XPost: 24hoursupport.helpdesk, alt.politics.scorched-earth, uk.politics.misc   
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   From: burfordTjustice@tues.uk   
      
       Venezuela's Maduro seeks to expand armed civilian militias   
      
      
   CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro   
   announced plans Monday to expand the number of civilians involved in armed   
   militias as tensions in the crisis-wracked South American nation continued to   
   rise.   
      
   Maduro said he hopes to expand the number of civilians involved in the   
   Bolivarian militias created by the late Hugo Chavez to 500,000, up from the   
   current 100,000, and provide each member with a gun.   
      
   Speaking to thousands of militia members dressed in beige uniforms gathered in   
   front of the presidential palace to mark the force's seventh anniversary,   
   Maduro said it is time for Venezuelans to decide if they are "with the   
   homeland" or against it.   
      
   "Now is not the time to hesitate," he said.   
      
   The announcement comes as Maduro's opponents are gearing up for what they   
   pledge will be the largest rally yet to press for elections and a host of   
   other demands Wednesday.   
      
   Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets since the Supreme Court   
   stripped the National Assembly of its last vestiges of power nearly three   
   weeks ago, a decision it later reversed. At least five people have been   
   killed, dozens hurt and more than    
   100 detained in the demonstrations.   
      
   The Maduro government has vowed to hold a counter mass gathering Wednesday in   
   defense of the socialist movement started by Chavez.   
      
   Chavez created the civilian militias with the goal of training 1 million   
   Venezuelans to assist the armed forces in the defense of his revolution from   
   external and domestic attacks. Maduro told the militia Monday that vision   
   remains relevant as Venezuela    
   continues to face "imperialist aggression."   
      
   "A gun for every militiaman!" he cried.   
      
   Maduro's government claims foreign-backed opposition leaders are fomenting   
   violence in an attempt to remove him from power. The opposition denies that   
   assertion, saying it is Maduro himself who is responsible for Venezuela's   
   woes, including triple-digit    
   inflation, rising crime and food shortages.   
      
   They also blame Maduro for ordering security forces to use tear gas against   
   protesters and failing to stop pro-government armed groups from attacking   
   demonstrators.   
      
   Former congresswoman Maria Corina Machado posted a photo of the militia   
   gathering Monday on her Twitter account, calling it a, "pathetic, desperate   
   and unconstitutional attempt by the regimen to intimidate Venezuelans."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)