handsoffvenezuela.nl
the Netherlands – May 4, 2020
Yesterday there was another illegal, violent coup attempt against Venezuela; a group of heavily armed mercenaries in speedboats tried to invade the country, from neighbouring Colombia. This attack has been defeated.
We, Dutch citizens, condemn the armed invasion by terrorist commandos, and regret that our government has direct ties with the parties that plan, organise and finance these violent actions. We therefore have no confidence that our government has really sent its largest warship, attack helicopters, tons of military equipment, soldiers and marines there only for humanitarian support and Covid-19 combat.
We condemn the complicity of our government in the aggression, sabotage, siege, information war, economic destruction, coups d’état and invasions against the sovereign Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The attractive supply of oil (the largest in the world), other raw materials, and the social and independent policies of Venezuela cannot be a reason to ignore the basic principles of sovereignty, international law, diplomacy, the constitution, trade and coexistence; if so, what distinguishes us from medieval practices such as robbery, piracy, repressive displays of power and urban siege?
We, citizens of the Netherlands, do not want war, and the war language of our government is not ours. We don’t want deployment of Dutch war equipment and troops on the ABC islands, which for the first time since World War II would directly involve the Netherlands in a war with a neighbouring country. Also on behalf of our children and grandchildren, and our brothers and sisters on the ABC islands, we want to emphasize that a possible war will be disastrous.
We want our government to stop following in the footsteps of American aggressive displays of power. We want our governments to sit down around the table with the common goal of sorting out the differences and talking them out in order to come to an agreement. We have never elected our parliaments and our governments to unleash enmity with other countries and other governments and leaders, and therefore they don’t have the mandate to start us a war. We are of all faiths, all backgrounds, and all currents of opinion with one common demand.
We want PEACE between the Netherlands and Venezuela.