Attorney General, Luisa Ortega Diaz has announced that four Merida police officers are implicated in the death of student, Douglas Rojas Jimenez, who died during student protests two weeks ago. Ortega states that the arrests are lamentable because the Merida state police has been categorized as one of the most respectful towards human rights. Investigations, she maintains, will continue to see if more people are involved in the assassination. Rojas Jimenez died after a marble fired from a catapult entered his skull and it would appear that marbles were found during a search at the police station. The open and increasingly bizarre debate between minority parties belonging to the Patriotic Alliance (AP) and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) continues. Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) general organizer, Carlos Aquino claims an opportunity is being wasted in not using the weight that different political organizations of the Alliance have in the upcoming regional elections. Aquino says it's would be more intelligent for the PSUV and allied parties supporting the same candidates to promote them as a unitary candidates. The PCV leader also highlights what he calls the "positive attitude" of President Chavez regarding reaching consensus among revolutionary parties because Aquino contends that Chavez is assuming his role as leader of the whole revolutionary process and not just the PSUV by expressing his disposition to hold a meeting of revolutionary parties.
President Chavez has made the topic of the infamous Return Directive issued by the European Union parliament a priority during his visit to European countries. The President clarifies that Venezuela could decide on issuing its own return directive of capitals affecting countries implementing the directive against illegal migrants and states that he would like to be able to sit down and discuss the matter without anybody butting in. The President made the statement after visiting Moscow. It would appear that President Chavez will raise the issue during his visit to Spain and Portugal, both members of the European Union. The reference about interference was undoubtedly aimed at King Juan Carlos of Spain who told Chavez to shut up during an Iberian-American summit last year. Chavez warns that if any Venezuelans are mistreated in the European Union or in the United States, Venezuela could sign a return directive of capitals against aggressor countries, stating emphatically that it is not an idle threat.
Venezuela and Belarus have agreed to facilitate trade and tourism between the two countries by allowing citizens to enter and stay for 90 days without requiring a visa. Over the last three years both countries have signed 69 agreements of cooperation in the areas of energy, food, industry, military, education and science. Visas will no longer be necessary for people carrying diplomatic passports, and officials.
According to an analysis in Prensa Latina news agency, the closeness of relations between Venezuela and Russia can be gauged by the length of the meeting between Presidents Hugo Chavez and Dmitry Medvedev, which went beyond the normally strict protocol timetable of an hour to last around five hours. Russia and Venezuela have signed four new agreements in the area of energy, one of which concerns the certification and joint oil exploration study in the Orinoco oil belt.
The "All Hands to Planting" agricultural program is considered a success. Program national coordinator, Carlos Lanz says the work, which lasted four months and consisting of improving maize plants in agro-ecological schools, has fulfilled all objectives. At a meeting to assess the results, experts from Cuba and Mexico and Venezuelan universities were able to see for themselves the result of a hundred hectares of maize sown in 18 university institutions throughout 14 states. Lanz says that given the success of the harvest, the plan will move towards growing black beans and other kind of beans. The focus of the program, the former Alcasa steel plant boss states, is the absence of chemical fertilizers and the use of biological controllers and other environment friendly methods.
Patrick J. O'Donoghue
patrick.vheadline@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment