The statement below has been signed by the Australian Socialist Alliance, the Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM) and the Indonesian Working People’s Association (PRP).
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We, the undersigned organisations, view with serious concern the possibility of military aggression towards the people of Venezuela by the Colombian government, which could be supported by the United States using its seven military bases recently installed in Colombia.
This matter has arisen from the recent events when the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was accused on July 22 at the Extraordinary Session of the Organisation of American States in Washington by the Colombian government of promoting, supporting and maintaining a relationship with armed organizations from Colombia, such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN).
The accusations were based on images that have never been substantiated or subjected to verification.
These current moves by the right-wing Colombian government are clearly an attempt backed by the US to justify a pre-emptive attack on Venezuela and its people. There has been a pattern of false allegations against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s government in recent years as part of US-backed campaign to dismantle the revolutionary process taking place in Venezuela.
Since the election of President Hugo Chavez in 1998 and the beginning of the Bolivarian revolutionary process, Venezuela has posed a great challenge to the US imperialist domination in Latin America as well as capitalist establishment in the region. The revolutionary process — with a popular democratic participation in Venezuela carrying the banner of “socialism in the 21st century” — has been an inspiration to people around the world seeking alternatives to neoliberal capitalist world order.
Considering the historical interference of the United States in internal matters of other countries and regions, such as in Iran and the Korean Peninsula, we are fearful that the US may exploit the current Venezuela-Colombia crisis as an entry point to carry out military aggression against Venezuela as it has done many times elsewhere in the past.
The attack on Venezuela has the aim to crush the revolutionary process taking place in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, and to re-enact US imperial doctrine in the region. We are very aware of the potential impact that these negative actions could have on the Venezuelan people and its ongoing revolutionary process and on the international community.
As these apprehensions are very real, we would like to expresses our continuous support to the democratic and peaceful revolutionary process in Venezuela and we would like to extent our solidarity to the people of Venezuela who are striving to build a better world.
We call upon:
• the Colombian government to stop its constant lies, malicious allegations and threats against Venezuela and engage with Venezuela to resolve the crisis with peaceful diplomatic means in order to rebuild its relations with the rest of the region;
• the US government to shut down all its military bases and installations in Latin America as well as other parts of the world;
• all governments with conscience to fully support the Venezuelan government’s insistence on its right to sovereignty and strongly denounce any US-backed military action against the people of Venezuela; and
• all people and organisations that support social justice and genuine democracy to support any solidarity action that may be needed to defend Venezuela and the revolution in Venezuela against constant military threats.