Iván Simonovis and Lázaro Forero together with Leocenis García, Eligio Cedeño and Juan Guevara decided to declare themselves on hunger strike. The wife of Lázaro Forero, Yajaira Castro, said they decided to join the students fasting outside the headquarters of the OAS to support the request that members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights visit Venezuela to monitor government actions against political dissent and verify that "political prisoners exist here." Castro demonstrated on behalf of relatives of inmates out of concern for their health. "They are not prepared for such action, but they wish to show their support for the heroic action of the dozens of students who are on hunger strike here in Caracas and Valencia." Yesterday, the initial group of students from the Universidad de Oriente (UDO) which began the fast on Thursday, added five more from the University Bicentennial of Aragua, and from Simón Bolívar in Caracas. Between Thursday, Friday and Saturday 18 universities have joined. In addition to the accessions, the protest added to the support of various civil and political organizations, and individuals.
The presidents participating in the Second Africa-South America Summit (ASA) on Sunday urged the U.S. government to "end the blockade against Cuba." The leaders "decide to reaffirm their strong rejection of the economic, commercial and financial embargo" imposed by the U.S. on the island, said the communiqué, which was adopted by the governors or delegates of the 66 participating countries and read by President Chávez in the plenary session. "We urge the U.S. government to end" the embargo and "comply with the provisions of 17 successive resolutions" of the United Nations, read Chávez, who concluded with a "Viva Cuba" cheer. About thirty heads of state from South America and Africa on Saturday attended the second summit between the two regions which concludes today in the Venezuelan island of Margarita.
Yesterday afternoon oil workers who went on a six-day hunger strike outside the docks of PDVSA, which belong to the company Colca, ended their effort after the union workers from the Socialist Workers Vanguard (VOS) informed them that management would guarantee contracts for them. The promise came from Arnando Nazariego, representative of VOS, who said at the entrance to the docks that on Saturday he met with PDVSA president Rafael Ramírez who enhanced the proposal to include the group of 21 demonstrators on the payroll of the company. According to the unionist, who is on an election campaign that will inform the spokespeople who will negotiate the collective contract for oil workers, the group would enter amidst the 1,400 new revenue sources that PDVSA promised during a recent visit to the state. The workers, who were working in nationalized companies, decided to stop the demonstration under the condition that they attend a meeting in Caracas with the president of PDVSA. They will await a reply during the week, otherwise they will repeat their actions.
The former president of Conindustria, Eduardo Gómez Sigala said that the arguments of the prosecution against him are false because he did not commit any crime against National Guard officers. He claims that what he tried to do was make known, through the media, the destruction of sugarcane crops on his farm, Bureche, located in the town of Palavecino in the state of Lara. Gómez Sigala reported that while he was detained on Friday, crews from the National Guard and the government worked until dawn to destroy nearly 18 acres of sugar cane planting on the farm. "They want to destroy all green grass and put the red flags they use, red being a symbol of dispossession," said Gómez Sigala. He said the color was used for painting the walls that delineate the property, taken over by the Government.
A group of workers in the mining company Ferrominera del Orinoco took over the headquarters of the Palace of Justice in Ciudad Guayana to demand the release of union leader Rubén González. Nerio Bridge, a spokesman group, said on Sunday it was decided at a meeting to take to the streets to protest, more than a week after the arrest of González. Puente said the arrest was politically motivated because González dared to disagree with the state governor. He also complained that the National Guard blocked several buses of his companions from getting through to the courthouse.
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