Venezuela Mothers Demand End to Repression

HAVANA TIMES – A group of mothers dressed in black marched on Mother’s Day (May 14^th) to the general command of the National Guard (militarized police) of Venezuela to demand an end to the harsh repression against the demonstrations against the government of Nicolas Maduro, dpa reported.

In the new, almost daily protest against the government, several hundred mothers marched to the command, where they called attention to the 39 who died during the six weeks of protests, in addition to about 800 wounded.

Before a military cordon made up of female agents, the protesters read a document questioning that some soldiers had “tarnished” the uniform by firing “close-range” at the demonstrators.

“This cannot go on like this, (soldier) lower your weapon, let us pass and you will be received with love and compression,” said the manifesto read by actress Caterina Valentino at the gates of the military headquarters in southwest Caracas.

The demonstration began with a mass at a nearby church in honor of the victims in the protests. Then the women sang the national anthem and did a minute of silence in memory of the victims, in front of a wall of agents of the security forces.

Metropolitan mayor in charge of Caracas, Helen Fernandez, asked the National Guard to listen to the people. “If they are compelling you, do not be the backers of those who are violating human rights,” he said.

Shortly before, Maduro’s Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Godfather made public a message in which he proclaimed the “infinite” love of the Armed Forces by the mothers.

“Today, we exalt your infinite dedication, courage, perseverance and stoicism to forge our character and nourish our dreams,” he said. “You, Venezuelan mothers, today receive my most sincere congratulations and recognition for your untiring work for humanity. He stressed.

Meanwhile, the leader of the National Assembly (Congress), Julio Borges, denounced that Maduro is leading the Armed Forces to ignore the constitutional order, defending an “illegal” Constituent Assembly to reform the Constitution.

“We don’t want the Armed Forces to move over to the opposition, we want an Armed Forces to side with the Constitution, and be part of the fulfillment of the Constitution,” he said in a statement.

Maduro recently called a constituent that the opposition considers illegal, maintaining that the electoral basis for the appointment of the 500 delegates should be made with a universal, direct and secret election.

The opposition continued protests on Monday with sit-ins on the country’s main transit routes.