Sunday, February 16, 2014

Protests turn violent Venezuela amid growing anger

The demonstrations are the largest faced by President Nicolás Maduro since he came to power last year.
 
CARACAS — Shots rang out and tear gas clouded the air of a wealthy Caracas district on Saturday night as protests against the government entered into a fourth consecutive day.
Rioters burned trash and threw stones at police in the city's Plaza Altamira. In return, authorities used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowds numbering over 1,000.

There is growing anger here at soaring inflation — which has grown to 56.3% over the past 12 months — and a murder rate that, according to local NGOs, is one of the world's highest.
"The government is taking us into the slaughterhouse," said Valentina Ortiz, a 33-year-old pediatrician in Plaza Altamira. "We'll just be able to get food and water soon."
Like Ortiz, other protesters vowed to continue the to rally until things change. "It doesn't matter how long it takes, a week, a month. We'll be here every single day," said Jose Pérez, 34. "We are at war."
The protests are the largest faced by President Nicolás Maduro since he came to power last year after the death of Hugo Chávez.
Saturday night's violence erupted after tens of thousands turned out for government and opposition marches during the day, both of which remained peaceful. There was a joyous, festival atmosphere at the pro-government march.
"The Revolution is love, is peace," read many placards, denying claims that the government was to blame for the violence.
Maduro has vowed to put an end to the violence.
"I'm not giving up a single millimeter of the power invested in me by the Venezuelan people," Maduro told the crowds, from a brightly-colored stage peppered with the words, "People of Peace."
The 51-year-old president has the protesters "Nazi fascists" who want to see him toppled from power. He blamed them for the violence.
"We're marching for peace; we don't want violence," said Jackeline Maceas, a 41-year-old administrator clad in a red cap and t-shirt emblazoned with the face of Chávez.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Leopoldo López, a major opposition leader who has backed the protests. The 42-year-old, once touted as the country's next president, is charged with murder and terrorism. Despite the charges, he continues to taunt the government.
"Don't you have the guts to arrest me?" he asked on Twitter, adding perhaps the government was awaiting orders from Havana, Cuba.
Diosdado Cabello, the head of Venezuela's National Assembly, said López was a "coward" trying to escape the country. and called him a "coward."
During the day, students held an anti-government protest in Caracas' Las Mercedes district.
"All of our children are equal, whether opposition or pro-government," said 45-year-old mother Carolina Morales. "The government is to blame for this violence, for provoking the students. The students have to defend themselves against the government's bullets."
David Smilde, a local sociology professor, says that government repression is playing a big part in stoking the protests.
"The protests really gathered steam once they started to be repressed. Students are protesting because they feel Venezuela's democratic spaces are being reduced," Smilde said. "People feel like if they don't do something now democratic spaces for their voices will only be reduced further in the future."
With no looming election, there is little hope that the protests will topple Maduro from power. The unrest also points toward a split within the opposition as Henrique Capriles, the opposition's leader who lost elections against both Maduro and Chávez, has distanced himself from the demonstrations.
Opposition supporters now see little hope in Capriles, and support is growing for more hardline members of the opposition.
"López is more radical than Capriles, and that's what this country needs right now," said protester Tulio Manzini, 22, in Plaza Altamira.
  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/15/venezuela-caracas-protests/5507101/
16/2/14
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  • Demonstrations continue in Venezuela (photos)....

Oppositions gather to protest against recent political violence that killed three at Alfredo Sadel de Las Mercedes Square in Caracas, Venezuela, on Feb. 15, 2014. Demonstrators supporting the government also gathered on Saturday to participate in the "March for Peace" called by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (Xinhua/Boris Vergara).......more photos ..........http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2014-02/16/c_133118166.htm
16/2/14

8 comments:

  1. Protests, violence continue in Venezuela...

    (CNN) -- Young Venezuelans unhappy with the ravaged economy, shortages and rising crime clashed again Friday with security forces who fired tear gas and water cannons.

    Hundreds of anti-government protesters blocked traffic on a major highway in Caracas, days after three Caracas protesters died in violence.

    The clashes, which have left dozens more injured or detained across the country, have exacerbated an already tense situation.

    President Nicolas Maduro, in a nationally televised speech, announced Friday the launch of a "national plan for peace and coexistence."

    Maduro said state and senior military officials will work together to reduce violence "from its bases," state media reported.

    Authorities on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for an opposition leader on charges including conspiracy and murder in connection with recent clashes..............http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/14/world/americas/venezuela-protests/index.html
    16/2/14

    ReplyDelete
  2. Präsident Maduro: Kolumbianischer Ex-Staatschef steht hinter Unruhen in Venezuela...

    Der venezolanische Präsident Nicolas Maduro hat am Samstag dem früheren kolumbianischen Präsidenten Alvaro Uribe vorgeworfen, Unruhen in Venezuela angestiftet zu haben.

    „Alvaro Uribe finanziert und leitet diese faschistischen (an den Unruhen beteiligten, Red.) Bewegungen“, zitieren venezolanische Massenmedien Maduro.

    Am Mittwoch hatten in verschiedenen Städten Venezuelas Märsche von Anhängern und von Gegnern des Staatspräsidenten stattgefunden. Es kam zu Unruhen, bei denen drei Menschen getötet und Dutzende verletzt wurden. Es gab Festnahmen.

    Die venezolanischen Behörden hatten Uribe bereits früher vorgeworfen, an angeblichen Plänen für die Organisation eines Attentats auf Maduro beteiligt zu sein.
    http://de.ria.ru/politics/20140216/267844718.html
    16/2/14

    ReplyDelete
  3. Venezuela president expels three US consular officials...

    Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is expelling three US consular officials, accusing them of meeting students involved in anti-government protests.

    The country has seen growing political tension and rallies, with three protesters dying in clashes last week.

    An arrest warrant has been issued for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who has pledged to lead a march in the capital Caracas on Tuesday.

    The US has expressed concern about arrests of opposition protesters.

    Mr Maduro did not name the US officials being expelled, when he made the announcement in a national TV broadcast, but said the foreign ministry would give details later.

    "It's a group of US functionaries who are in the universities. We've been watching them having meetings in the private universities for two months. They work in visas," the president said.

    "Venezuela doesn't take orders from anyone!" he added.

    On Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement expressing concern about the rising tensions in Venezuela.

    "We are particularly alarmed by reports that the Venezuelan government has arrested or detained scores of anti-government protestors and issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez," read the statement.

    The main opposition grievances are high inflation, crime and the shortage of some staples...........http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-26220184
    17/2/14

    ReplyDelete
  4. Venezuela opposition's Leopoldo Lopez hands himself in...

    A Venezuelan opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, has handed himself over to the National Guard after holding a speech to thousands of his supporters.

    He said he hoped his arrest would wake up the country to its "unjust justice".

    It comes as several thousand of pro- and anti-government supporters took part in tense rival rallies in the capital, Caracas.

    Mr Lopez was wanted on charges of inciting violence during recent street protests which left at least four dead.

    Speaking before thousands of his supporters wearing red, President Nicolas Maduro said Mr Lopez would be brought to Justice...............http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-26244539
    18/2/14

    ReplyDelete
  5. Proteste in Venezuela...Oppositionsführer Lopez stellt sich...

    Um seine Landsleute auf die zunehmende Unterdrückung durch die venezolanische Regierung aufmerksam zu machen, hat sich der per Haftbefehl gesuchte Oppositionsführer Leopoldo Lopez selbst an die Polizei ausgeliefert. Lopez stellte sich nach einer Kundgebung in der Hauptstadt Caracas. Er liefere sich einer "ungerechten und korrupten Justiz" aus. Wenn seine Festnahme aber dazu diene, das Volk aufzurütteln, dann sei es das wert, sagte der 42-jährige Koordinator der Oppositionspartei Voluntad Popular unmittelbar vor seiner Festnahme vor Tausenden Anhängern............http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/venezuela292.html
    18/2/14

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fifth Venezuelan Dies in Protests ...

    A fifth Venezuelan protester has died from wounds suffered during anti-government demonstrations in the past week.

    The 22-year-old student was shot in the head Tuesday in the central city of Valencia, during a protest against the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro.

    Meanwhile Wednesday, supporters of opposition leader Leopold Lopez gathered outside a Caracas courthouse before a hearing on charges he fomented a week of violent protest to overthrow Maduro.

    Lopez spent the night in jail after turning himself in Thursday. An arrest warrant earlier said Lopez could face charges that include homicide.

    National Guard troops in armored vehicles stood watch over demonstrators calling for Lopez' release.

    On Monday, Maduro ordered the expulsion of three U.S. Embassy officials, after Washington came to Lopez' defense.

    The State Department on Tuesday said allegations the United States is helping to organize Venezuelan protests are "baseless and false," adding that Venezuela is trying "to distract from its own actions by blaming the United States.".............http://www.voanews.com/content/a-fifth-venezuelan-dies-from-wounds-in-opposition-protests/1854869.html
    19/2/14

    ReplyDelete
  7. Venezuela: un bataillon de parachutistes pour contrôler la protestation...

    Caracas a ordonné jeudi l'envoi d'un bataillon de parachutistes à San Cristobal (ouest), l'un des centres de la protestation étudiante, tandis que le président Nicolas Maduro a menacé de bloquer la diffusion de CNN.

    Ce bataillon de parachutistes sera chargé d'assurer le contrôle des accès San Cristobal, capitale de l'Etat de Tachira, a annoncé le ministre de l'Intérieur, Miguel Rodriguez.

    Depuis début février, le Venezuela est le théâtre de manifestations étudiantes appuyées par l'opposition entamées en province sur le thème de l'insécurité et du coût de la vie, qui sont régulièrement suivies d'incidents violents en soirée..............http://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/detail_venezuela-une-marche-blanche-des-etudiants-contre-les-violences?id=8206326
    21/2/14

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fresh Venezuela protests as opposition leader remains in custody...

    Security forces and protesters continue to clash in Venezuela as barricades blazed across several cities, including San Cristobal and Valencia.

    Witnesses say parts of the cities are like “war zones” and that many businesses remain closed, CNN reports.

    At least five people have been killed in the unrest to date and both sides have accused the other of violence and brutality.

    Authorities say some 200 people have been detained in the last week alone, but human rights organisations say the figure is actually far higher.

    Anti-government protesters also gathered on Thursday near the Ramo Verde military prison, southwest of Caracas, where one of Venezuela's opposition figures, Leopoldo Lopez, is being held.

    He has been accused of inciting violence and being responsible for the deaths of protesters at demonstrations he called.

    His wife, Lilian Tintori de Lopez, tweeted opposition supporters on Thursday: “Change depends on every one of us. Don't give up!”

    Running battles with police have been reported in the Caracas opposition stronghold of Chacao district.

    The district's mayor and opposition member Ramon Muchacho, told reporters that he had witnessed 15 people injured in one of the district's hospitals, including “a young person losing an eye [and] nine people injured by rubber bullets”, reports BBC Mundo.

    Leopoldo Lopez, who is leader of the centrist Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) political party, was remanded in custody after Wednesday's hearing pending further proceedings...............http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/291327--fresh-venezuela-protests-as-opposition-leader-remains-in-custody
    21/2/14

    ReplyDelete

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