Venezuela's opposition met with international observers Wednesday, pleading for help in reversing the denial of a recall referendum against President Hugo Chavez.
Rioting subsided in cities throughout this deeply divided country, which sits atop the Western Hemisphere's largest oil reserves and is the world's No. 5 exporter. Venezuelans are torn between those who say Chavez has become increasingly autocratic and those who say he speaks for the poor.
At least seven people have died and scores have been wounded since demonstrations began last Friday, security officials said.
The violence halted after pleas from international observers and some opposition officials, but leaders warned more unrest is in store if citizens are denied their constitutional right to demand Chavez's ouster. A march was planned in Caracas for yesterday.
Venezuela's opposition appealed to the Organization of American States, the US-based Carter Center and other organizations and countries with an interest in the stability of one of the world's top oil exporters to help reverse Tuesday's ruling.
In Washington, US Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that Vene-zuela was in crisis because of "Chavez's increasingly antidemocratic actions."
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel rejected Noriega's remarks as "untrue."
"This is an absolutely and totally democratic country," he said Wednesday.
Chavez was re-elected to a six-year term in 2000. If he loses in a referendum held before mid-August, the midway point for his term, new presidential elections must be held. But if he loses in a vote held after mid-August, Rangel would take over for the rest of his term.
Opponents fear if that happens, Chavez would merely rule behind his right-hand man for the rest of his term.
The opposition handed in more than 3 million signatures in December to demand the recall. About 2.4 million are required for a vote.
But the elections council said Tuesday that only 1.8 million signatures were valid and that another 1.1 million signatures may be authentic -- but only if citizens come forward to confirm they signed.
The council rejected 140,000 signatures outright.
Prospects for a reversal of the council's decision were slim. Council director Jorge Rodriguez said Wednesday that election officials and opposition leaders -- with OAS and Carter Center mediation -- were negotiating a compromise -- but only on details, like how many voting centers to set up for the process and how long it would take.
The OAS and Carter Center boosted opposition spirits Tuesday by disagreeing with the decision to force citizens to sign again. They insisted an electoral solution is the only way out of the crisis. Among the obstacles are the differences among opposition leaders.
Some insist civil disobedience is the only option, arguing Chavez has proven -- by claiming the process is fraudulent and sending troops against protesters -- that he cannot be trusted to respect elections.
Others say street protests are useless, pointing to a botched 2002 coup and a bitter general strike last year that allowed Chavez to consolidate his control over the military and the crucial oil industry.
Moderates -- mostly traditional political parties who reluctantly went along with last year's strikes -- believe they can get at least 600,000 citizens to come forward to obtain the required 2.4 million signatures -- especially if the process is open to international scrutiny.
"Is this possible? Yes it is," opposition columnist Jorge Olavarria wrote in Wednesday's El Nacional newspaper. "It's difficult, it requires organizations, motivation and a desire to win. I think we have all of that."
The Bolivian government on Friday struck a deal with protesting miners, but was still grappling with blockades and demonstrations by other workers across La Paz. Other groups are still blocking access roads into the city, which is also the seat of the government. Police on Thursday prevented the miners from entering the main square by using tear gas, while the demonstrators hurled stones and explosives with slingshots. Protests against the policies of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz have convulsed the Andean nation since early this month, and roadblocks were choking routes into La Paz throughout Friday, the national road authority said. Miners demanded that Paz
The Philippines said it has asked the country’s Supreme Court to allow it to arrest former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s chief drug war enforcer to stand trial in an international tribunal. The International Criminal Court (ICC) last week unsealed an arrest warrant against Philippine Senator Ronald dela Rosa, accusing him along with Duterte and other “coperpetrators” of the “crime against humanity of murder.” Dela Rosa briefly sought refuge in the Philippine Senate last week while asking the Philippine Supreme Court to stop an ongoing attempt by government agents to arrest him. “By his own conduct, he has placed himself outside the protection of
A ship anchored off the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was seized and taken toward Iran and another — a cargo ship near Oman — sank after being attacked, authorities said on Thursday, as tensions escalated near the Strait of Hormuz. It was not immediately clear who was behind these incidents, but they happened as a senior Iranian official reiterated his country’s claim of control over the waterway and another said it had a right to seize oil tankers connected to the US. The turmoil in the strait has been a sticking point for weeks in talks between the US and Iran to
Crowds in Bangladesh are flocking to snap photographs with an unlikely social media star — an albino buffalo with flowing blond hair nicknamed “Donald Trump” that is due to be sacrificed within days. Owner Zia Uddin Mridha, 38, said his brother named the 700kg bull over its flowing helmet of hair resembling the signature look of the US president. “My younger brother picked this name because of the buffalo’s extraordinary hair,” he said at his farm in Narayanganj, just outside the capital, Dhaka. Mridha said that a constant stream of curious visitors — social media fans, onlookers and children — have come throughout
RSS