“Hands off Venezuela!” was the theme of a protest on the steps of Sydney Town Hall on December 10. It was called in response to rising number of threats by United States President Donald Trump and his administration to attack, and perhaps invade, Venezuela.
The rally heard speeches from a variety of left organisations in solidarity with the Venezuela people, including Patrick Newbold from Red Spark; Rachel Evans from Socialist Alliance; Lindy Nolan from the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist); Josh Lees from Socialist Alternative/NSW Socialists; Ian Rintoul from Solidarity; and Jim McIlroy from the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network.
Newbold led the crowd in chants of “Hands off Venezuela!” and “Bombing civilians is a crime from Venezuela to Palestine”. He said foreign minister Penny Wong should repair diplomatic ties with Venezuela and denounce US military aggression.
He said the US is targeting Venezuela because it wants "security for foreign investment and a transparent massive privatisation program". He said the real "threat" of Venezuela is that it nationalised oil production, which went overseas or to the pockets of a few rich, and used the money to increase social spending by 61%, spending on "scholarships, education courses, land reform, improving food quality, rebuilding the countryside to depopulate the slums and medical care".
Evans called on Labor to condemn the US war drive against Venezuela, and its intervention and threats to Colombia and Mexico.
“At least 87 fisher people — Colombians and Venezuelans — have been executed by US forces in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Oceans since September, under the pretext of stopping the narcotics trade,” she said. “There is no moral or legal justification for these murders.”
She said Venezuela had long been a target of US aggression, particularly since revolutionary leader Hugo Chavez became president in 1998 and the US imposed crippling sanctions.
“Labor has said nothing about the US’ illegal strikes or cautioned its ally about respecting countries’ national sovereignty ... we call on Labor to stand with the people of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Lees said the US assault on Palestine and threats against Venezuela are driven by its desire to boost corporate profits.
Nolan spoke about the school walk-outs against the Vietnam War and the importance of building community support for Venezuela.
McIlroy highlighted the strong history of solidarity in Australia with Venezuela.
The protesters said they would respond immediately to any direct US military attack on Venezuela and called on others to do the same.