

Gansler said Sheinbein’s death “brings actual closure” to the gruesome Maryland murder case. He expressed sympathy for the families of the Israeli guards, “and hopefully they all survive”.

Source: The Guardian
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French organic winemaker faces prison for defying pesticide order

A French organic winemaker could face a prison sentence and a hefty fine after refusing to spray his vines with pesticide.

Emmanuel Giboulot will appear before a judge in the city of Dijon on Monday after defying an official order to treat his vineyard against an insect suspected of transmitting a devastating plant disease.

The cicadelle, the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus, is believed to be responsible for the spread of the grapevine disease flavescence dorée, which has affected vines in the Côte-d'Or region of Burgundy, where Giboulot produces Côte de Beaune and Hautes Côtes de Nuits wines.

Giboulot claims the pesticide is ineffective and damaging to pollinating insects such as bees, and insists the disease can be fought via more natural means.

The 51-year-old is being prosecuted by a branch of the French agriculture ministry, under article 251-20 of the rural code, for "failing to apply an insecticide treatment to his vineyard" in July last year.

The winemaker faces a six-month prison sentence and a €30,000 (£25,000) fine for refusing to spray his vines.

Officials say they have had to pull up 12 hectares (nearly 30 acres) of vines ravaged by the highly infectious flavescence dorée disease in 2012. They say the disease, which first appeared in the 1950's, threatens more than half the Burgundy region's vineyards and that preventative treatment by pesticide is necessary.

Giboulot disagrees. In November he told the website Decanter.com: "I am not irresponsible and I am not trying to be radical. I simply do not believe that systematic treatment, even without any symptoms of the disease, is the solution. I want to show people that there are options, and that we need to think about our own health and that of our customers."

Giboulot added: "My father began converting to organic farming in the 1970's, and we are now fully organic and biodynamic. I don't want to undo decades of work applying a treatment where the effects on the health of the vines and the public are as yet unproven."

The winemaker uses "biodynamic" methods, based on ecological and controversial spiritual approachs. There are thought to be about 450 biodynamic wineproducers globally.

Giboulot argues that even Pyrevert, a pesticide based on an extract from dried chrysanthemum flowers and the one pesticide that organic farmers could use against the cicadelle without losing their label, had undesirable side effects.

"It kills not only the insect but also other fauna that are necessary for the natural balance in a vineyard," Giboulot told Le Monde.

Denis Thiery, a vine specialist at the National Institute for Agronomic Research, also told Le Monde: "Even if Pyrevert is of natural origins it is damaging for the environment. It'sis a neurotoxin that can affect not just insects, but birds, other animals, even the winemakers, depending on the doses used.

"In reality, the efficacy of these treatments against flavescence dorée, whether natural or conventional, is not great. Not all the insects are killed and the epidemic continues to spread quickly. But, like all epidemics, we don't know if the situation would be worse without the treatment."

More than 41,000 supporters of Giboulot have signed a petition calling for the charges against him to be dropped, and dozens are expected to attend a picnic outside the court in Dijon on Monday.

Last June another organic winemaker was prosecuted and convicted for not treating his vines but was spared a prison sentence or fine after finally agreeing to spray against the disease.

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