Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Venezuela opposition attacked after Chavez speech
19 Jan 2009 18:32:11 GMT
 Source: Reuters
CARACAS, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Assailants attacked Venezuela's opposition with tear gas on Monday after President Hugo Chavez told police to use gas at anti-government public disturbances ahead of a referendum on allowing the leftist re-election.

Venezuelans will vote on Feb. 15 on a proposed change to the constitution allowing Chavez and other politicians to stay in office as long as they keep winning elections.

A similar proposal was defeated in a referendum in 2007 after large and sometimes violent protest led by students.

Between Sunday night and Monday morning, unknown assailants threw tear gas canisters at the Vatican's embassy in Caracas and at the house of an anti-government media mogul and set fire to a student leader's sport utility vehicle.

Caracas's opposition mayor said gunmen forced their way into city hall on Saturday and gas canisters were lobbed at a student news conference broadcast live on television on Monday.

The series of gas attacks and the burning of student leader Ricardo Sanchez's car followed a speech by Chavez on Saturday calling for police to break up public disturbances.

"Spray them with gas," he said during the speech, which followed a violent student protest against the re-election proposal last week.

The government said the string of attacks was organized by the opposition in cahoots with television station Globovision to cast the government in a bad light.

"Tear gas bombs and burnt cars have already started to appear, curiously along with Globovision cameras," said Jorge Rodriguez, a Chavez ally and mayor for a district in central Caracas.

The Roman Catholic church is unpopular with some Chavez supporters because it often speaks out against the government. Last week Venezuelan bishops said they were "worried" by the proposal to allow Chavez to run gain for office.

The Vatican embassy in Caracas provides refuge to Nelson Moreno, a student leader accused of trying to rape a policewoman.

His lawyer on Monday blamed the attack at the institution on a group of hard-line Chavez supporters known as Colectivo La Piedrita. The group was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel; editing by David Wiessler)


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  New Guidance on Safe Cooking Fuel for Households in Humanitarian Settings Secures International Endorsement
Women's Commission - USA

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Venezuela opposition attacked after Chavez speech

•  REFILE-Cuba's Fidel Castro "working and writing"- Chavez

•  RUSSIAN SOVEREIGN INVESTMENTS CAN HELP IT MANAGE OIL PRICE DECLI

•  Venezuela cuts ties with Israel over Gaza attacks

•  Venezuela says cuts ties with Israel over Gaza

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Background information

Facts & figures
Venezuela

Related articles

Breaking stories
 Venezuela opposition attacked after Chavez speech (1 minute ago)

REFILE-Cuba's Fidel Castro "working and writing"- Chavez (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 MEDIAWATCH: Food summit thwarts hope (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 New Guidance on Safe Cooking Fuel for Households in Humanitarian Settings Secures International Endorsement (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Peace game to help train disaster responders (1 minute ago)

Maps
 MAP: Tuberculosis estimated new cases (2006) (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-13T152415Z_01_SAN04_RTRIDSP_2_YEMEN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SAN04.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-13T141314Z_01_SAN05_RTRIDSP_2_YEMEN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SAN05.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-09T153737Z_01_AMM68_RTRIDSP_2_JORDAN-GAZA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AMM68.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-09T153244Z_01_AMM69_RTRIDSP_2_JORDAN-GAZA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AMM69.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-08T154220Z_01_AMM10_RTRIDSP_2_JORDAN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AMM10.htm

Students carry a banner of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, during a protest against Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip, outside the UN's offices in Sanaa January 13, 2009. The banner reads: ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Jan 19 18:33:45 2009