Venezuelan mothers have marched to a military facility to demand an end to the "repressive" actions taken to quell protests. Opposition leaders have called on the armed forces to "open the doors of a sincere debate."
A mother stands up to soldiers with a shirt that reads: 'In Venezuela, there is nothing.'Image: Picture alliance/J. Cohen/NOTIMEX
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Venezuela's opposition movement on Sunday called on the military to enter dialogue with societal forces amid a wave of near-daily protests.
After pledging loyalty to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last year, the armed forces have effectively enforced a violent policy to curb opposition demonstrations.
"I am appealing to Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez to open the doors of a sincere debate in the armed forces," said Julio Borges, president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
"If [key supporters and] Maduro have the right to give a partisan argument to the military on the chaos Venezuela is going through, we ought to have that right as well."
Protests paralyze Venezuela's society
DW talked to Venezuelan journalist and photographer Ivan Reyes whose images highlight the stories of the people marching against the government.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Journalism born of need
"I’d been working as a journalist for a year when the protests started in 2014. Many independent media have come into existence in the last two years due to the government censorship, and that's how I became a reporter," Ivan Reyes told DW. He started capturing the new wave of riots on a daily basis at the end of March.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Welcome to the stone age
The ruling by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which took away immunity from opposition parliamentarians, set off a surge of protests paralyzing the country. Although the protests were peaceful at first, government forces soon started throwing stones into the crowds. "Seriously, the police were given stones! This man, Lino Rivera, was hit by one on April 4," Reyes said.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Highway to hell
The marches take place all over Caracas every day, but they usually end on the city highways. This photo shows two officers of the national guard shooting tear gas grenades into the lines of protesters. "The projectiles should be shot above people’s heads - so the international laws says," says Reyes. "But the armed forces shoot straight into the demonstrators."
Image: Ivan Reyes
"We are all Juan"
Juan Pablo Pernalete, 20, died after being hit by a projectile on April 26. The death of the student of Universidad Metropolitana triggered angry protests in the following days. "People were chanting 'Todos somos Juan! Todos somos Juan!'" ("We are all Juan") Reyes told DW. Congressmen Miguel Pizarro and Carlos Paparoni and the Governor of Miranda Henrique Capriles all came to pay tribute.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Evasive action
Defense has become the key element for survival. "The people seem to be organized better every day," says Reyes. Against the wishes of the protest leaders, several groups have started using DIY weapons and even Molotov cocktails against the government forces, as seen in this photo. "It’s a battle they can’t win," says Reyes.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Heros of the day
"Jesús was one of those injured in the demonstrations on May 4. He was gasping and stuttering after he got hit in the head. People in the crowd spotted him and carried him to one side where paramedics gave him first aid. The members of Primeros Auxilios UCV are the real heroes of history," Reyes said of the group of doctors who go to the protests every day to help the injured.
Image: Ivan Reyes
The wrath of the women scorned
On May 6, a women’s protest against the regime was organized by Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, Venezuela's opposition party. The march wasn’t allowed to reach its destination, the Ministry of Justice, as they were halted by female officers of the national police. Former politician María Corina Machado and the student president of Universidad Central de Venezuela were among the protesters.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Ode to Venezuela
This image shot by Reyes went viral right after it was published by the author on May 8. The picture is one of the strongest snapshots from the Venezuelan protests, showing a young man walking down a road playing the Venezuelan anthem. "I don’t see the protests ending soon," said Reyes. "Let’s see which side gets tired first."
Image: Ivan Reyes
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The OPEC nation has witnessed violent protests since the Supreme Court attempted to strip congress of its legislative powers in late March.
Venezuelans from all walks of life have taken to the streets to oppose what they see as increasingly-dictatorial maneuvers by Maduro, who was handpicked to lead the country in the wake of leftist firebrand leader Hugo Chavez's death.
'Lower your weapon'
On Sunday, a group of dozens of mothers marched to a command post of the national guard in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, demanding the country's armed forces end their "repressive" actions against protesters.
Mothers took turn reading an open letter to the armed forces to forsake their allegiance to Maduro's government and protect Venezuelans.
"Soldier, listen to your mother. They say that in the barracks, when the trumpet of the homeland calls, even the cries of mothers are silent. Today I am crying. Your homeland demands of you: no more, lower your weapon," the letter said.
Since April 1, more than 38 people have been killed and hundreds more injured and detained during anti-government protests. Maduro has attempted to quell the demonstrations and rally support by describing them as a US-led conspiracy to unseat him.
