Argentina: Protests and Roadblocks to Demand Social Leader”s Release

22 de enero de 2016, 16:34Buenos Aires, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) The Tupac Amaru organization, trade unions, social movements and political parties carry out today a national day of protest, demonstrations and roadblocks to demand the release of the social leader and Parlasur lawmaker Milagro Sala.

The leader of the Tupac Amaru organization was detained last Saturday due to political disagreements with the governor of the province of Jujuy, Gerardo Morales, a political ally of President Mauricio Macri.

The head of Jujuy Government accuses her of incitement to crimes, because she convened and led a peaceful stand in the capital of Jujuy in defense of the rights of the cooperative movement in the province. After, she was charged by allegedly commiting fraud.

In his actions, Morales has the support and protection of the great pro-government press services, which oversizes the complaints against Sala, in what the Network of Social Organizations (ROS) considers as an attempt to discredit the public image of the social and regional leader.

Sala's lawyer, Luis Paz, the Tupac Amaru organization and human rights groups denounced the arrest as arbitrary to international organizations and consider Sala a political prisoner.

During the mobilizations this Friday, protesters also are defending about 66.000 jobs in cooperatives across the country, reported several media, among them, Infonews, canal Cronica, El Destape and Diario Registrado.

The call to protest was made by a dozen leaders of ROS, Tupac Amaru, the Evita Movement, the Association of State Workers and the Confederation of Workers of Argentina.

Protests also involved different groups of workers, students and leftist organizations such as the Socialist Workers' Party.

The congresswoman Myriam Bregman, from the Workers' Left Front, and groups of the sector, gathered from 07.00 local time for a roadblock at the intersection of Callao and Corrientes Avenue in the City of Buenos Aires.

It was also planned, among other things, a roadblock on Highway Buenos Aires-La Plata starting at 14:00.

According to the agency Noticias Argentinas, leaders of social organizations that promote the protest, made governor Morales responsible for the safety and physical integrity of Sala, who was moved on Wednesday night to a common prison for women.

They further denounced that leaders and members of the Tupac Amaru started receiving anonymous threats by telephone and through social networks, while accused Morales of inciting provocations and confrontation among the people of Jujuy.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel denounced this week that is bad for Argentina these signs of political persecution and called on the government of Macri to preserve social stability and respect civil rights.

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