………………………
4/29/19, “CODEPINK Activist Ariel Gold on Defending Venezuela’s Embassy,” AntiWar.com, Dave DeCamp
“Far from Caracas a group of American activists have been defending the sovereignty of Venezuela from inside its embassy in Washington. The state department ordered all Maduro loyal staff to leave the building by April 24th to make way for Guaido’s diplomats. Juan Guaido declared himself president of Venezuela on January 23rd with full support from the United States but most Venezuelan diplomats and military officials have remained loyal to Maduro. According to Ariel Gold, National Co-Director of the antiwar activist group CODEPINK they have been maintaining a 24/7 presence at the embassy since April 14th to prevent Guaido’s appointed diplomats from taking over the embassy.
“We’ve been working with the embassy staff ever since the coup began. As they started to reduce the staff we’ve had some educational events here then we finally made a decision that we should be there. And they said to us you are welcome, you are there with our permission.” Gold told me over the phone Monday night from the embassy.
Maduro’s diplomatic officials were all expected to be out of the embassy by April 24th and the activists were prepared for a confrontation, “That was what they said to the diplomatic officials, we assumed it would apply to us and we were prepared to have them come in. It’s my understanding that it did apply to us but we had a huge turnout of people that showed up to lend their support and lend their bodies. And after that they decided not to show.”
Eliot Abrams, Trumps Venezuelan regime change point man called the sit in a “violation of law“, when asked about Abrams comments Gold called out his hypocrisy, “Well what a farce that Eliot Abrams would tell us that we’re breaking the law, he’s a convicted criminal and has been involved in war crimes. If Eliot Abrams did say that he is in fact entirely wrong. We are completely within our legal rights, we are here legally with permission from the Venezuelan government. Under the Vienna convention even if two countries lose diplomatic relations the embassy remains the property of that government, so for the secret service or US police would in fact be illegal.”
Article 22 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Treaties states, “The premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of the mission.”
Gold and other CODEPINK activists have called on antiwar Americans from around to country to help them. Anybody is welcome at the embassy and this Saturday May 4th a rally will be taking place there. For those who cannot make it in person, they can donate directly to the activists at the embassy online or send meals from local restaurants. CODEPINK always encourages people to speak out on social media and other platforms they have. You can also send a letter to the state department here.”
“Dave DeCamp is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn NY, focusing on US Foreign policy and wars. He is on Twitter at @decampdave.”
…………………………
Added:
4/30/19, “Venezuelans clash with pro-Maduro Code Pink activists in tense scene outside DC embassy,” Fox News, Alex Pappas, Washington
“Dozens of supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido converged Tuesday on the now-shuttered Venezuelan embassy in Washington, clashing with pro-regime activists who have been camped out at the building for weeks in support of [US coup of] embattled Nicolas Maduro.
The tense scene in D.C.’s tony Georgetown neighborhood played out as Maduro’s [so-called] socialist government faced perhaps its biggest challenge yet, with [US stooge] Guaido calling for a military uprising — and the Trump administration voicing support from afar.
Amid clashes on the streets of Caracas and global uncertainty over how
the escalating challenge to Maduro’s grip on power would resolve,
dramatic footage from Venezuela’s capital showed a military armored
vehicle plowing into a crowd of protesters.
In Washington, flag-waving and national-anthem singing demonstrators,
many of whom were born in Venezuela, quickly outnumbered those from the
anti-war group Code Pink gathered to support Maduro’s regime.
The gathering of protesters forced city police in Washington to close down 30th Street. Barricades separated the two sides, with at least 10 uniformed Secret Service officers standing between the Maduro and Guaido protesters.
“This group – the Code Pink – has taken the embassy,” Gandullia said. “We want to enter. We want to take over. And demonstrate that it belongs to us.”
Activists from Code Pink, which protests U.S. support for Guaido, have been living and protesting at the embassy for weeks. On Tuesday, the organization asked supporters to “join us to uphold international law and protect the Venezuelan embassy from a hostile takeover.” Elliott Abrams, the U.S. envoy for Venezuela, has said the group is breaking the law.
Two Code Pink protesters standing at the door of the embassy on Tuesday held a sign that said: “Hands off Venezuela.” Another sign hanging from the building read: “Nicolas Maduro is the president.”
“The Venezuela coup attempt is the Trump administration trying to overthrow the government of Nicolás Maduro in order to steal Venezuelan oil,” Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin tweeted Tuesday. [I hope she said something similiar in Feb. 2015 when Obama tried to assassinate Maduro.]
Meanwhile, pro-Guaido protesters came to confront the Code Pink activists, holding signs like “Venezuela wants Democracy, not another Cuba.” In interviews, these protesters emphasized that they are from Venezuela – unlike many of the Code Pink protesters.
“Those people right there, they’re not Venezuelan. They don’t have a passport. They don’t have our IDs,” said 32-year-old Clemente Pinate, who said he is from the country and came to the United States when he was 12.
“They are communists, socialists with Maduro,” he added. “I’m anti-Maduro. And I’m here representing my people.”
The Guaido protesters called on Code Pink to the leave the embassy, which was officially closed by Maduro earlier this year.
“We’re here today to denounce the trespassing of Code Pink,” said Carla Bustillos, 39. “This is a property of the people of Venezuela.
It’s an asset of the nation, and the nation is now facing a transition, a transition to democracy.” [Wrong, pal. A transition to certain bankers.]
Guaido, the 35-year-old leader of the opposition-led National Assembly, and a small contingent of heavily armed soldiers appeared in an early morning video promoting the “final phase” of his bid to oust Maduro. The United States, which has [created and] supported Guaido’s claim as interim president of Venezuela, offered its support for the opposition and its followers.”
………………………….
Added: Venezuela’s “days were numbered” when it made clear it wanted no part of IMF or World Bank:
August 2001-Venezuela asked the US to close its military missions there:
“In August 2001, Venezuela’s government asked the American military mission to leave the Fuerte Tiuna site it had occupied for more than 50 years. But [as of May 2004] the US mission continued to operate there, even through the coup the following year [2002] that briefly ousted Mr. Chávez. Asked why the new request to vacate the offices had been made, Mr. García said,
“Because they are still there.”” May 13, 2004, “Venezuela is Evicting US Attaches from Bases,” Reuters, Caracas
…………………………..
April 2002-Chavez survives coup attempt, US admits to talks at White House with groups supporting a coup in weeks and months leading up to the 48 hour event:
“The Bush administration was under intense scrutiny yesterday for its role in last weekend’s abortive [48 hour] coup in Venezuela, after admitting that US officials had held a series of meetings in recent months with Venezuelan military officers and opposition activists. The White House yesterday confirmed that a few weeks before the coup attempt, administration officials met Pedro Carmona, the business leader who took over the interim government after President Hugo Chavez was arrested on Friday. [Chavez returned to power 48 hours later].
The US defence department also confirmed that the Venezuelan army’s chief of staff, General Lucas Romero Rincon, visited the Pentagon in December and met the assistant secretary of defence for western hemispheric affairs, Roger Pardo-Maurer.”…4/17/2002, “US ‘gave the nod’ to Venezuelan coup,“ UK Guardian, Julian Borger, Alex Bellos
…………………………..
April 2002 Venezuela coup attempt: Elliott Abrams was “crucial figure” on Bush White House coup team:
“The crucial figure around the coup was [Elliott] Abrams, who operates in the White House as senior director of the National Security Council for ‘democracy, human rights and international operations‘. He was a leading theoretician of the school known as ‘Hemispherism’, which put a priority on combating Marxism in the Americas.”…4/22/2002, “Venezuela coup linked to Bush team,“ UK Guardian, Ed Vulliamy
…………………….
April 2002: Just hours after overthrow of Venezuela’s democratically elected government, the IMF stated publicly it was ready to support new dictator, Carmona:
“On April 12, 2002, just hours after Venezuela’s democratically elected government was overthrown in a military coup, the IMF stated publicly that it was “ready to assist the new administration [of Pedro Carmona] in whatever manner they find suitable."
This instantaneous show of financial support for a newly installed dictatorship – one which immediately dissolved the country’s constitution, general assembly, and Supreme Court – was unprecedented in the IMF’s history. Typically the IMF does not react so quickly, even to an elected government. It is no wonder that this move was seen in Venezuela and elsewhere as an attempt by the IMF to support the coup itself.“...May 10, 2007, “IMF and World Bank Face Declining Authority as Venezuela Announces Withdrawal,” McClatchy, Mark Weisbrot
………………………
April 2002: New York Times happy about undemocratic removal of Chavez:
“On 4/13/2002: “The New York Times penned its own love note to the new government. In an editorial, the paper stated: “Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator … [because] the military intervened and handed power to a respected business leader.””
……………………………….
2004: Chavez was against globalization so “his days were numbered” as they say:
“Hugo Chávez is against the excesses of US foreign policy and globalization and has let the world know this, which makes it plain to Washington that he’s not of suitable client material.
For the empire to let him get away with this would be to set a very bad example for other non-believers.
Since the debacle of 2002, Chávez’s natural enemies at home and in Washington have not relaxed their crusade against him. Opponents have been trying to unseat him through a recall referendum, a drive that is funded in part, if not in full, by, yes, [US group] The National Endowment for Democracy. NED gave a grant of $53,400 to an organization called Sœmate, which appears to be running the referendum campaign. The NED grant document, after castigating Chávez for polarizing Venezuelan society, specifies that Sœmate will “Develop a net of volunteers and [apartidistas] trained to work in elections and in a referendum … [and] promote popular support for the referendum.””
“Financing the [2002 Venezuela] coup,” from 2004 book, “Freeing the World to Death,” by William Blum. The presence of oil wasn’t necessary: “Washington has opposed governments and movements throughout Latin America and elsewhere in the world with equal determination, without oil or any other resource being a factor.”
……………………….
May 2007: Venezuela withdraws from IMF and World Bank . “Chavez began loosening ties with them in 1999:”
“Venezuela’s decision this week to pull out of the IMF and the World Bank will be seen in the United States as just another example of the ongoing feud between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the Bush Administration. But it is likely to be viewed differently in the rest of the world, and could have an impact on both institutions, whose power and legitimacy in developing countries has been waning steadily in recent years.”…May 10, 2007, “IMF and World Bank Face Declining Authority as Venezuela Announces Withdrawal,” McClatchy, Mark Weisbrot
Added: Founded in 1944, the World Bank and IMF “are twin intergovernmental pillars supporting the structure of the world’s economic and financial order.“
………………………………..
June 2012-Venezuela and 5 other Latin American countries request expulsion of USAID for interference in internal politics of ALBA countries under the excuse of “planning and administering economic and humanitarian assistance:”
6/22/2012, “ALBA Expels USAID from Member Countries,” VenezuelaAnalysys.com, via DiarioGranma
Signed by: Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominica Island, Cuba
………………………………..
Feb. 2015-Obama orders assassination of Venezuela Pres. Maduro:
2/24/2015, “Obama failed his coup in Venezuela,“ Voltaire Network, Thierry Meyssan
“Once again, the Obama administration has tried to force the change of a political regime that resists it. On February 12, [2015] an Academi (formerly Blackwater) plane disguised as an aircraft of the Venezuelan army was supposed to bomb the presidential palace and kill President Nicolas Maduro. The plotters had planned to place former MP María Corina Machado in power….
President Obama had given a warning. In his new doctrine of Defence (National Security Strategy), he wrote: “We stand with citizens whose full exercise of democracy is in danger, as the Venezuelans.” Yet, Venezuela is, since the adoption of the 1999 constitution, one of the most democratic countries in the world….
Washington was finishing developing the plan for the overthrow of the democratic institutions of Venezuela. The coup was planned for February 12.”…
…………………………………..
Feb. 2019: Humanitarian Aid Is Used as a Weapon against Venezuela’s government:
2/21/19, “When Humanitarian Aid Is Used as a Weapon to Bring Down Regimes,“ The Atlantic, Dylan Baddour, Cucuta, Colombia
……………………………….
March 2007: There’s no such thing as humanitarian intervention:
“There is no such thing as humanitarian military intervention distinct from war or counterinsurgency. Intervention and occupation should not be confused with classic peacekeeping, which is difficult enough even with a ceasefire agreement and the consent of the parties. If we want an intervention to overthrow a tyranny, protect citizens from their own government, or deliver humanitarian aid during an ongoing conflict, we should be honest with ourselves – we are arguing for a just war. And if we wish to make this case, let us be clear that the war is political (and must be very smartly political to succeed); that military logic will dictate what happens (including probable escalation and various unpredictable factors); and that it will entail bloodshed including the killing of innocent people.…Chasing the chimera of humanitarian intervention distracts us and impedes the search for real solutions to crises such as Darfur.”
March 21, 2007, “No Such Thing as Humanitarian Intervention,“ Harvard International Review, hir.harvard.edu, Alex De Waal
…………………….
Added: US decrees death of nations:
.........
......
Image above from TheTechnocraticTyranny.com, published 2/27/2016, “State Department’s Mission: Coup d’etat“
…………………………………..
Comment: The main focus of the Endless Unwinnable War Industry is US taxpayers. They need us to be enslaved from birth.
The “peace” movement was loud and strong until Nov. 2008. It abruptly ended when Obama was elected. During his 8 years Obama transformed the Democrat Party into the home of the Endless US Taxpayer Funded Foreign War Industry. He remade government into something about which everything was said to be “classified.” Should a rube dare ask a question about why this was happening, the rube was told, “That information is classified, national security, you hick.” This must be one those “US values” we hear about that you have to share if you don’t want to be executed or bombed by the US.
………..
No comments:
Post a Comment