The Government of Guyana yesterday expressed grave concern over the escalating political unrest in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, while saying the resulting loss of innocent life is regrettable.
“The Government of Guyana stands with the Government of Venezuela and fully supports its efforts at withstanding acts of destabilisation.
The Government of Guyana hopes that peace and normalcy will soon prevail in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” the Donald Ramotar administration said in a brief statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last evening.
Reuters reported yesterday that anti-Maduro protests persisted in Venezuela, with dozens being jailed. It said that President Nicolas Maduro’s government kept dozens of student protesters behind bars on Friday as unrest still rumbled across Venezuela following this week’s violence at marches on Venezuela’s National Youth Day that killed three.
Opposition activists said peaceful protests have been infiltrated by provocateurs and attacked by militantly pro-government gangs known locally as “colectivos”; with about 150 protesters have been arrested in the last two weeks, most after Wednesday’s violence, with most due to face charges of violence and about 90 still behind bars on Friday.
Sixty-six people have been injured in violence around the nation this week, authorities said.
With both sides in Venezuela virulently blaming each other for the violence, international rights groups have called for an investigation. They have also expressed concern over the roughing up of some journalists and the pulling of a Colombian news station, NTN24, off air as it showed Wednesday’s events, Reuters added.
An article on bloomberg.com reported that in the absence of information from the government or local television outlets, Venezuelans had turned to foreign reporters and social media for news.
However Twitter Inc said the Venezuelan government blocked users’ online images as opposition groups marched through Caracas for a third day.
Euro news also reported that it is the worst bout of unrest seen on the streets of the country’s capital Caracas since the turmoil which followed Maduro’s election last year.
