Security Council: U.S. Supports Violent Groups As Venezuela Seeks Internal Dialogue

Venezuela

Ambassador Rafael Ramírez Carreño

[Op-Ed]

Security Council meeting on Venezuela

First of all, I would like to express our strongest repudiation to the failed attempt of the United States to bring the situation of Venezuela to the Security Council. As the President of the Security Council, Ambassador Elbio Rosselli, well said, Venezuela is not part of the agenda of the Security Council.

It is important to underscore that Venezuela does not pose a threat to regional or international peace and security, which is one of the fundamental conditions to discuss an issue at the Security Council.

We raise our concern regarding the United States attempts to discuss the bilateral issues with our country to the multilateral instances. It did it with the OAS, and it is now trying to do so with the UN, in both cases unsuccessfully. It is a calculated and deliberate strategy against our country.

We must stress that the violence in the country, which has caused so many deaths, was precisely unleashed as a result of the interference of the OAS in an illegal meeting held on 03 April, along with the bias and politically motivated actions of Mr. Almagro. Since then, he has been disqualified as a regional actor due to his open actions against the government and who has, irregularly brought the most violent representatives of the opposition to the spaces of the OAS.

The United States, with its interfering positions, has become an actor on the situation suffered in our country, because it encourages and fuels the most violent groups while interfering in our internal affairs through communiqués, stances, and imposition of illegal sanctions.

The international community must be sure that Venezuela will solve their internal issues in the framework of our laws and Constitution. We will do it ourselves. We will not tolerate interference or tutelage. We demand respect to our sovereignty, which is one of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

Our country confronts violent actions from a minority; they are not peaceful protesters as pointed out by Ambassador Nikki Haley.

The demonstrators are taking advantage of a distinctive element in our country. In Venezuela, the law enforcement agencies do not use firearms; it prohibits it. There is a disposition of the military command not to use firearms; the opposition takes advantage of this situation to assault and attack the rest of the Venezuelan people.

The Venezuelan State ensures the peace and security of the society. It cannot allow that extremist and violent groups destabilize the entire region.

The interference of the United States and attempts such as this today encourage the actions of these groups, as well as the systematic and permanent propaganda of the mass media against our country.

The United States has been the major promoter of violence and war in the world. Interventionist actions of this kind have led to conflicts and tragedies in Iraq, Libya, and Syria.

The United States, you must know this, was the promoter of the coup d’Etat against our country in 2002. Nowadays, the leaders of the violence are the same that took part in the coup d’Etat on that year. The United States has, on the other hand, a sad history of violence, interference, and interventions in our region, which have hindered the development of our democracy.

The Government of President Nicolás Maduro has called for dialogue; we count with the mediation of former presidents Leonel Fernández, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and Martin Torrijos, through UNASUR, our very own regional mechanism.

We will continue to insist on the dialogue and respect for our institutions. Our efforts for dialogue count with the support of Pope Francis, who has called for peace and dialogue in our country. It is important to note, that Pope Francis has been a victim of countless accusations by the extreme right-wing followers, only because he has appealed for dialogue.

On the other hand, the national Government and President Nicolás Maduro have convened a National Constituent Assembly, in accordance with articles 347 and 348 of our Constitution, which constitutes a profoundly democratic space for peace and dialogue.

The United States pretends to become the conscience of the world; nothing could be further from the truth. It is a very violent system that promotes war, kills, bombs, and intervenes in other countries, acting as the police of the world. Therefore, we firmly believe in multilateral organizations and the Charter of the United Nations.

We wish to say that there have been violent acts encouraged from outside, by factors of power that have great interests in our country, which pretend to plunder our natural resources. Those who fuel this violence are the same actors that promoted the coup d’Etat in 2002 and have abused of the political goodwill of our government and the guarantees that will continue to offer our Constitution.

There have been deplorable and tragic deaths of about 38 Venezuelans which we deeply repudiate. The perpetrators of such assassinations will be held accountable to justice. The Office of the Public Prosecutor is investigating these cases, regardless of the perpetrator.

The United States manipulate the human rights issue. I must say our country has successfully rendered the annual report of the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council, which is a legitimate and non-discriminatory body of the United Nations, recognized by all its members.

We must make clear that our people deserves respect; we are children of Bolívar and Chávez, and we will not allow any foreign power to decide on our future.

Finally, we believe that this sort of political maneuver  diverts the attention of the Security Council from its priorities and responsibilities in bloody armed conflicts which attempt against the international peace and security and demand the Council’s focused attention such as the cases of Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Palestine, in which the United States bears a great responsibility.

 

Rafael Ramírez Carreño is the permanent representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations

 

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