Nicky Aulia Widadio, Jakarta – A number of labour organisations held a demonstration at the US Embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday February 12 to protest against US intervention in Venezuela.
The action began at the nearby Horse Monument followed by a long-march to the US Embassy in Central Jakarta.
Around one hundred people calling themselves the Labour Movement for the People (Gebrak) made demands such as “Trump, hands off Venezuela” and “Stop Intervention in Venezuela”.
Gebrak spokesperson and Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI) chairperson Nining Elitos said that the action was a form of solidarity between Indonesian workers and the people of Venezuela.
According to Elitos, the acknowledgement by the US and a number of other countries of right-wing opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s “interim president” represents a failure to respect Venezuela’s sovereignty.
Elitos also accused the US of trying to destroy the democratic system in Venezuela and failing to respect the electoral choices of the Venezuelan people.
“This action proves that what is being done by the United States is very wrong, because it does not respect the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people”, said Elitos in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Gebrak also called for the Venezuelan conflict to be resolved peacefully. “The escalation of the [political] conflict must be stopped in order to prevent blood being spilled”, said labour activist Ilhamsyah.
Venezuela has been rocked since January 10 when President Nicolas Maduro was inaugurated for a second term in office after an election which was boycotted by the opposition.
Tensions rose when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself as an interim president on January 23, a move supported by the US and a number of European and Latin American countries.
While Russia, China, Iran, Bolivia, Mexico and Turkey have supported Maduro, 20 European Union member states including Spain, Germany, France and Britain have acknowledged Guaido and increased pressure on Maduro.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Organisasi buruh gelar demo intervensi AS di Venezuela”.]
Source: https://www.aa.com.tr/id/dunia/organisasi-buruh-gelar-demo-intervensi-as-di-venezuela/1389961
