Capriles: The gov't fears depolarization able to unite Venezuelans

The opposition leader seized the opportunity to ask dissenters to "control their feelings" in light of citizens' reactions to the latest events in Venezuela

EL UNIVERSAL

Thursday March 20, 2014  05:38 PM

Venezuelan opposition Governor Henrique Capriles described the Government's latest moves as mere fascism and said mobilization of people is the way to address it.  

Capriles remarked that the Government showed on Wednesday clear signs of its lack of commitment to dialogue or peace. He stressed that authorities are just propelling the right scenarios to continue with the country's current conflict. "What is behind this? It must be something dark. A Government which has been talking about a coup for one month has surely considered a self-coup," said Capriles during the demonstration held in Caracas on Thursday morning.

The opposition leader seized the opportunity to ask dissenters to "control their feelings" in light of citizens' reactions to the latest events in Venezuela. "This is not the time to go nuts! The Government seeks (protests) end in violence. They fear depolarization able to unite Venezuelans".

This blog is sponsored by: 

http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks/

http://RapidFire.ExperienceBA.com/?SOURCE=livingwithoutsecrets

National Electoral Council works on election of new San Diego mayor

Sandra Oblitas, a director of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE), gave the news

VÍCTOR LA CRUZ |  EL UNIVERSAL

Thursday March 20, 2014  01:40 PM

Sandra Oblitas, a director of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE), disclosed that having received a notice issued by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) on absolute absence of Enzo Scarano, the mayor of San Diego municipality in Valencia, the capital city of Carabobo state, "the date for a new election" will be provided soon.

Earlier, on Thursday, the San Diego Municipal Council appointed Pablo Antonio Domínguez as deputy mayor. On Wednesday evening, the TSJ sentenced Scarano to imprisonment for 10 months and 15 days and also ordered his removal for alleged contempt of court.

This blog is sponsored by: 

http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks/

http://RapidFire.ExperienceBA.com/?SOURCE=livingwithoutsecrets

Parlatino upholds by unanimity visit of Unasur's committee to Venezuela

The group's Vice-President Roy Daza pointed out that Unasur's resolution supports three pillars: "It strongly condemns violence in Venezuela," supports "democracy and Venezuela's democratic institutions," and finally approves the creation a "a Foreign Ministers Committee to accompany, support, and advise on the building of a constructive and wide political dialogue"

EL UNIVERSAL

Tuesday March 18, 2014  04:15 PM

The Venezuelan Parliamentary Group for the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) unanimously endorsed a resolution from the Union of South American States (Unasur) during its Special Meeting of Foreign Ministers. The resolution provides for the establishment of a Foreign Ministers Committee to visit Venezuela in order to assess and collaborate along with national political forces in the peace talks expected to end violent actions in Venezuela.

The group's Vice-President Roy Daza pointed out that Unasur's resolution supports three pillars: "It strongly condemns  violence in Venezuela," supports "democracy and Venezuela's democratic institutions," and finally approves the creation a "a Foreign Ministers Committee to accompany, support, and advise in the building of a constructive and wide political dialogue, oriented to restore peaceful coexistence."

Venezuelan dissenter: Protests will remain as long as there is crisis

"Nicolás is afraid of debate, as he knows that he lacks allegations on human rights abuses"

EL UNIVERSAL

Tuesday March 18, 2014  12:50 PM

On Tuesday, during an interview with a radio station, Venezuelan leader and Miranda state governor Henrique Capriles Radonski said that street protests will remain in Venezuela as long as there is social crisis, including insecurity, scarcity, inflation, and human rights abuses.

Capriles Radonski reiterated that if the Venezuelan government does not rectify with regard to social unrest, people will skip over it.

He upheld his readiness to hold a debate with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in order to actually deal with the plight undergone by Venezuelans.

Maduro says the US is obviously seeking to overthrow him

"Every message sent by the US Government is intended to fuel the flame of violence that is put off every day" thanks to the work of the police and the military.

EL UNIVERSAL

Friday March 14, 2014  11:24 PM

President Nicolás Maduro said on Friday it is "obvious" that the US government seeks to "overthrow" his government through the protests hitting Venezuela since February.

"It is clear: the United States has openly taken over the leadership of the overthrow of the Government of Venezuela. Consequently, the US Government is currently the hostage to the lobby of Republicans and the right-wing in Miami," said Maduro in a press conference with local and foreign press.

"Take it easy... You are pushing President (Barack) Obama to the edge of a cliff," because you are failing to promote political destabilization in Venezuela, Maduro told the lobbyists.

Further, Maduro acknowledged "abuses" and "excesses" have been perpetrated, adding that 21 officers have been arrested and are facing trial.

He added that "only" 558 students remain in jail, out of 1,529 detainees. Maduro explained that 150 people will remain in custody because they were arrested while carrying firearms.

"Every message sent by the US Government is intended to fuel the flame of violence that is put off every day" thanks to the work of the police and the military," said Maduro, DPA reported.

The soldiers attacked "like a pack of hunting hounds"

Despite repression, "Venezuela is worth the sacrifice," Maurizio Ottaviani says.

ALICIA DE LA ROSA |  EL UNIVERSAL

Saturday March 15, 2014  12:00 AM

"The soldiers were inflamed by hate and bloodlust. They were totally out of control. It's like when animals are unleashed; like when a pack of hunting hounds is set on a prey, chasing it until they catch it, then savaging it until it is shot. They attacked like vicious dogs." Santa María University student Maurizio Ottaviani (20) thus describes his terrible ordeal at the hands of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB).

Ottaviani was one of the 41 people caught in an ambush set up by National Guard soldiers driving motorcycles, in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas -an anti-government stronghold- on the evening of 28 February. Excessive use of force by the security forces against demonstrators was denounced by Venezuelan human rights organizations, such as the Citizens Equity and Rights Foundation (Fundeci), the Due Process Foundation (Fundepro), the Human Rights Center at Andrés Bello Catholic University (CDH-UCAB), the Venezuelan Criminal Forum association of human rights lawyers, the human rights committees of the Venezuelan opposition umbrella group Unified Democratic Panel (MUD) and of Santa María University.

"I was peacefully demonstrating near the Torre Británica building in Altamira. Just as I turned towards the highway, a group of National Guard soldiers on motorcycles rumbled towards me. I tried to flee, but on seeing them circling me, I froze making no attempt to resist. Four guardsmen came at me; they robbed me of my backpack, and started beating me up, trying to force me to the ground. When they knocked me down, my first instinct was to curl up in the fetal position in an attempt to protect myself. They brutally kicked me on the stomach and on the back. I reached out to block the blows and left my face unprotected. One of them stamped his boot heel onto the right side of my face," says Ottaviani, an international relations student. After being held for 37 hours at a courthouse, he was taken to a clinic where he was diagnosed with conjunctival hemorrhage damaging 80% of his right eye.

On seeing Ottaviani's mangled face, the guards stopped beating him and tied him up with plastic handcuffs. They loaded him onto a motorcycle and drove him off to a GNB bus parked on the Altamira highway interchange, where they held him for hours with other detained protesters. "I was scared; I thought they were going to kill me. The soldiers sought to inflict terror upon us during the hours we spent on the bus, threatening us with asphyxia by tear gas," Ottaviani recalls. But his resolve remains intact.  "I want to take to the streets again, but a judge took away my right of assembly. I'll never give up the fight. Venezuela is worth the sacrifice," he says.

Acts of torture and cruel treatment

A report released by the Human Rights Center at Andrés Bello Catholic University (CDH-UCAB) gives an account of 400 cases of detained protesters, as of 7 March, in the Greater Caracas area alone. The report identifies specific patterns of abuse by members of State security forces in locations like Universidad avenue (February 12), San Antonio de Los Altos (February 19), Los Castores (February 25), and Altamira square (February 28).

"Most detained protesters were held incommunicado; authorities did not record statements attesting to the mental and physical condition of the detainees; protesters report having been robbed of cash and cell phones. Most denounce having been subjected to physical abuse (beatings, pellet shooting) and psychological abuse (death or rape threats)," the report notes.

The report points out that the facilities used as detention centers "are completely inadequate," highlighting the case of the Command of the Bolivarian National Guard in La Dolorita (northeast of Caracas) where 18 youth were held for two days in one room, without a bathroom, ventilation, sleeping mats or food."

From those arrested at Urdaneta avenue, (downtown Caracas) 16 denounce having been subjected to acts of torture and cruel treatment while held at the Scientific, Criminal and Forensic Investigation Agency (Cicpc) headquarters in Parque Carabobo. "They were forced to remain on their knees keeping their trunk upright for hours. They were beaten up and doused with gasoline."

They disfigured my son's face

Luis Gutiérrez, a student at Central University of Venezuela, was taking part in a demonstration in San Antonio de Los Altos (Greater Caracas) on February 19 when he was arrested.

According to his mother, Katiuska Pietro, law enforcement officers beat him up so badly "causing multiple broken bones to his face, leaving it completely disfigured. He had to undergo reconstructive surgery."
The court was moved to the hospital in Los Teques (Greater Caracas) for Gutiérrez's hearing. He was released pending trial and must appear before court every 45 days, as reported by the Human Rights Center at Andrés Bello Catholic University (CDH-UCAB).

Ill-treated and robbed

Human rights lawyers, Elenis Rodríguez, the director of Fundeci, and Jackeline Sandoval, the president of Fundepro, along with a group of aggrieved youth, appeared before the Attorney General's Office to complain that the youth were not only beaten and vexed, but also robbed by security forces.

Ana Karina Triana (20), a marketing student, is one of such complainants. She was arrested by the GNB on Altamira square, as she was walking home with a friend. "I heard people shouting for us to run away, and I tried to, but oil on the pavement made it slippery. A guardsman grabbed me by the hair, loaded me onto a motorcycle and drove me off to the Altamira highway interchange. On arriving there, I was bludgeoned on the head with a tear gas grenade launcher. I was stunned," she says.

She was robbed of her backpack. As she was pushed into the BNG bus she saw two girls (Shakira Casal and Lisbel Sanguino) in handcuffs, surrounded by a dozen soldiers. "The girls were screaming because some of the military were spanking and groping them. I remained calm, yet the guardsmen yelled threats at me: ‘We're going to rape you, dirty bitch,' they kept saying."

Daniel Alejandro Rodríguez (20), a student at Nueva Esparta University, and Juan Pablo De Haro (20), a store worker, were beaten up by the GNB in Altamira on February 28.

Rodríguez was taken to a hospital "after a guardsman bludgeoned him on the head with a rifle." He was robbed of his cell phones. "The national guards who beat me up left bruises all over my body," De Haro says. He too was robbed of his backpack.

Shot in the genitals

Moisés David Guánchez (19) was sent home by his boss at a restaurant in La Cascada shopping mall (Greater Caracas) where he works, in view of the unrest of March 5. "When he left the mall, national guardsmen came at him. They fired a load of pellets at him. He was wounded in the groin, in the right buttock, and in one arm," says María Esperanza Hermida, a coordinator at Caracas-based human rights organization Provea.
Mónica Díaz, Guánchez's mother, says her bleeding son "was lifted onto a motorcycle, but the local residents started yelling at the GNB, calling for the young man to be taken to the hospital in a car. He was rushed to Victorino Santaella hospital where he underwent surgery," Hermida said.

Guánchez's is the first case in which the Office of the Ombudswoman requested an investigation into the actions of the national guard. The court acquitted and discharged him.

Bachelet reaffirms support to Maduro; urges respect for human rights

"We hope that democracy turns out to be an essential value"

EL UNIVERSAL

Monday March 17, 2014  11:58 AM

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has reaffirmed that nobody, included individuals or countries, is entitled to overthrown a legitimate elected president through violence. Bachelet's comment came with respect to a wave of protests staged in Venezuela against President Nicolás Maduro in recent weeks.

Amidst reports of torture and violation of dissenters' human rights, Bachelet told Reuters, "We hope at all times for the respect of human rights and the Constitution, and hope that democracy turns out to be an essential value."

Bachelet noted that during the meeting of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) held on Wednesday in Santiago de Chile, foreign ministers weighed alternatives to help Venezuela overcome the crisis. "This is why a joint declaration was produced and a foreign ministers committee will be set up to travel to Venezuela before April 1," Efe reported.

Venezuela protest 2014 Caracas cops clash with protesters

The Venezuela protest, 10 Downing Street

"Diffuse protests" do not lead to changes in Venezuela

Experts held meeting on protests at Andrés Bello Catholic University, Venezuela

JAVIER ALFREDO MORENO SUCRE |  EL UNIVERSAL

Tuesday March 18, 2014  07:12 AM

Scholars and specialists in social conflicts gathered at Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB), Caracas, at a forum on the Venezuelan crisis. The experts concluded that "protests taking place in the country need to be reoriented if there is a true interest in shifting the way of life of all Venezuelans."

Luis Vicente León, director of research firm Datanálisis and a panelist at the forum, entitled "Balance and assessment on protests," asserted during his presentation that even though 62% of the population believes the Venezuela's state of affairs is unstable; it is also true that 60% rejects barricades and violent actions.

"If people organizing protests over the situation of Venezuela does not find a way through which they can express themselves and be able to include Government supporters, they will just bring about a collective fatigue, which will not lead to positive results; they will be discouraging, instead," León said.


For his part, Luis Pedro España, a sociologist and Professor at UCAB, commented that "there are many reasons for protesting, a hundred, but they (demonstrations) must be specific; there must be clear ideas and the course must be defined. Diffuse protests are insufficient to achieve the changes the society needs," he claimed.

Venezuela Protests: Three Killed In Fresh Unrest

The US does not reply Maduro's proposal for dialogue; insists on mediation

The US Department of States Spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a briefing she did not believe that the US Government was considering naming a special envoy to start talks with Venezuela. The "Government and the opposition need to be in agreement" for the purpose of choosing a third party, the official stated

EL UNIVERSAL

Monday March 17, 2014  06:14 PM

The United States avoided answering questions about the offer made by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro entailing a dialogue on Venezuelan demonstrations, yet the United States reaffirmed that the intervention of a third party is "essential" to ease tension between the Venezuelan Government and the opposition, EFE informed.

US Department of State Spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a briefing she did not believe that her government was considering naming a special envoy to start talks with the Venezuelan Executive Office and the Union of South American States (Unasur), as proposed by Maduro on Saturday.

"We believe a dialogue should be facilitated by a third party acceptable to all parties in Venezuela," said Psaki adding that the Venezuelan "Government and the opposition need to be in agreement" for the purpose of choosing a third party.

The US spokesperson insisted on saying that the United States focused on "continuing to call on the Venezuelan Government to take steps to promote freedom of speech and take steps to release those who are unjustly jailed."


She commented that "the Venezuelan Government should stop the violence against its citizens (...) lift restrictions on freedom of the press, and engage in an inclusive dialogue with Venezuelans across the political spectrum."

Large protests in Venezuela despite carnival

Militarization in eastern Caracas fails to end protests

Chacao was seized by military officers on Monday at 3:00 a.m.

THÁBATA MOLINA |  EL UNIVERSAL

Tuesday March 18, 2014  10:23 AM

At 3:00 a.m. Monday, military officers took control of Chacao, eastern Caracas. Locals got frightened as they heard movement on the streets, but this time it was not law-enforcement officers, but a military contingent deploying across the area on grounds the municipality is facing a public security issue.

The order was given by the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, and aimed at bringing things back to normal in Chacao, said Minister Miguel Rodríguez Torres early in the morning.

National Guard officer and biker die in shooting eastern Caracas

At 10:00 in the morning of Thursday clashes began between a group of armed bikers and residents of Street A at Los Ruices, eastern Caracas. Members of a collective arrived in the area and tried to remove a barricade. During the action, a National Guard officer was injured and eventually died as soon as he was admitted to the emergency room.

A biker was also injured and admitted to hospital. He was identified as José Gregorio Amaris (25), who died in hospital, according to the speaker of the National Assembly Diosdado Cabello.

Local residents would bang pots as the armed groups showed up and shot at apartments. In reply, residents hurled bottles at them. It was a strained situation for over two hours. Last, collective members entered some of the buildings of Street A.

At 1:49 in the afternoon, Sucre Mayor Carlos Ocariz reported that the National Police detained several people. "At this moment, there are 25 armored vehicles of the National Guard in Los Ruices," he said.

Source: El Universal
This blog is sponsored by: http://8070132083.acnshop.eu

Fresh Venezuela protests erupt in Caracas streets after violent clashes

Anti-government protesters march in Caracas, calling for the release of dozens of activists who have been arrested during three weeks of violent demonstrations in Venezuela.

Anti-government protesters took to the streets of Venezuela's capital on Saturday, calling for the release of dozens of activists who have been arrested during three weeks of violent demonstrations.

Protesters from a radical opposition group formed a convoy of cars and bikes in eastern Caracas after fresh violence on Friday saw pitched battles between security forces and demonstrators.

Eighteen people have died in the demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro's government, according to official figures.

Protesters on Saturday vowed to boycott Venezuela's annual carnival celebrations as a mark of respect to the dead.

"We honor the dead. No carnival, there is nothing to celebrate," engineering student Argenis Arteaga told AFP at the protest.

Saturday's demonstration came after at least 41 people, including several foreign journalists, were arrested during Friday's clashes.

National Guard security forces used water cannons and tear gas to break up student-led demonstrations in the city's wealthy Chacao district.

Hooded protesters set up barricades and responded with a steady barrage of Molotov cocktails.

Maduro has labeled the protests that began on Feb. 4 as a Washington-backed attempted "coup."

He claims that radical opposition leaders have joined students angered by high inflation and goods shortage in plotting to topple his nearly year-old government.

FOREIGN REPORTERS DETAINED

Friday's arrests included eight foreigners who were being "held for international terrorism," state VTV television said in a brief statement.

Venezuela's journalist association SNTP said one of the foreigners was US freelance reporter Andrew Rosati, who writes for the Miami Herald.

Rosati was detained for half an hour and released after being "struck in the face and his abdomen" by security forces, the SNTP said on Twitter.

Also detained and released was a team of journalists from the Associated Press, it said.

The SNTP also said Italian photographer Francesca Commissari, who works for the local daily El Nacional, was being held.

Protest organizer Alfredo Romero said Saturday he had been in contact with Commissari .

"I spoke personally with Francesca Commissari. She's okay," Romero, president of the Venezuelan Penal Forum, wrote on Twitter.

Government officials released no details on the arrest of foreigners.

Friday's clashes added fuel to protests that had begun to flag after the government decreed several days of holidays to mark the start of Carnival season.

In a separate incident, Maduro said National Guard members were "ambushed" and shot at while removing debris from the streets of Valencia, Venezuela's economic hub. One died from a shot in the eye and another was shot twice in the leg.

"All these things are aimed at triggering a backlash from security forces," Maduro said.

"Justice must prevail against implacable murderers and those preparing paramilitary groups... to hide behind alleged protests and seek civil war."

The Venezuelan Penal Forum, meanwhile, said 33 cases of "cruel and inhuman treatment or torture" have been reported to the public ombudsman.

The government said it was investigating 27 cases of human rights abuses, though it provided no details of possible wrongdoing.

Some of the deaths have been attributed to violent clashes with police, but other victims have been shot by unidentified gunmen, whom the protesters have accused of being government agents.

The government has denied all links to such killings.

Source:The Moscow Times
This blog is sponsored by: http://8070132083.acnshop.eu

Mayor reports 15 people injured during demonstration in Caracas

The Bolivarian National Guard used tear gas against demonstrators.

As many as 15 people were injured during a demonstration held on Thursday in southeast Caracas, as reported by Mayor of Baruta municipality Gerardo Blyde.


The event occurred when demonstrators tried to take the highway in east Caracas, but police stopped them using tear gas. Sources reported that the students suffered suffocation and lacerations.

Source: El Universal
This blog is sponsored by: http://8070132083.acnshop.eu

Venezuelan authorities charge at demonstrators in east Caracas

A tree was hit by fire during the demonstration. Locals tried to put out the flames to prevent the tree from falling.

With tear gas and pellets, officers from the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) and the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) broke up a demonstration on Tuesday in Altamira, east Caracas.

Students demonstrating gathered in the area early in the afternoon at La Francia Square. By building barricades, demonstrators closed access in nearby avenues.


A tree was hit by fire during the demonstration. Locals tried to put out the flames to prevent the tree from falling.

Source: El Universal

This blog is sponsored by: http://8070132083.acnshop.eu

Venezuelan police and opposition activists clash in Caracas

Venezuelan police and opposition demonstrators have clashed at the end of a march that gathered tens of thousands of people in Caracas.

Several people were injured, as police fired tear gas and activists hurled stones in the Altamira district.

Supporters of left-wing President Nicolas Maduro marched in central Caracas and other cities.

Ten people have now died in nearly two weeks of protests, which Mr Maduro has called a coup attempt.

He says the violence is part of a strategy devised by right-wing groups, with the support of the US, to destabilise his government.

"We have a strong democracy. What we don't have in Venezuela is a democratic opposition," Mr Maduro told thousands of his supporters in Caracas.

Mr Maduro was elected last April, following the death of Hugo Chavez, who was in office for 14 years.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who was defeated in last year's presidential election, led a march in the capital.

Protesters in Caracas
The clashes took place in the eastern Caracas neighbourhood of Altamira, an opposition stronghold
He spoke against the arrest, on Tuesday, of fellow opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez, accused by the government of inciting violence.

Mr Capriles called on his supporters to carry on protesting, but to avoid any form of violence.

"There are millions of reasons to protest, there are so many problems, so many people suffering. But his movement we have built must be different," he said.

The opposition's main grievances are rampant crime, high inflation and the shortage of many staples. It blames the economic problems on the left-wing policies of the past 15 years.

Opposition demonstrators also took part in marches in western Tachira and Merida states.

The current wave of protests began on 12 February. Three people were shot dead at the end of those marches in Caracas by unknown gunmen.

Daily protests have been held in the capital for the past 11 days.

This blog is sponsored by: http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks