Six ousted opposition lawmakers fled to Colombia after an Ecuadorean prosecutor requested that they and their colleagues be arrested for sedition.
Prosecutor Elsa Moreno accused two dozen ousted legislators of disregarding authority after they declared themselves to be legitimate congressmen based on a ruling this week handed down by Ecuador's Constitutional Tribunal.
TRIBUNAL DISMISSED
The tribunal was dismissed by the sitting congress as President Rafael Correa tightened his hold over all branches of government.
On Tuesday, Correa disregarded the tribunal's ruling and surrounded Congress with police to prevent the lawmakers from returning.
Alfonso Harb, one of the six ousted congressmen who fled to Colombia, on Wednesday said the prosecutor's request for the arrest warrants represents "political persecution against the opposition congressmen. ... We were dismissed unfairly in violation of the Constitution."
More than half of congress was fired last month by an electoral tribunal that accused the lawmakers of interfering with a referendum on the need for a new constitution.
An overwhelming 82 percent of voters last week approved the election of a constitutional assembly that Correa hopes will reduce the power of political parties.
`PERSECUTION'
Ousted congresswoman Gloria Gallardo, also in Colombia, said that lawmakers feared for their lives and were evaluating whether to request political asylum from Colombian authorities.
She said they fled Ecuador to escape the "political persecution they are suffering" because of Correa's government.
Correa said he opposed the prosecutor's request to a judge for the arrest orders.
The judge, Elsa Sanchez, said she was studying the request.
But Correa warned that if any of the dismissed lawmakers tried to enter Congress by force, "it will be necessary to send them to prison."
The dismissal of the tribunal effectively consolidated Correa's control over the courts and legislature in the politically unstable Andean nation.
Correa is Ecuador's eighth president in a decade.
During that period, Congress has dismissed three unpopular presidents and has violated impeachment proceedings in the process.
On Wednesday, the top US diplomat for the Americas, Thomas Shannon, voiced support for political reform in Ecuador, saying that "the Ecuadorean people spoke with a firm voice in the referendum."
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
RSS