Bron: English translation of the Dutch August 30 2020 Publication. Werkgroep vrede met Venezuela - Handen af van Venezuela
This is the second part of the article series on the consequences of the alliance of the Netherlands with the US. Part 1 describes the coercive measures of the US and its allies, including attacks, coup attempts, sabotage, strangling ‘sanctions’ and military threats against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela – or as in the newspeak (1) of established media -‘ against dictator Maduro ‘.
While partisan NGOs and mainstream media keep claiming that ‘dictator Maduro’ is causing a humanitarian crisis, and there is a responsibility to intervene, as in Yougoslavia 1996, Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003, Libya 2010, Syria 2011,… independent experts say, and diplomats claim, that humanitarian needs are precisely created by the above coercive measures, condemning them as medieval barbarism. Since that link between the measures and the humanitarian situation has been described as a strategy since February 2018 in the master plan by Kurt Walter Tidd, military strategist and commander of Southcom and the 4th Fleet, their intent cannot be denied.
Its actual purpose is the expulsion of government, the dismantling of security forces and institutions, the cleansing of social organizations and leaders, and the establishment of a permanent neoliberal puppet state, with the world’s largest oil supply, gold and other mineral resources as coveted booty. The subordination of Venezuela also removes a major hurdle to further neo-colonization of the US “backyard”.
This criminal aggression against a sovereign state and its people is loyally supported by the Dutch government, especially Minister Blok. The ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, which are still part of the Dutch Kingdom, are seen in the invasion plans as a possible springboard and there is little reason to expect the Dutch government to stop this dangerous and illegal course.
Government policy based on lies and deception
Our current government does not apologize for the crimes of the former Dutch colonial empire and appears to seek to maintain the inequality that has arisen. It does not take a stand against the war crimes of the US, but collaborates with them and other allies (NATO members and partners) to maintain the status quo and nip “threatening” developments in the bud.
Since 1945, this power bloc has intervened in more than 70 countries to remove democratic governments and let their puppets take over. Especially, but not only, in South and Central America. Under the guise of “National Security”, neo-colonial looting and exploitation is being furthered yet again.
As a member of the Western Alliance, our government supports the agenda of convicted war criminal Elliott Abrams, former CIA director, now Secretary Pompeo, and other hawks. Out of questionable loyalty or inappropriate respect for his colleague Pompeo, Minister Blok has made effective contributions to the US’s aggressive and lawless policy on Venezuela, and in that context the Dutch people and its representation in the House of Representatives misled at many times:
Deception 1: “Elections in Venezuela were not free and fair”, the minister said in the House of Representatives on 23 May, and many times afterwards. Since January 23 2019 the minister also said on multiple occasions that Juan Guaido is the interim President of Venezuela.
This is factually incorrect–it being a self-declaration–and a blatant violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty; the UN and truly independent experts and diplomats do not agree with any of this.
President Maduro was elected with 67% of the vote on May 20, 2018. The fact that some anti-democrats, encouraged by the US, boycotted the elections and were therefore directly responsible for the low turnout does not invalidate it. It is these same popularly rejected political parties, the G4, that will also boycott the parliamentary elections on December 6, 2020. Juan Guaido is one of them. Just like the ex-chairman of the electoral council who last month opposed the preparation of parliamentary elections and was dismissed by the highest court for this unconstitutional act. It is the formerly established elite who, in collaboration with the US and multinational corporations, until 1998 orchestrated the looting and unfair exploitation of Venezuelan resources and labor.
Despite misleading slurs in all media, since 1998 the people have opted for the “Bolivarian” revolution of the late President Hugo Chavez, which is being continued by President Maduro’s current administration.
With coups, attacks, collective punishments etc. this elite, with the support of the US, is trying to regain power. Once that gave them a majority in parliament in 2015, they tried everything to expand that power and never have to give it up again. They sabotage the constitutional democratic process because they will have little chance in fair democratic elections. It is deeply sad that our government is going along with these undemocratic practices.
Deception 2: Venezuelans’ human rights are being violated by their government. There is a humanitarian crisis that justifies sanctions and other interventions.
US-controlled organizations such as Human Right Watch (HRW), Amnesty International (AI) have made this claim based on dubious allegations (2), and Michelle Bachelet echoes them on behalf of the OHCHR (3). However, there is generally recognized evidence to the contrary: The unilateral coercive measures of the US and the EU, the so-called “sanctions”, violate human rights (4).
The financial-economic blockade is an international crime. In this regard, a legal case has been brought by the government of Venezuela to the ICC in The Hague (5).
Deception 3: The flow of refugees from Venezuela, caused by the policies of the Maduro government, causes a local problem in the overseas part of the kingdom and necessitates a visa requirement.
The refugee flow is, in fact, a direct result of the strangling “sanctions,” and described as a target in senior pentagon strategist Kurt W. Tidd’s aforementioned master plan (6). (February 17, 2018)
Being able to flee without required documents is a human right; if the culprits causing this misery for the Venezuelan people also create rules and enforcement to deny them access, there may be a deliberate crime of genocide. And that is exactly what the Netherlands does ……
Venezuelan immigrants are locked up in prison barracks under appalling conditions. Their legal rights are not being respected.
Aruba Bonaire and Curaçao benefited greatly from regional trade, cooperation and tourism with their big brother Venezuela. All of this has been halted by US “sanctions” and Minister Blok’s ambitions.
(Part 3 will provide examples, elaborate further on the possible consequences and indicate how this fits into a sinister direction the Dutch policy has taken.)
Deception 4: According to Minister Blok, the SoFA, a far-reaching military agreement between Curacao, the Netherlands and the US, which places the American soldiers on the ABC islands above the law, is particularly necessary for help with hurricanes and other disasters, according to Minister Blok.
However, there have never been hurricanes in the South Caribbean region. They will not come either. Possibly, US assistance to the northern islands of St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba could very well be provided from the neighboring island of Puerto Rico, a US colony with 10 military bases, or from Miami or Costa Rica. (Aside from repatriating Gringos, no such assistance was provided by the US after Hurricane Irma in 2017).
There are actually only arguments against the US Sofa treaty with Curaçao (VIDEO of the 2nd chamber debate)
Deception 5: The deployment in the Caribbean region of the Netherlands’ largest warship, the amphibious assault support ship Hr.Ms. Karel Doorman, is needed for support in corona control.
After a corona meeting of the NATO summit, Karel Doorman left for the South Caribbean Sea, together with French and English warships, to put pressure on the Venezuelan state and, if desired, contribute to a maritime blockade or invasion. In fact, no reports are known of the logistical and medical support claimed afterwards and it is therefore very probably untrue. (7)
Deception 6: The local authorities had promised Venezuela an investigation into the situation surrounding the collision of RCGS Resolute with a Venezuelan coastguard ship. However, it was ordered by “external powers” that no local inspection should take place.
At the end of March 2020, the thick-walled Arctic Cruise ship RCGS Resolute, with unknown crew, was on a collision course in the Caribbean Sea. It deliberately rammed and sunk a Venezuelan coastal surveillance ship on the night of March 30, following a number of suspicious manoeuvres in Venezuela’s territorial waters. Despite distress signals from the sinking coastal guard ship, the cruise ship fled to the port of Willemstad Curaçao–without assisting–and received protection there.
It is not certain that Minister Blok was the “external superior” concerned here, but it fits within his authority and motivation. On May 12, 2020, the independent court of Curaçao sentenced the crew of the ship and fined the shipping company approximately 212 million euros.
Deception 7: In response to a parliamentary question from the SP whether the allegation is correct that the mercenary invasion was carried out on May 3, 2020 from Colombia via Aruba, the minister promised on June 14 :.
“…. We have no information about involvement from Aruba, but have asked Venezuela to provide further information about this. If there is one, we will look at it very seriously”
The GPS data seized by the Venezuelan army provided that information, but the Dutch minister apparently did not take it seriously.
It is implausible that the minister would have received no information about it through his own contacts.
Deception 8 – In his letter of June 23 to Parliament, regarding “expanding the capacity” of the US base in Curaçao: “The Kingdom benefits from American air reconnaissance on the basis of which drug shipments can be traced and intercepted. In many cases, the latter is done in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Caribbean Coast Guard. ”
Many fishermen and traders are harassed and intimidated by the navy and coast guard – according to reports. But there are no known reports of intercepted drug shipments, and certainly not a “large number of cases”. (8)
Deception 9 – in the same letter of June 23: Partly on behalf of the Minister of Defence, I hereby inform you about “a temporary expansion of the capacity at the Forward Operating Location (FOL) facility in Curaçao.”
The contract with the US for the use of its FOL base in Curaçao concerns only counter-narcotics operations. The Minister violates the democratic process, which requires Parliament’s consent, by claiming that it is an ‘expansion of capacity’ when in fact a function extension, and confronted the Chamber with the statement that for this approval, his colleague from Defence and two others had already signed.
This is a very serious matter as it is not a counter-narcotics operation, but a clear military threat and possibly the preparation and support of a military attack and invasion. The AWACS reconnaissance aircraft can map an area up to 250 km away. The newer JSTARS (joint surveillance and attack radar system) can do that too, has direct data connection with other modern military systems and also has a command center on board.
Both reconnaissance planes fly north of the ABC islands from east to west evv.[what do you mean?] and thus control the northern part of Venezuela, up to 150km deep inland, where 80% of Venezuelans live and most of the infrastructure is located, including that for the defence of the country.
Gathering strategic data to support future military operations will be the real function of both types of reconnaissance aircraft. The two stratotankers are necessary for refuelling approaching bombers.
This military threat – whether or not quasi (9) concealed – is in itself an act of aggression and punishable under international law.
Trust breached
The ambitions of Minister Blok have actually put Aruba Bonaire and Curaçao in a war situation with Venezuela. Both economically and diplomatically and now also militarily. Easy-to-see deception was the basis of his policy.
A practice frequently applied by Blok to sideline the required democratic process is to distort the situation in such a way that no permission for the policy change seems necessary. In this recent case, in his letter to the Chamber, he suggests that the deployment of the four military aircraft is necessary to combat drug shipments”
The reason for the temporary expansion of capacity is a significant increase in drug trafficking observed by the US via the Caribbean route to the United States.
Four aircraft will be deployed along with approximately 150 crew and maintenance personnel over a few months.
By placing these two sentences one below the other in his letter, the suggestion is created that the planes are there for the fight against drugs, without having to write it explicitly. The text continues with:
“Although, in accordance with the treaty, the US does not have to request permission in advance for these or other expansions, in this case it did happen because of the COVID-19 measures that Curaçao has taken in recent months.
Agreements have been made with the government of Curaçao about, among other things, quarantining the crew upon arrival.”
The US threats and military escalation really have nothing to do with the alleged interception of drug shipments and thus do not fall within the existing treaty on the use of the FOL army bases. The deployment of these military aircraft does require permission from the Dutch government, and because it unquestionably concerns acts of war, the minister can only give permission after approval from the States General, i.e. the Senate and House of Representatives.
By indicting the President of Venezuela and his top officials for trafficking in cocaine and putting 10-15 million bounties on their heads, the hawks have made their intended plan transparent:
As with the invasion of Panama, the attack and violent takeover of government buildings and the imprisonment of President Noriega in December 1989, this recent drug-related indictment is solely intended as fabricated legitimacy for an aggressive seizure of power and the imprisonment or execution of the elected head of state Maduro and other senior officials.
And there is more. This list is not exhaustive (10)
All wars start with lies, they are often admitted and documented afterwards. Blok has misled the people and her representatives in the chamber into accepting criminally aggressive policies against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Because he, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, would have been aware of the plans like no other, he cannot hide behind ignorance (“with the knowledge of then… ..”). They are lies and deception, in full consciousness, towards the parliament, and thus indirectly against the people. He lied repeatedly about matters pertaining to Venezuela alone. His predecessor Halbe Zijlstra had to leave when it turned out that he lied once. Why is Blok still there?
How further?
The government, each minister and state secretary, is accountable to the Dutch people and their representation in the States General. That takes place in Parliament; in writing, plenary or in committee meetings, where honest information provision is essential. Breach of confidence is punishable by a vote of no confidence.
In the form of interviews and press statements in the NOS radio and television programs, the government gives the (viewing and listening) people insight into its perspective of the current situation and the choices it has made – government policy. There is no critical note or independent analysis of the NOS. However, there is no interaction from the viewers or listeners. It’s more demographics and government propaganda than democracy. And there is little or no unbiased commentary in newspapers, magazines, radio or TV.
It cannot be that fraud is a legitimate tool in policy making. We therefore argue for reversing the policy provisions that have been implemented on the basis of deception, in other words:
Visa Waiver for Venezuelan Visitors.
The immediate expulsion of the 4 planes and 200 soldiers, and the closure of the FOL bases in Curaçao and Aruba as soon as possible, completely, because Southcom and DEA cannot be trusted in what they call “counter-narcotics”,
Ending the Humanitarian Hub Agreement (11) because USAID cannot be trusted in what they call “humanitarian” assistance,
Restoring diplomacy, economic cooperation and trade between the ABC Islands and Venezuela.
Minister Blok has lost confidence and his mandate and will have to accept the consequences. His implemented and foreseen foreign policy will have to be reviewed.
We want the Dutch government to accept Venezuela’s sovereignty and recognize the elected President Maduro as the sole head of state; And that it recognizes Luis Parra as the sole president of the national assembly (parliament); Indira Maira Alfonzo Izaguirre recognized as President of the Electoral Council and the Ambassador to The Hague as the one and only diplomatic representative and chargé d’affaires of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Out of respect for international regulations and the sovereignty of states, the Dutch state, and the companies under its jurisdiction, must refrain from financial and economic sabotage through so-called sanctions, and not provide assistance or protection to criminals who carry out acts of sabotage. Punitive expeditions like this have no place in a 21st century post-colonial world.
ABC – island residents
It is becoming increasingly clear to the Antillean people that the interests of the kingdom are not in line with their own interests, and that the kingdom treaty of 1954 is outdated and offers too little room for an appropriate development and crisis response policy.
Apart from the inhumane reports about the so-called “refugee problem”, no mention is made in the Dutch media about the real problems that have arisen as a result of Dutch intervention. Those problems are now misleadingly associated with the corona pandemic. Making use of the negative image that the state and media have painted of native Antilleans for years, military maintenance of order is taken for granted. Heavily armed Dutch marines in the streets; full prisons; legal protection refused; “War is Peace” (1).
The neo-colonial aggression of the US and ally of the Netherlands has already changed a lot on the islands.
Part 3 focuses on the possible consequences for residents, companies and services in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
Part 1 of July 20 2020. is still available in this archive (English translation).
Footnotes 1 – 11
(1) “Newspeak” and “War is peace” are common concepts in George Orwell’s futuristic 1984 novel.
(2) AI and HRW are far from independent and have a bad reputation. Their reports and press releases, which in many cases support the US + NATO’s desire for humanitarian intervention, lack facts and evidence. The “witnesses” they put forward are always unanimous and, at the very least, questionable. A few analyzes in this archive:
– Amnesty International supports the regime change agenda for Bolivia October 26, 2019
– How Amnesty International Boosts Trump’s regime change propaganda against Venezuela February 28, 2019
– AFGJ report [PDF] mines the misleading reports of Amnesty International (Nicaragua) February 28, 2019
– Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the credibility issue. (Middle East, with South America update) March 13, 2018
– Smart Power & the Human Rights Industrial Complex February 15, 2016
(3) Michelle Bachelet, ex-president of Chile and current head of OHCHR, the UN human rights organization, indiscriminately copied the contentious information from the Amnesty International report, despite witnesses she spoke to during her visit to Venezuela. told other truth.
All messages about this in this archive
(4) The US + EU unilateral coercive measures are barbaric, criminal, and cause of economic crises and human suffering.
– Chronology of the financial-economic sabotage (sanctions) against Venezuela (updated every month)
– Sanctions for Mass Destruction: The US War on Venezuela
– news & opinion about the so-called “sanctions” against Venezuela (in this archive)
(5) At the very informative press conference of Jorge Arreaza in The Hague, the Dutch press was completely absent, despite an invitation. It can still be viewed here (Dutch subtitles)
Arreaza: “US coercive measures are weapons of mass destruction” [VIDEO]
(6) Its willfulness cannot be denied. In the February 2018 Internally Distributed “Masterstroke” Plan of Kurt W. Tidd, military strategist and retired top commander of Southcom and the 4th Fleet, this, and much more, is explicitly stated as military strategy.
(7) The Karel Doorman arrived 3 days before the mercenary invasion, and subsequently may have played a role in the threat against the Iranian Tanker Flotilla (9). The ship then returned to the Netherlands early, possibly due to boredom and justified frustration among the crew, but some of the military hardware and crew, including some trucks, jeeps and armored cars, remained on St. Maarten and Curacao and a 19 person JISTARC detachment with a launch and communication installation and an unknown number of X-300 Integrator drones in Aruba. (I’ll come back to this in the 3rd part of this series). At the insistence of ruling party D66, a new “humanitarian” deployment of the warship is being discussed.
(8) The coastguard and the Dutch Navy are said to have intercepted a cocaine transport of 5,500 kg from Venezuela on 28 February 2020. The press releases were ready for distribution, but the facts and navigation data contradicted the claim. It is extremely doubtful whether this had at least some truth to it.)
(9) Quasi concealed, because any reasonable person would have to admit that the permanent deployment of the four military aircraft, viz. an AWACS, a JSTARS and two stratotankers can only be seen in a context of the military threat to Venezuela. Threatening an attack on a sovereign state is unambiguously prohibited under international law agreed upon by countries in 1949, and in violation of the United Nations charter, of which the Netherlands and some 200 other countries are part.
(10) The above list is not exhaustive. Similar deception took place to gain acceptance for the visa scheme, the Humanitarian Hub Agreement and its recent extension,… .. (to be completed)
(11) The controversial ‘Humanitary hub’ treaty between the Netherlands, curaçao and the US, part of the coup attempt on January 30, 2019, retroactively extended on May 19, 2020, when it appeared that the mercenary invasion had failed, and the hawks were looking were looking for new options to take control of Venezuela.
The Red Cross, the global emergency response authority, has rejected USAID’s “aid” because it has a political strategy behind it.