Saturday, June 5, 2010

Rivera Avilez: "I'd rather resign...."

Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Rivera Avilez said yesterday that he'd rather resign than give in to political and economic pressures, international and national. Rivera Avilez spoke yesterday in response to Lobo Sosa's comments on Tuesday about the Supreme Court's reaffirmation of its decision to fire four judges and a magistrate for opposing the coup.

He said that the upper levels of the three branches meet regularly to discuss and analyze the political problems of the country, "but they have never pressured us to twist the law, in this way we keep applying [the law] in a straightforward manner." In referring to Lobo Sosa's comments on the Court's decision, he said "He looked at it from the point of view of politics, and possibly, for his politics, it affects it, but politics should never be above the regulations, and we have to respect the constitution and the laws." Rivera Avilez denied that Lobo Sosa had interfered with the Court, as some organizations such as the Unión Civica Democratica had alleged.

Rivera Avilez also denied that the judges had been fired for opposing the coup, and said that the court file lists the causes, but the Court has not made the reasons public. Congress has asked for a report into the reasoning behind the decision, and the Prosecutor for Human Rights, Sandra Ponce, has asked the court for its decision so she can open an investigation.

Meanwhile, Lobo Sosa said that if Rivera Avilez wants to give up his position because of political pressure, "Its his decision."

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