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On the 19th anniversary of the US-backed Coup in Venezuela: We call the international civilised community to stop the humanitarian crisis called slow genocide of the Venezuelan people

By Hugo Chavez Foundation
Press Statement On the 19th anniversary of the US-backed Coup in Venezuela: We call the international civilised community to stop the humanitarian crisis called slow genocide of the Venezuelan people
APR 14, 2021 LISTEN

‘At the age of 17, Karl Marx wrote the following and throughout his life he lived by it: History calls those men the greatest who have ennobled themselves by working for the common good; experience acclaims as happiest the man who has made the greatest number of people happy; religion itself teaches us that the ideal being whom all strive to copy sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind, and who would dare to set at naught such judgments?

If we have chosen the position in life in which we can most of all work for mankind, no burdens can bow us down, because they are sacrifices for the benefit of all; then we shall experience no petty, limited, selfish joy, but our happiness will belong to millions, our deeds will live on quietly but perpetually at work, and over our ashes will be shed the hot tears of noble people’. Karl Marx

STATEMENT:

On April 11, 2002 the world woke to the startling news that the constitutional and democratically-elected President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the late Hugo Chavez had been forcibly removed from the Presidential Palace and taken hostage. A coup d’état was announced only to be followed by an abrupt interruption of the democratic and constitutional order.

This action remains today one of the most shameful U.S. foreign policy decisions in recent memory.

The international community condemned these criminal acts as fateful episodes of the past, characterized by the crushing of fundamental freedoms and disregard for human rights. During the forty-eight (48) hours of the de facto government remained in power, those who took part in the coup demonstrated their repressive and aggressive attitude toward the Venezuelan people.

Today, April 13, 2021 therefore, marks the 19th anniversary of the triumph of democracy in Venezuela following the forty-eight hours coup against the constitutional and democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez.

The international community is not unaware that in the early hours of April 13, 2002 a mass popular movement, in alliance with patriotic men and women of the Venezuelan Armed Forces loyal to the fundamental values of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, reversed the coup and reinstated President Hugo Chavez as Head of State. This was a unique and unprecedented event in the political history of Latin America. Democratically elected governments have been swept from office by coups d’état, which have not, however, triggered immediate social and political movements with enough strength to restore them to power. Not so in Venezuela. Most segments of the Armed Forces and key command structures proved to be profoundly moral and democratic.

President Hugo Chavez’s first words, upon his reinstatement after his brief ouster, in the early hours of Sunday, April 14, 2002, were intended to foster peace and reconciliation. He called for rationality in politics and the reunification of the country. He promised to continue implementing the political program he initiated, to ensure a more just, equitable, libertarian country within a democratic and peaceful framework. He called upon all political and social sectors, without exception, to pause for reflection in the quest for alternatives in accordance with the Constitution of Venezuela. He made it very clear that he had return to fulfill the mandate given to him by the Venezuelan people, and that he had no intention of using retaliatory or vengeance measures against anyone. He reaffirmed his government’s readiness to respect human rights unreservedly; and expressed his willingness to call a national dialogue involving all Venezuelans, in order address the problems besetting his country.

For the benefit of hindsight, we want to place it on record that the Bolivarian Government of Venezuelan inherited a country fraught with injustice, fascist dictatorship, economic doldrums and isolation of the masses in the discussion and decision making process. The proceeds from oil exports were not managed to address the deteriorating living standards of the Venezuelan people. Poverty increased to unprecedented levels, with no ray of hope for the ordinary Venezuelan.

The 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela provides for a participatory democracy in which citizens have a leading and responsible role. These are principles that give expression in a democracy, and which the late Venezuelan leader cherished so much for his country and people. These principles allow representative democracy to work, inasmuch as they create a platform of communication and national dialogue whereby citizens, and especially those who are traditionally excluded, are heard by those who direct the affairs of state.

Venezuelans now have their rights to participate in all matters that concerned their collective wellbeing and national dignity without fear of reprisals for speaking out the truth. This was absence in Venezuela before the assumption of the Hugo Chavez presidency in 2000. There were frequent demonstrations of grassroots support for President Chavez. Political opponents repeatedly take to the streets to voice their opinions. All these can be referred to as the luxury of political pluralism that is the bedrock of a democratic society, such as Venezuela.

The broad spectrum of debate taking place in Venezuela reflects the necessary and complex process of introducing changes of a progressive nature that the country requires at every level. This is all but a truly historic challenge. The vast majority of people in most countries today seek a deeper and more perfect democracy, by combining respect for the rule of law with statutes that guarantee economic, social, and territorial equity. For the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, democracy, justice and dignity go together.

In a genuine democracy, there is an opposition to check the excesses of a sitting government and speak for the wellbeing of the people. There is no saying the fact that there are those who called themselves democratic opposition, but yet they are oppose to the changes that have been taking place in Venezuela during and after President Hugo Chavez. Some oppose for the sake of opposition to feed fat and not for the wellbeing of the Venezuelan people. This is the situation where constitutional President Nicolas Maduro’s government finds itself today. Unfortunately, some of these opposition leaders are too greedy, confused and traitorous to the conscience of the Venezuelan people.

A clowned opposition that has sold the dignity and integrity of the Venezuelan people has unfortunately managed to sow the seeds of its anti-democratic, anti-people and anti-constitutional order, with the backing and support of foreign powers. This so-called opposition shamelessly and disgracefully opposes peace, democracy, democratic good governance, justice, freedom and dignity, as well as the equitable distribution of the Venezuelan wealth. In its reckless dissipation, this so-called opposition has no respect for the indigenous population, Afro-descendants, and now spewing out hate messages to discredit grassroots sectors and their leaders. This is a worrisome development in a society historically shaped by an egalitarian and tolerant culture.

The Government of Venezuela considers opposition as legitimate forum necessary to enhance democracy in the Latin American nation. Never before in the history of Venezuela has the opposition enjoys such leeway to voice its views. Its criticisms are often excessive. Even so, its spokesmen are treated with respect and consideration by the Government. For those who took part in the coup of April 11, 2002 human rights and due process have been respected. They are even invited to the National Parliament to express their opinions, which are broadly and instantaneously published by all the media. That is how tolerant the Venezuelan government is. Its conduct is unparalleled in the history of Latin America and the Caribbean. Murder, torture, unlawful imprisonment, and persecution used against dissent voices, no longer give expression in the day-to-day Venezuela.

Time without number, constitutional President Nicolas Maduro has emphasized the need for national consensus. Opposition demonstrators repeatedly take to the streets. Supporters of the constitutional and democratically-elected President are equally entitled to air their views. A state of emergency, which the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela provides for, has never been decreed, despite the difficult times the country faces. We believe there is just no substitute to national dialogue to find solutions to conflicts of interest, which have dare consequence to the Venezuelan people.

Plots to truncate the constitutional order and democratic process are still being woven in Venezuela. These anti-Venezuelan actions started following the inauguration of the late constitutional President Hugo Chavez in 2000. Despite efforts employed by constitutional President Nicolas Maduro to resolve Venezuela’s current political impasse through national dialogue, it appears the opposition is hell-bent on grabbing power through violence, unconstitutional and undemocratic process. The opposition mischief making and antidemocratic circles persist in provoking unseemly clashes and refuse to take part in the dialogue proposed by constitutional President Nicolas Maduro.

April 11th – 13th, 2002, were fateful days for the people of Venezuela. People were killed and private property were ransacked and destroyed. Venezuelan homes were looted and people made homeless. The coup was essentially about overthrowing the Venezuelan people and their will. It was not about removing political opponents or supposed public order. It destroyed the work for the fundamental rights of citizens and crushed tenuous dreams of a free, democratic country.

A few civilian and military player who participated in the April 2002 coup committed heinous crimes and crime against humanity. This was what happened in Venezuela on April 11, 2002. That day previously programmed military mechanisms to overthrow the legitimately elected President were activated. And for a few hours they achieved that objective. The massacre that took place on that day was exploited by opposition circles to cast blame on constitutional President Hugo Chavez. A number of military officers were undoubtedly misled.

Under cover of chaos and with the news manipulated by the media, those who participated in the coup kidnapped constitutional President Hugo Chavez and held him hostage outside the capital, Caracas. They named a de facto ruler, who, during his swearing-in on the afternoon of April 12, 2002 announced the dissolution of all powers of State and annulled the Constitution backed by 80 percent of the population in the first referendum in the country’s history. By decree, he derogated 48 laws addressing social and economic issues. He dismissed all Governors, Mayors, and Parish Councils elected by universal and direct suffrage. And furthermore, he removed the country’s name, sullying the honor of the founding father of Venezuela, the Liberator Simón Bolívar. The de facto government unleashed a ferocious persecution against Parliamentarians and other leaders who supported constitutional President Hugo Chavez.

According to Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, freedom of expression and information is not unlimited. It must be exercised with responsibility and in such a way as not to impair national security, or the dignity and honor of individuals. Some media outlets celebrated the overthrow of the Constitutional President, but failed to report that millions of Venezuelans took to the streets on April 12, 13, and 14, 2002 in the country’s principal cities, to demand the unconditional return of their elected leader and the reestablishment of constitutional order in the Latin American nation.

Despite that, the Government of Venezuela has refrained from retaliating or imposing any restrictions on those media. On the contrary, the late constitutional President Hugo Chavez urged his supporters to remain calm and to respect the media and journalists, thereby furnishing irrefutable proof of political tolerance. The truth of the matter is that criticism has never been exercised in the media before as it is done today in Venezuela. The late constitutional President Hugo Chavez had been a proponent of press freedom and always stood against repression of journalism anywhere on the global planet.

Venezuelans never lost sight of what was ahead of them, so on April 13, 2002 mobilised themselves in their countless numbers around the country’s central military establishment at Fort Tiuna, to pressure their demand for the return of their elected leader. Similar protests were also held in other cities, towns and villages across Venezuela.

That afternoon of April 13, 2002, the de facto government crumbled. Supporters of the coup had no other alternative, but to return what they stole from the people. Patriotic and democratic men and women of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Venezuela came out in their large numbers to join the civilian population in demanding for the reversal of the US backed coup. Constitution President Hugo Chavez was restored and finally ending the sad chapter in the political history of Venezuela.

It must be stated here also that, some international news channels transmitted these historic events in Venezuela. This was what happened in Venezuela during the US backed coup against constitutional order and democratic process in that country of Latin America. True to the fact, the world should learn from the Venezuelan experience and unite against coercive actions of powerful countries and fight against all those evils that destroy society.

Commandant Hugo Chavez died on 5th March, 2013. The cause of his death points fingers to his detractors, both in and outside Venezuela. The successor government to the late Hugo Chavez, led by constitutional President Nicolas Maduro has launched and implementing series of initiatives to enhance democratic stability and seek national dialogue to resolve Venezuela’s impasse, but not compromising that country’s peace, Constitution, dignity and integrity. The objective of these initiatives, we are told, is to establish by consensus the foundation for democratic governance, inspired by liberty and justice.

The role of the United States in all of these ugly scenarios that are unveiling in Venezuela today is very clear. This is not new and not the end of the US attempts to meddle in the internal matters of Venezuela and other countries in the Hemisphere, including Nicaragua, Cuba, etc. It has been documented and distributed by historians that the United States participated, directly or indirectly, in Latin American regime change miasma more than 40 times in the last century . That figure doesn't include a number of failed missions like the 1961 Bay of Pigs assault in Cuba.

Some of the more stinging U.S. moves included the ouster of democratically elected governments in Guatemala in 1954, in Brazil a decade later and in Chile in 1973. Chilean President Salvador Allende was deposed in a bloodbath coup by US backed fascist elements in the military and civilian establishments. The US also supported the dictator General Augusto Pinochet brutal rule in Chile, as well as the 2009 coup in Honduras that ousted democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya and unleashed a new chapter of violence in the Central American nation.

In addition to covert support for insurgencies, the U.S. has invaded its southern neighbors numerous times. For instance, the U.S. launched invasions of the Dominican Republic (1916), Grenada (1983) and Panama (1989). One bloody chapter that recently re-entered debate is the U.S. government's roles in Central America's civil wars in the 1980s, including support for death squads in El Salvador and the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

No one should get doubt why succeeding Administrations in Washington are keen on clinical execution of regime change in Venezuela. Every action in Venezuela is about controlling the wealth and rich natural resources of that country. It appears that the new administration of President Joe Biden in Washington is downplaying on the devastating effects of US policy on the ordinary people in Venezuela.

Venezuela is one of the richest countries in Latin America, and it holds the world's largest oil reserves. With a combination of sanctions , diplomatic pressure and heightened aggressive rhetoric, the US is playing a dangerous game in Latin America.

The U.S. is currently importing the 1973 Chile’s destabilization policy against the people of Venezuela. Sanctions against Venezuela since the election of Hugo Chavez are costing the Venezuelan economy $23 billion a year. The US support for the unwanted, unmandated and imposter President Juan Guaido can at best be referred to as another in a long line of U.S. military use and military threats demanding access and control of natural resources in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Is it not hypocrisy at the highest international order for the US to seek the forceful overthrow of the constitutional and democratically-elected Government of Venezuela, while at the same time talks of supporting democracy in Venezuela and Latin America? Again, we wish to make it abundantly clear that the real purpose of the U.S. assault on the Venezuelan Government is to fully open the vast Venezuelan oil reserves as well as to destroy progressive governments in Latin America that put their own peoples’ needs above the profits of foreign corporations.

Concluding, the Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity (HCIF-PFS) is calling on the US military to resist the Trump legacy of intervention in Venezuela. It is illegal under both U.S. and international law to launch a military attack against another nation unless it is clearly in self defense and is approved by the United Nations. Illegal, immoral and irresponsible U.S. actions, including “sanctions” (economic war), have already taken a great toll on the people of Venezuela.

We call upon the members of the civilized international community to give voice to the cry of the Venezuelan people by reaching out to local and national media to report the situation, and by urging their governments to exert pressure to bear on the United States, to end its sanctions and other coercive measures against Venezuela.

Our mission as an organization is to promote peace. We therefore stand with the people of Venezuela.

Sender:

Alimamy Bakarr Sankoh

Consular-General and Chairman of the Governing Council

The Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity (HCIF-PFS)

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