CARACAS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The former president of the National Assembly (AN) and current deputy, Henry Ramos Allup, rejected on Friday an invitation extended by President Nicolas Maduro to join a political dialogue to solve the political crisis.
Maduro on Thursday called on the leaders of the MUD to attend the dialogue around a National Constituent Assembly (ANC), which will draft a new Constitution.
However, Allup said Maduro wants to "freeze the streets" in order to win time and rejected any chance that the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) would talk with the government.
"Maduro wants to show the country that he is a man who seeks dialogue and a peaceful resolution to the country's problems. But he is the problem. How can we dialogue with the problem?" Allup said during a protest in Caracas.
He referred to the two meetings between the MUD and the government in 2016, which he said ended in disarray after the government failed to live up to the agreements.
Protests against the government started in early April and continued till now, with violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces in the country causing death of 56 people by Thursday.
