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Troops clash with Venezuelan protesters (use tear gas, plastic bullets,water cannons on thousands)
AP on Yahoo ^ | 11/1/07 | Christopher Toothaker - ap

Posted on 11/01/2007 7:13:07 PM PDT by NormsRevenge

CARACAS, Venezuela - Soldiers used tear gas, plastic bullets and water cannons to scatter tens of thousands who massed Thursday to protest constitutional reforms that would permit Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to run for re-election indefinitely.

Led by university students, protesters chanted "Freedom! Freedom!" and warned that 69 amendments drafted by the Chavista-dominated National Assembly would violate civil liberties and derail democracy.

It was the biggest turnout against Chavez in months, and appeared to revive Venezuela's languid opposition at a time when the president seems as strong as ever. Students promised more street demonstrations over the weekend, but no opposition-led protests were planned for Friday.

"This is a dictatorship masked as democracy," said Jorge Rivas, an 18-year-old student. "Chavez wants our country to be like Cuba, and we're not going to allow that to occur."

Authorities broke up the protest outside the headquarters of the country's electoral council, reporting that six police officers and one student were injured. But students said dozens of protesters were hurt during the melee. The local Globovision television network broadcast footage of several police beating an unarmed protester with billy clubs.

Student leader Freddy Guevara said it was not immediately clear how many students were arrested, and he urged local human rights groups to help verify the number of detained protesters.

Students hurled rocks and bottles, and a few lifted up sections of metal barricades and thrust them against police holding riot shields. Students retreated later when police fired plastic bullets.

Rock-throwing clashes between students and Chavez supporters continued at a nearby university campus.

"Chavez wants to remain in power his entire life, and that's not democracy," said Gonzalo Rommer, a 20-year-old student who joined protesters marching to the National Elections Council.

Deputy Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami blamed students for the violence, saying they forced their way through police barricades.

But Vicente Diaz, one of the National Election Council's five directors, accused National Guardsmen and police of using excessive force to disperse protesters. "We absolutely condemn the behavior of the authorities," Diaz said.

The amendments would give the government control over the Central Bank, create new types of cooperative property, allow authorities to detain citizens without charge during a state of emergency and extend presidential terms from six to seven years while allowing Chavez to run again in 2012.

To take effect, the reforms must be approved by voters in a Dec. 2 referendum. Lawmakers are expected to give final approval to the amendments on Friday during a special congressional session.

Opposition parties, human rights groups and representatives of the Roman Catholic Church fear civil liberties would be severely weakened under the constitutional changes.

Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, denies the reforms threaten civil liberties.

He and his supporters say the changes will help move the country toward socialism, while giving neighborhood-based assemblies more decision-making power in using government funds for local projects like paving streets and building public housing.

Deputy Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami blamed students for the unrest, saying they'd forced their way through police barricades. But Vicente Diaz, one of the electoral council's five directors, criticized National Guardsmen and police for using excessive force to break up the march.

"We absolutely condemn the behavior of the authorities," Diaz said.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: clash; hugo; hugochavez; protesters; troops; venezuela; venezuelan

1 posted on 11/01/2007 7:13:08 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
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A student protestor holds a placard during a demonstration against constitutional reforms in Caracas November 1, 2007. The placard reads, "The reform smells like sulphur". REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA)


2 posted on 11/01/2007 7:13:39 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed ... ICE’s toll-free tip hotline —1-866-DHS-2-ICE ... 9/11 .. Never FoRGeT)
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An ice-cream vendor chats with National Guard soldiers before a student protest against constitutional reforms in Caracas November 1, 2007. REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA)


3 posted on 11/01/2007 7:14:22 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed ... ICE’s toll-free tip hotline —1-866-DHS-2-ICE ... 9/11 .. Never FoRGeT)
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Anti-riot police fire rubber bullets against university protesters in Caracas, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007. Troops used tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators who turned out by the tens of thousands to protest constitutional reforms that would permit Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez to run for re-election indefinitely. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)


4 posted on 11/01/2007 7:15:35 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed ... ICE’s toll-free tip hotline —1-866-DHS-2-ICE ... 9/11 .. Never FoRGeT)
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To: NormsRevenge

5 posted on 11/01/2007 7:19:49 PM PDT by ari-freedom (I am for traditional moral values, a strong national defense, and free markets.)
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To: NormsRevenge

The wheels are coming off the bus.


6 posted on 11/01/2007 7:24:51 PM PDT by Brilliant
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To: NormsRevenge
A sad situation for these people and one not likely to improve. Perhaps they will have to trade notes with Burmese monks in a friendly third country (if one exists willing to take refugees from “progressive” regimes)
7 posted on 11/01/2007 7:24:58 PM PDT by JimSEA
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To: NormsRevenge
Deputy Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami...

Somehow, I do not think that this guy is mestizo...
8 posted on 11/01/2007 7:27:22 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: NormsRevenge

Where is the idiot jimmy carter?


9 posted on 11/01/2007 7:30:58 PM PDT by Ceebass
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To: Army Air Corps
Here is some background on the Justice Minister. The information comes from www.vcrisis.com

Venezuela: Terrorist links at the Immigration Department

By Veneconomy

President Hugo Chávez’ administration has been linked to guerrilla movements and terrorist activities, mainly radical Arab groups in the Middle East. The most recent accusation comes from an investigative report conducted for the Miami Herald by Phil Gunson, president of the Foreign Press Association in Venezuela.

The starting point of the investigation was the appointments of Hugo Cabezas, aged 38, and Tarek el-Aissami, 28, as director and assistant director of the DIEX (Identification and Immigration Office) two months ago. According to Gunson, the appointments came as a surprise precisely because of the ties that both officers have with radical guerrilla movements at Universidad de Los Andes (ULA) and el-Aisammi’s possible ties with radical movements in the Middle East.

It is said that both Cabezas and el-Aissami have fostered the presence of urban guerrillas in cahoots with the governor of Mérida, Florencio Porras, for whom Cabezas worked as secretary until last July. Cabezas was a founder member of Utopia, an armed group that has connections with the Bolivarian Liberation Front.

El-Aissami, a Venezuelan whose father is Syrian, was president of the ULA’s students union for two years up until July this year, when he failed to get reelected. Apparently, he had managed to get members of the guerilla installed in the student residences during this time. According to Gunson, of the 1,122 people living in one of the ULA’s residences, only 387 are active students and more than 600 have nothing to do with the university.

El-Aissami had political control of the residences, which were used to hide stolen vehicles and conduct drug deals. In addition, the people living there would use balaclavas to commit crimes on the streets.

As though that were not enough, el-Aissami’s father is the head of the Venezuelan branch of the Iraqi political party Baath, while his great-uncle Shibli el-Aissami was a prominent ideologist and assistant to the party’s secretary general in Baghdad during the Saddam Hussein administration. Guson points out that Tarek el-Aissami was unwilling to give a statement to the Miami Herald.

The DIEX, the agency in charge of issuing identity cards and passports, has been put into the hands of radicals with terrorist connections precisely at a time when Venezuela is at the gates of a revocatory referendum against President Chávez and a number of deputies. It seems quite clear that the government intends to commit fraud in order to derail the referendum initiative.

 


10 posted on 11/01/2007 7:34:07 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: Ceebass
No Jimmah but how about Naomi Campbell?

.

British supermodel Naomi Campbell smiles next to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at Miraflores Palace in Caracas October 31, 2007. REUTERS/Miraflores Palace//Right photo - Carlos Garcia Rawlins (VENEZUELA).

11 posted on 11/01/2007 7:36:07 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed ... ICE’s toll-free tip hotline —1-866-DHS-2-ICE ... 9/11 .. Never FoRGeT)
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To: NormsRevenge

“”This is a dictatorship masked as democracy,” said Jorge Rivas, an 18-year-old student. “Chavez wants our country to be like Cuba, and we’re not going to allow that to occur.””

Might be too late.


12 posted on 11/01/2007 8:07:41 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz
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To: EQAndyBuzz

Might be too late.

— For the sake of all the Venezuelan people who yearn for freedom and liberty and not just lip service to same, I hope not.


13 posted on 11/01/2007 8:14:38 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed ... ICE’s toll-free tip hotline —1-866-DHS-2-ICE ... 9/11 .. Never FoRGeT)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; KlueLass; ...
Led by university students, protesters chanted "Freedom! Freedom!" and warned that 69 amendments drafted by the Chavista-dominated National Assembly would violate civil liberties and derail democracy.
69 constitutional amendments? Wow. Anyway, this crowd should be burning Jimmy Carter in effigy.
14 posted on 11/01/2007 9:01:45 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Profile updated Monday, October 22, 2007. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: NormsRevenge
“This is a dictatorship masked as democracy,” said Jorge Rivas, an 18-year-old student. “Chavez wants our country to be like Cuba, and we’re not going to allow that to occur.”

As Ed Asner, Woody Harrilson, left wing Hollywood loonies and American University students support and cheer the current Venezuelan President & Government....

15 posted on 11/02/2007 5:04:34 AM PDT by never4get (Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy)
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To: alekboyd; Flavius; gabrielgarcia; Kitten Festival; livius; Tailgunner Joe

ping


16 posted on 11/02/2007 6:13:23 AM PDT by Wiz
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