Venezuela President calms court row after critics condemn ‘coup’
Venezuelan authorities called on the country’s Supreme Court to review its decision this week to annul the Opposition-led Congress, which critics have decried as a “coup” and a lurch to dictatorship.
President Nicolas Maduro said in a midnight address on state television that the conflict between the Supreme Court and National Assembly had been overcome, but gave no details.
Maduro, flanked by senior officials, introduced his Vice President Tareck El Aissami who said: “(We) urge the Supreme Court to review the decisions ... in order to maintain institutional stability and the balance of powers.”
Having already shot down most of the National Assembly’s measures since the Opposition won control in 2015, the proMaduro Supreme Court on Wednesday said it was taking over the legislature’s role because it was in “contempt” of the law.
The court’s move to assume Congress’ responsibilities has sparked international condemnation and protests across Caracas.
In a rare show of dissent from a senior official, Venezuela’s powerful Attorney General Luisa Ortega, long an ally of Maduro, rebuked the court on Friday.
“It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order,” the 59-year-old said in a speech on state television. “It’s my obligation to express my great concern to the country.”
Venezuelan National Assembly president Freddy Guevara said on Twitter that the “coup” was unacceptable to the people and joined calls for protests on Saturday morning. On the night of 7 March 2013, an atheist blogger Sunnyur Rahaman was attacked by two men who hacked him with machetes while shouting “Allah-Hu-Akbar” in his home town Mirpur. He sustained wounds in his head, hand, chest and legs. Sunnyur, currently in exile in India, narrates his ordeal to The Sunday Guardian. In his late 20s and father to an eight-year-old son, the hapless blogger had to separate from his wife due to the adverse circumstances. His parents have disowned him, too. He fears for his family’s safety in Bangladesh. Rahaman escaped from Dhaka to Sharjah, to Nepal and finally to India. He remains under cover. He is changing his locations often. Rahaman is optimistic that one day things will change and the change will be for good. Till then he will continue to write sceptical blogs and draw cartoons to unmask the self proclaimed custodians of humanity. Q. How different are things in India compared to Bangladesh? A. Slowly Bangladesh is becoming a safe haven for Islamic fundamentalists which I have not seen here in India. India has been dealing with terrorism very well unlike my country. Q. Why did you leave Bangladesh? A. After the attack in 2013, I realised that I’m fighting for a cause. But if I stayed in Bangladesh, my voice would have been choked or I would have been killed. I want to unmask those who are trying to unleash terror in the name of jihad. Q. Given the life threat, do you regret what you have done so far? A. No, not at all. I’m proud of what I have been doing and will continue to do so till my last breath. They cannot deter me. Q. You were the face of the Shahbagh movement. Was it the beginning of a change? A. Well, the change began in 1971 and the Shahbagh uprising was a message to the political class. Q. There were a series of attacks on your fraternity. Is your fraternity a chosen target now? A. The pen is mightier than the sword. When corruption and radicalisation try to choke all voices, it is the intellectual class that has a role to play. And my fraternity has been successful in bringing the nation together and that may be the reason why attempts are being made to eliminate us one by one. Q. Is the government of Bangladesh doing enough to deal with the situation? A. Apparently, it seems so. But a lot more needs to be done to save the country from the clutches of evil. Q. Do you still receive threats?
‘Slowly Bangladesh is becoming a safe haven for Islamic fundamentalists which I have not seen here in India. India has been dealing with terrorism very well unlike my country.’