Turkey’s Erdogan vows to ‘rip the heads off’ of coup-plotters

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Venezuela's opposition called for a massive turnout Sunday in a symbolic rejection of President Nicolas Maduro's plan to rewrite the constitution, a proposal that's escalating tensions in a nation stricken by widespread shortages and more than 100 days of anti-government protests.

Maduro has called a July 30 vote to elect members of a special assembly to retool Venezuela's 1999 constitution. The opposition says the vote is structured to pack the constitutional assembly with government supporters and allow Maduro to eliminate the few remaining checks on his power, creating

ISTANBUL (AP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to "rip the heads off" of terror groups and coup-plotters who tried to end his more than decade-long rule on Saturday, as Turkey marked the anniversary of the country's crushed military coup with a series of rallies and other commemorative events.

Accompanied by his family and the families of the victims of the coup, a Cuba-style system dominated by his socialist party.

Maduro and the military dominate most state institutions but the opposition controls the congress and holds three of 23 governorships. The country's chief prosecutor has recently broken with the ruling party.

“This fraudulent constitutional assembly will create a majority that will shut congress, throw democracy out the window, wipe out state governors and fire the chief prosecutor,'' said former Bolivian President Jorge Quiroga, who flew to Caracas Saturday with a group of former Latin American presidents to support the opposition vote. Erdogan joined a massive, flag-waving crowd near the iconic July 15 Martyrs' Bridge in Istanbul to remember 250 people who died on July 15, 2016 resisting the coup.

He inaugurated a hollow, globeshaped monument featuring the names of the victims near the foot of the bridge, before flying to Ankara to attend a special session in parliament at the exact moment it was bombed “Tomorrow, democracy and freedom are in play.''

The opposition is boycotting the constitutional assembly. Instead, it has asked Venezuelans to oppose Maduro's plans by showing up at 2,000 sites across the country to fill out ballots featuring three yes-or-no questions. Do they reject the constitutional assembly? Do they want the armed forces to back congress? Do they support the formation of a government comprised of Maduro backers and opponents?

The symbolic referendum has no legal impact; it will serve as a show of support whose success or failure will be measured in how many millions of a year ago. He also opened a second memorial opposite the grounds of his palace in Ankara.

“Exactly a year ago today, around this hour, a treacherous attempt took place,” Erdogan told tens of thousands of people in Istanbul who converged at the bridge following a “national unity march.”

“The July 15 coup attempt is not the first attack against our country, people participate. Democratic Unity, a coalition of some 20 opposition parties, has printed 14 million ballots for voters inside and outside the country of 31 million people. Few expect turnout that high but analysts say participation by more than eight million people would significantly hike pressure on the government two weeks before the constitutional assembly.

The government calls the opposition vote a manipulation aimed at destabilizing the country, and has been urging its supporters to participate in the constitutional assembly, which it calls a way of restoring peace to Venezuela. and it won’t be the last,” he said, referring to a series of terror attacks that also hit the country. “For that reason, we’ll first rip the heads off of these traitors.”

The bridge was the scene of clashes between civilians and soldiers in tanks. At least 30 people died there and more than 2,000 were injured across Turkey in the struggle. Thirty-five coup plotters were also killed.