Chavez fans wave meat at Venezuela hunger-strikers

[Judi Lynn]

Chavez fans wave meat at Venezuela hunger-strikers
Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:44pm GMT

* Government supporters mock students with barbecue stunt

* Protesters lift hunger-strike against Chavez government

By Andrew Cawthorne

CARACAS, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez waved raw meat at student hunger-strikers on Tuesday in mockery of a protest against alleged human rights abuses in the polarized South American nation.

More than 50 students had been on hunger-strikes around Venezuela this month to highlight cases of jailed Chavez opponents. Some said they hoped to sow the seed for a movement against Chavez like those sweeping the Arab world.

Yet with the president still commanding support among many Venezuelans, and little sign of a mass street movement emerging, analysts say any talk of ending the socialist former soldier's 12-year rule may be wishful thinking.

In front of the Caracas office of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Tuesday, a small group of Chavez backers sought to set up a barbecue in front of a dozen hunger-strikers camped there for three weeks.

More:
http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFN2211653120110222?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=libyaNews&rpc=401

[dipsydoodle]

1. I'll have beans with that.

:rofl:

[naaman fletcher]

2. Right out of the dinesh d'souza playbook

When i was in college the young republicans used to do this.

[Peace Patriot]

3. Chavez said yes to their demands (half way down the article). (Some "dictator," eh?)

"Later, the students said they were ending their hunger-strike because the government had answered various petitions, including improved treatment for some political prisoners, an inspection of jail conditions, and a committee to study cases." --from the OP

--

Rotters shoves this news out the headline, subheadlines and lede paragraphs and instead highlights a few pro-Chavez students (and their silly meat-waggling). THE GOVERNMENT RESPONDED with positive action to the dissenting hunger strikers! That is WHY they ended their hunger strike!

Jeez.

[joshcryer]

4. Wait, OAS is being allowed in???

[social_critic]

6. I don't think they'll let any NGO or the Iteramerican Commission of Human Rights in

There were quite a few students arrested yesterday, I think they were just scared into ending their hunger strike. The article is also off the mark, the strike was to request the investigation of political prisoner cases by outside entities, not to overthrow the government. Chavez supporters are in the minority now, but they do have the security services, most of the army, and lots of Cubans ready to supress any large demonstration, and people in the opposition know it. And these guys will shoot demonstrators, so there's no reason to try to go for it now.

The economy continues to drop, inflation rages (over 9 % food inflation in Caracas last month) there are food and medicine shortages, and things just don't work very well (latest news, the airport runways keep going off, so don't plan on flying to Caracas at night because your plane may not be able to land).

Which means those who back Chavez are an ever shrinking group. Even if we factor in the emigration of the middle class, that group isn't large enough to reduce the overall numbers against Chavez. By next year, when things are even worse, they'll be time to put on really big demonstrations. I think this is going to get REALLY REALLY bad. It's already bad, we got people being shot around the corner for their cell phones, and traffic is absolute chaos, so the city is barely working now. I sure wish my Venezuelan friends good luck, but this rat is leaving the sinking ship.

[joshcryer]

7. Yeah but they were striking in front of OAS, to have Insulza visit.

Insulza is happy: http://english.eluniversal.com/2011/02/22/oas-insulza-hails-the-end-of-hunger-strike-in-venezuela.shtml

I doubt he wanted the deaths of anyone to happen (though no doubt we'll be reminded how fat these kids were and how long they could've persisted).

[social_critic]

8. Insulza is funny

I think he's a pretty laid back dude. And I'm sure he's not about to visit Caracas to investigate anything. I think the way things are breaking down and not getting fixed is going to have a much bigger impact. If the middle class and technicians who can get jobs overseas keep leaving the way they are, pretty soon there won't be anybody around who knows how to fix anything complicated. Between the lack of spare parts and the lack of trained mechanics, it's getting pretty hard to keep a car running now.

[Bacchus39]

5. lol at headline n/t

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