Venezuelan disruption of University event unacceptable -Varela

A CONFRONTATION at the University of Panama, sparked by Venezuelans  not associated with the University  is “unacceptable to us” said  President Juan Carlos Varela on Thursday May 11.

About 20 people, mostly young Venezuelans, arrived  at The Faculty of Humanities  of the University on Wednesday afternoon during an  event  organized by social movements of Panama in favor of the government of  Venezuelan  President Nicolás Maduro. It was attended by  the Venezuelan Ambassador to Panama, Jorge Luis Durán.

Moments before the event a group of demonstrators arrived and later claimed they were attacked by Chavistas .

Members  of social groups, in the 200 strong audience including Frenadeso, say  that arrivals went to the University to “provoke”, reports La Prensa.

“We must recognize that there is a large community of Venezuelans in the country but we cannot  allow an internal conflict in Venezuela to be brought to our university,” said Varela, during the inauguration of the third version of the fair “Edúcate 2017” in Atlapa.

The rector of the University, Eduardo Flores, said: “Students and professors of the University organized the event and  invited the ambassador of Venezuela to

discuss their point of view and  what is happening in Venezuela.  It was held in the teachers’ hall of the Faculty of Humanities with the approval of the

Dean. We received information from  social networks that some groups were not going to allow the event to proceed, and we gave notice that there would be security to ensure that nothing undue arose.

 Fifteen minutes after the start people, who are not university students, supposedly Venezuelans by the accent, began disrupting the event.

“Naturally the 200 people who were there began to repudiate. Security asked the intruders  to leave, andin v the struggle pitifully some people were injured.

“The University is a center of debate of ideas not of censorship.”