Pro,  anti-Chavez marches held in Venezuelan capital
Supporters and opponents of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez held rival marches in downtown Caracas on Sunday amid opposition protests at the closure of broadcaster Radio Caracas Television (RCTV).

Chavez's supporters rallied in the city center El Silencio neighbourhood's Miranda Square, and marched along Baralt Avenue to the National Cemetery, which houses the remains of Venezuelan national heroes.

"There is no justification for disrespecting our symbols, culture or patriotic values," Dario Vivas, a parliamentarian, said of opposition protestors' decision to use the nation's flag. He also said the nation would produce a legal framework covering the use of national symbols.

The rival demonstration started at Chacao neighborhood's Lido Centre, and marched from Libertadores and Mexico Avenues, before rallying outside the Venezuelan Attorney General's Office.

Women made up the bulk of the opposition demonstration, which protested the seizure of RCTV's filming and broadcasting facilities. The demonstrators also criticized the suspension of trials for students arrested in recent protests over the issue.

RCTV stopped broadcasting when its license expired on May 27. The government refused to renew the license, saying that the channel supported an April 2002 coup, which kept Chavez out of power for two days.