Morning Star.png Anti-Chavists Pass Law to Free Criminals James Tweedie, The Morning Star, London, 31 March 2016 Venezuela’s opposition-controlled parliament has passed a new law to free anti-government terrorists and other criminals. The so-called Amnesty Law, passed on Tuesday night, would pardon a wide range of crimes committed between January 1 1999 — a month before the late president Hugo Chavez’s first election victory — and the present. United Socialist Party (PSUV) President Nicolas Maduro condemned the legislation from the Democratic Unity Roundtable (Mud) alliance and vowed to veto it. “They are approving a law to protect killers, criminals, drug traffickers and terrorists,” he said in a televised address. “You can be sure it will not pass.” Guarimba treason, sabotage and coup d’état PSUV National Assembly deputies and party supporters say that the timeframe betrays the law’s true purpose as a get-out-of-jail-free card for those guilty of the failed 2002 coup d’état and other acts of treason and economic sabotage. It could see more than 70 opposition leaders freed, with far-right Popular Will (VP) party leader Leopoldo Lopez the most prominent among them. Mr Lopez was jailed for almost 14 years last year for inciting 2014’s deadly Guarimba regime change riots that left 43 people dead — including youthful PSUV Deputy Robert Serra and his female assistant, murdered at his Caracas flat. The Committee of Victims of the Guarimbas said Mud deputies had ignored their concerns about the law. Former National Assembly speaker Diosdado Cabello called the law “a coup against Venezuela’s people” and a “self-pardoning of murderers.” Hardliner Mr Lopez could end up as the Mud presidential candidate if the coalition’s schemes to unseat Mr Maduro this year succeed. From: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-8862-Venezuela-Anti-Maduro-MPs-pass-amn esty-law#.VvytX-J9600 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
