Page 20 - MIN JUS - MAY28,2015
P. 20
WORLD NEWS A11
Thursday 28 May 2015
Venezuela:
Planned march shows cracks in opposition movement
HANNAH DREIER dorse the rally because ruary 2014. It’s a striking
Associated Press contrast to the two years
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) it had been unable to the late President Hugo
— One of Venezuela’s Chavez spent in prison af-
most high-profile politicians reach a consensus under ter a failed coup in 1992.
has called an anti-govern- The socialist leader regu-
ment march on Saturday, the circumstances. The larly received guests and
but the main opposition gave television interviews.
coalition is not endorsing statement suggested the Despite the coalition
the protest, underscoring stand, moderate oppo-
fissures among critics of the difficulty of coordinating sition leader Henrique
country’s socialist govern- Capriles, who came close
ment. with an imprisoned leader, to beating Maduro in the
In a recording leaked from 2013 presidential election,
his prison cell over the though even when he was said Wednesday that he
weekend, former Mayor planned to attend.
Leopoldo Lopez asked free, Lopez clashed with “In support of freedom for
people unhappy with the our companions who are
administration of President other opposition politicians political prisoners, I’m go-
Nicolas Maduro to take to ing to participate without
the streets for a massive, about the wisdom of big seeking to divide,” he wrote
peaceful demonstration to on his Twitter account.q
demand releasing political street protests.
prisoners and scheduling a
legislative election. Lopez and fellow jailed for-
The Harvard-educated Lo-
pez, who represents the mer mayor Daniel Ceballos
more radical wing of the
opposition, has been jailed say they launched a hun- Lilian Tintori, the wife of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lo-
for 15 months in connection pez speaks during a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela.
with a bloody street protest ger strike last weekend to Tintori said her husband who is imprisoned at the Ramo Verde
movement that swept Ven- military prison started a hunger strike last Sunday to demand the
ezuela in the spring of 2014. protest what they see as release of political prisoners and the definition of the date for
On Tuesday, the coali- parliamentary elections.
tion that includes Lopez’s creeping authoritarianism.
party said it would not en- (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Human rights groups con-
sider many of the jailed op-
position politicians in Ven-
ezuela political prisoners, wife, Lilian Tintori, said. most mostly out of public
though the government Lopez has been kept al- sight since his arrest in Feb-
says they are justly impris-
oned on criminal charges
including incitement to vio-
lence and disturbing the
peace.
Government officials have
said Lopez is still eating, but
the men’s families affirmed
Tuesday that they really
have stopped.
“Their hunger strike rep-
resents the suffering of all
Venezuelans,” Lopez’s
Colombian rebel negotiator
among dead in military raid
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia last week.
Leftist rebels in Colombia He had been a close con-
are claiming that one of fidant of the FARC’s rul-
their envoys to peace talks ing Secretariat and was
with the government has recently seen in Havana
been killed during a military advising negotiators trying
raid. to bring an end to Colom-
The Revolutionary Armed bia’s half-century conflict.
Forces of Colombia say in a The FARC says Martinez was
statement issued Wednes- visiting troops to discuss
day said the man known by progress at the peace talks
the alias Jairo Martinez was when they were surprised
among 27 rebel fighters by the air and ground as-
killed during an attack on a sault. Martinez’s real name
guerrilla camp in southwest is Pedro Nel Daza.q
