Hundreds of members of the Nicaraguan-Venezuelan Solidarity Committee Sunday staged a rally to support President Hugo Chávez' decision not to renew the broadcast license for private television channel RCTV.

The rally took place at 21.00 GMT in south Managua, with the participation of artists, students and general public.

Venezuelan Ambassador in Managua Miguel Gómez told Efe that different people and social leaders showed up at the Venezuelan diplomatic premises to express support to the Venezuelan government refusal to renew RCTV broadcast license.

"This is not a rally, demonstration or march; it is all false news, but this is something modest," Gómez said.

He said the Nicaraguan-Venezuelan Solidarity Committee invited people to appear at the Venezuelan Embassy with blankets or statements of support for President Chávez' move.

The activity ignited controversial reactions, as local media rejected the call to support non-renewal of the broadcast license for a television station in Venezuela.

La Prensa de Managua newspaper described the invitation as something "unheard of."

"This should not be considered only as an abuse of the Nicaraguan territory by a foreign diplomat and complicity of the Nicaraguan government, but also and above all as an ominous warning of the regime of Daniel Ortega -Chávez' ally- that the same thing will or could happen here," the newspaper added.