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CC | Venezuelan Ambassador to Netherlands: “Venezuela will defend its sovereignty”

HomeMediaCC | Venezuelan Ambassador to Netherlands: “Venezuela will defend its sovereignty”
lvaro Sanchez Cordero – Charge D’Affaires from the Embassy of Venezuela to the Netherlands

In 1999, when a progressive revolution came to power in Venezuela and President Chavez was elected, a whole new vision for the country was put in place.

The vast majority of Venezuelans, who had hitherto been ostracized, depoliticized, disenfranchised, exploited, socially excluded and discriminated against, were finally included and empowered into a new democratic model that was both representative and participatory. The net result was a new sovereign nation in full control of its natural resources, with a new Constitution, and a leadership able to equally distribute oil revenues in a more fair and efficient manner that ultimately produced highly positive social and human results, such as: four million people lifted out of poverty, free and universal access to medical health and education, the eradication of illiteracy, access to potable water, three million pensioners and almost two million social houses, among other achievements.

Of course, such progress came with a price tag. The US Government, intensely hostile to Venezuela’s socialist government controlling its own oil (Venezuela has the largest oil reserve in the world), has been very active destabilizing with the ultimate aim to topple our Government for the past 18 years. Though the list is practically endless, the US has tried every dirty trick in the book. They have given full financial backing and open political support to the Venezuelan right-wing opposition’s violent and unconstitutional efforts to oust the democratically elected government such as, a coup d’état, an oil and business lock-out, street barricades and hiring mercenaries and paramilitaries to perpetrate widespread terror, among others.

This is the context of the opposition-led violence that we see in Venezuela right now but with some important additions. Firstly, Chavez is no longer with us. This has energized the US into believing they now have better chances to succeed. Secondly, the current wave of destabilizing violence has been more effective because it is combined with a vicious economic war – reminiscent of what was to Allende in Chile in the 1970s – which includes blocking international credit, disrupting distribution of food supplies and other essential items and speculating with a fictitious, black-market, exchange rate that has brought major economic difficulties and that, as intended, has hit the poorest sections of society generating discontent. Thus, on the back of these deliberately created economic difficulties, in December 2015 the opposition won majority in Parliament. Nonetheless, instead of building politically upon such victory, they decided to take a shortcut by promising to bring down President Maduro, one way or another. In six months, the opposition-led Parliament used its majority to foment violence, even to the point that current Parliament President, Julio Borges, openly called the military to rise up against the constitutional government.

Yet, throughout 2016, the opposition failed to oust the government of President Maduro, as they had promised, despite the fact that they escalated the US-supported economic war.

This failure in the domestic terrain led them to try it from the outside, but whose crucial domestic component was the current wave of violence to justify US-led external intervention.

This is how the Organization of American States (OAS) comes into the equation. OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, violating nearly every norm both OAS itself and his strictly administrative function, has dedicated his tenure to illegally interfere in Venezuelan affairs by unsuccessfully seeking to activate the OAS Democratic Charter against Venezuela, thus enabling the external intervention. The US Government, the real behind-the-scenes mastermind of OAS strategy, has openly threatened many Latin American and Caribbean countries for siding with Venezuela in the OAS.

The failure of the US-inspired Almagro’s OAS strategy against Venezuela has led to an extremely dangerous vicious circle: images of wanton violence in Venezuela feed Almagro’s and US’s threats against Venezuela, which in turn, feed more wanton and irrational violence in Venezuela.

It is not in the interest of Maduro to have terror and violence in the streets. On the contrary, it is very much in the interest of the opposition to maintain it and even escalate it. Thus, the intoxicating one-sided international media reporting that quite deliberately endorse Almagro and US pronouncements, only fuels more violence. This is repugnant, especially since they know who is the source of the violence. Unfortunately, the international media omits reporting that polls consistently show that well over 80% strongly reject the current violence and they also overwhelmingly oppose “regime change”.

There are indeed honest and decent government opponents who peacefully protest. However, there are also hooligans, mercenaries and paramilitaries, whose task is to confront the police and create chaos. Second, the law enforcement agents in the streets have orders to respect human rights. Those who have disobeyed that order are being prosecuted. Given this dangerous scenario, and the fact that the opposition refuses to engage in dialogue with the government (even though UNASUR, the Vatican and three former presidents continue to appeal to them to do so), President Maduro, invoking Arts 347, 348 and 349 of Venezuela’s Constitution, has called for a Constituent Assembly as a democratic political mechanism to bring about peace. Society’s response from all sections, even from the private sector, has been highly supportive and the Constituent process promises to produce exciting new developments that are likely to deepen the social dimensions of the Bolivarian Constitution, broadening and strengthening the 1999 Constitution.

Venezuela has the right to live in peace and not to be the target of US-led, US-financed and US-inspired permanent aggression. Venezuela demands respect for its sovereignty and self-determination, rejects external interference in its internal affairs, will not tolerate unconstitutional and violent acts to oust the legitimate and democratically elected government, and will insist on dialogue as the only way to address the problems the nation confronts. Unfortunately, the US and Venezuela’s extreme right insist on violent means to effect “regime change”. We in Venezuela have no choice but to defend our sovereignty.

By Alvaro Sanchez Cordero
Charge D’Affaires from the Embassy of Venezuela to the Netherlands

Bron: Curacao Chronicle

8 reacties

  1. De Amerikanen zijn op de maan geweest. Je kan daar leuk springen.
    Ikzelf ben er jaren niet geweest. Hoe kan ik weten dat de Amerikanen op de maan zijn geweest?

  2. Deze man net als Eric Lapdance, LaStiwz, Peter P en andere trolletjes worden in Venezuela “Los jala bolas genoemd”

    Kijk naar die foto hierboven die man heeft 1 wenkbrauw maar een hele lange wenkbrauw hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa

  3. Het zegt al genoeg dat iedereen die Vzla kon verlaten ernu niet meer is… Wat overblijft zijn de chavistas die ondanks hun steun nog steeds geen rode cent hebben en dus ook niet weg kunnen.

  4. De misdaad is er al jaren uiterst moorddadig, maar ook het protest en de knokploegen, de ‘colectivos’, die Maduro inzet, worden steeds gewelddadiger. En door nijpende tekorten aan van alles, slaan protesten snel om in plunderingen. Op veel plaatsen lijkt het land in oorlog, met smeulende of brandende blokkades waarmee gemaskerde afpersers straten versperren en uitgebrande winkels.

    Maduro heeft al sinds 2015 geen meerderheid meer in het parlement dat hij daarom buiten spel zet. Hij wil hij nu in juli een ‘grondwetgevende vergadering’ vormen. Hij zei dinsdag dat er dan in december ook verkiezingen in de deelstaten komen. De oppositie ziet in Maduro’s plan een truc om het parlement op te heffen en een dictatuur te vestigen. Het zou niet zijn eerste juridische truc met dit doel voor ogen zijn.

    Of Maduro en zijn trawanten in het leger en het staatsapparaat zich kunnen handhaven in de huidige chaos, is onduidelijk. Volgens schattingen is hooguit nog 25 procent van de bevolking aanhanger van de linkse beweging die met de populist Hugo Chávez (1954-2013) in 1999 aan de macht kwam.

    In de dagen van hoge olieprijzen kon het geld niet op. Chávez regeerde het land veertien jaar lang. En ondanks de schade die zijn economische wanbeleid veroorzaakte in de productie van het land, kon hij met oliedollars blijven strooien. Zijn charisma en dollars maakten van hem ook in het buitenland een populaire figuur, vooral landen die hij olie cadeau deed. Hij overleed in 2013. Zijn opvolger Maduro zou niet alleen diens charisma, maar ook de oliedollars missen die nodig zijn om Chávez’ erfgenamen in het zadel te houden.

    Bron: ANP/Reformatorisch Dagblad

  5. Het ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken (BuZa) heeft vandaag het reisadvies voor Venezuela verder aangescherpt.

    Reizen naar het land wordt ontraden. Het advies is om alleen af te reizen als het strikt noodzakelijk is. De grensstreek met Colombia moet helemaal worden gemeden. Reden is de al tijden gespannen situatie in Venezuela, waardoor het gevaar bestaat dat mensen terechtkomen in onlusten en demonstraties. Door die gewelddadige onlusten zijn de afgelopen weken doden gevallen.

    Ook is er in het Zuid-Amerikaanse land veel gewelddadige criminaliteit, waar buitenlanders het slachtoffer van kunnen worden. Het ministerie raadt mensen aan die toch naar het land afreizen om zich te registreren bij BuZa.

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