Calm returns to Venezuela ahead of more planned protests

Jun 1, 2007, 3:47 GMT

Caracas - Relative calm returned to Caracas Thursday night after three days of protests by thousands of students against the closure of a TV station.

   Awaiting the fate of students detained by police during protests on Tuesday, the student leaders said they were preparing for more demonstrations on Friday.

   Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's refusal to renew the broadcasting licence of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) - the oldest and most popular private station in the country - has caused tension for days in the streets of Caracas.       On Thursday a university student, who had taken part in the protests, was shot three times and killed at a gasoline station in Caracas. Two suspects have been arrested for the shooting of Andreina Gomez Guevara, 24, according to Justice Minister Pedro Carreno.

   The Andres Bello Catholic University condemned the shooting, but said the killing of Gomez Guevara was unrelated to her participation in the protests.

   Vice-Minister of Security Tarek El Aissami said the government will guarantee the general security and the rights of the demonstrators.

   'There are some dark sectors, which are riding on the wave of the protests, in order to produce a national riot,' said El Aissami. 'The Venezuelan state is obligated to protect the life and the property of all its citizens, those that protest and those that do not.'

   The student leader have said they would stop their street protests only when RCTV is back on the air.

   Chavez replaced RCTV with a new, government-controlled channel - Televisora Venezolana Social (Teves) - and has threatened to close another broadcaster, news television channel Globovision.

Globovision covered the recent protests over the closure of RCTV and strongly inveighed against the state.