- Oppose US intervention in Venezuela
- Oppose US military bases in Columbia
- Support the fight against US imperialism in Latin America
Over the eight years of Venezuela Bolivarian Revolution, it has never been free of intervention, harassment and provocation by the United State government. This has included an attempted pro-opposition coup d’etat funded by the US in 2002 to the recent military provocations through the Columbian government. The Columbian government has accused Venezuela of protecting and allowing “FARC terrorist bases” (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) in its country, and has called on the Organisation of South American States to investigate it. A similar statement was made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who asked the Inter-American Democratic Charter to oppose Venezuela.
The use of the term terrorist for groups that resist US imperialism’s world domination is part of the “war on terror” scenario launched by the US following the tragic 2001 World Trace Center attack. Iraq and Afghanistan are the worst victims of US terror. The US has never accepted responsibility when it has been proven that what they referred to as weapons of mass destruction (and even) terrorist themselves never existed.
Although Obama has made friendly overtures towards Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the US government is the strongest and most reactionary capitalist government in the world. They are afraid because Venezuela is making a revolution similar to that of Cuba; building socialism in the 21st Century. Venezuela has taken over and built the country’s vital industries under the control of the working class, has taken over huge tracts of unused land owned by big land lords, has developed human resources through free and quality education and healthcare, is unwilling to be dictated to by neoliberal capitalist financial institutions and sells cheaper oil to the US people than the US government itself. In short, the US capitalist government does not want to allow socialism to develop in Venezuela, as they have tried to prevent socialism from succeeding in Cuba by applying an economic embargo for the last 40 years.
According to the US capitalist government, the globalisation of Chevron, Exxon, Coca Cola and McDonalds are symbols of prosperity rather than free and quality education and healthcare. Having two hundred or so of the richest people in the world is better than Cuba and Venezuela’s successes in eradicating illiteracy, treating cataracts and cancer or providing computers down to primary school level and villages for free.
Over the last year, seven US military bases have been established in Columbia. According to the US Air Force, the establishment of these bases is an endeavour to conduct “full spectrum military operations” against the growing threat of anti-US governments in Latin America. The threat they are referring to of course is the increasing number of countries in Latin America that are resisting US imperialism, following in the footsteps of Cuba and Venezuela.
It is the right of all peoples in all parts of the world to fight US imperialism by various means that protect humanity, including the right of the Columbian people’s right to fight their government that is a loyal accomplice of Us imperialism. It is the task of socialist countries to assist this fight so that capitalism does not continue to bring suffering to humanity, destroy the environment and kill off potential advances in various parts of the world. And it is the task of the democratic and humanitarian movements throughout the world to provide solidarity with efforts to build a new world order other than capitalism.
It is because of this therefore, that the signatories below declare their support for the Venezuelan Bolivarian revolution and reject all forms of US intervention against Venezuelan economic and political self-sufficiency. The defeat of the Venezuelan revolution would be a defeat for the struggle by the world’s people to create an alternative against global capitalism, and because of this, we cannot stand by and allow this to happen.
Jakarta, July 28, 2010
Supporting organisations
1. Indonesian Peoples Solidarity for an Alternative Latin America (SERIAL) – ada.alternatif@yahoo.com/www.amerikalatin.blogspot.com
2. Political Committee of the Poor-People’s Democratic Party (KPRM-PRD) – kprm.prd@gmail.com, www.kprm-prd.org, http://kprm-peoples-democratic-party.blogspot.com/
3. Political Union of the Poor (PPRM) – politik.rakyat.miskin@gmail.com
4. Student Struggle Center for National Liberation (PEMBEBASAN) – kn.pembebasan@gmail.com/
5. Perempuan Mahardhika (Free Women) – mahardhika.kita@gmail.com, www.perempuanmahardhika.blogspot.com
6. Indonesian Labour Movement Union (PPBI) – kp.ppbi@gmail.com
7. People’s Health Council (DKR)
8. Ferry Nelson (worker at MM 2100 Cibitung).
9. Hands of Venezuela (HOV) Indonesia – www.indonesia.handsoffvenezuela.org
10. Militant Indonesia – www.militanindonesia.org
[Translated by James Balowski.]
