The following open letter was sent to the Prime Minister of Canada today from 167 signatories and 15 Canadian organizations, concerning the crisis in Venezuela. If you would like to add your name to the letter please use the online form provided.
Download letter (with the list of original signatories):
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March 28, 2019
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister:
Statement of concern on the crisis in Venezuela
The undersigned, coming from academia, civil society organizations, and the labour movement, are Canadian citizens who value the vital importance of adherence to international law and to United Nations principles of non-aggression. We feel compelled to express our deep concerns about Canada’s involvement in the political and humanitarian crisis unfolding in Venezuela. We specifically lament the fact that, in concert with the Lima Group, it is orchestrating regime change in that country.
We are cognizant that both internal and external factors have played a role in generating the current crisis. Internally, none of the contending parties are beyond reproach for their deep erosion of political legitimacy in Venezuela. And external actors – including the Canadian government – have intervened in ways that have seriously exacerbated its political divisions and dramatically worsened its economic and humanitarian crisis, most reprehensibly through draconian economic sanctions.
We particularly deplore the United States’ repeated threats to intervene militarily to enforce regime change. Not only would this represent yet another egregious violation of international law, and of UN principles, but it would undoubtedly also result in enormous additional human suffering. Military interventions aimed at regime change have a disastrous track record – sowing political discord, causing widespread death and destruction and, all too often, culminating in brutal authoritarian rule.
We do acknowledge that the Lima Group has expressed its antagonism to external military intervention. But its antagonism is put in doubt by its willingness to work so closely with the United States even as the latter continues its threats. So do its recent warnings to current members of the Venezuelan military, that they face severe future punishment if they do not terminate their allegiance to the Maduro government. In effect, the Lima Group is encouraging a military-backed coup and is thereby complicit in a process that seriously risks a disastrous escalation of violence, or even civil war.
Under these circumstances we demand that the Canadian government should immediately abandon its current policy stance in favour of one that is clearly based on the following four pillars:
- Active opposition to any partisan external interventions in Venezuela’s internal affairs (where “partisan” refers to explicit, a priori support for any of the contending factions).
- The immediate cessation of all economic sanctions, since in international law these are clearly tantamount to external aggression, and since they clearly impose untold human suffering on the Venezuelan people;
- The restoration of Venezuela’s normal access to international markets and finance, and the delivery of international emergency aid through UN – and other impartial – channels to mitigate the current humanitarian crisis;
- And finally, active support for impartial efforts to promote dialogue, mediation and negotiations, such as the Montevideo Mechanism proposed by Mexico, Uruguay and CARICOM. The aim should be to help Venezuelans work towards achieving political consensus. Ultimately this should engender constructive democratic engagement, contributing to a sustained and positive vision of the country, and supported by the bulk of its population.
With sincere regards,
Roy Culpeper, Chair, Group of 78
Organizations
- ASOCOLOM -Action et solidarite pour la Colombie
- Association québécoise des amis de Cuba
- Canadian Peace Initiative
- Carrefour d’animation et de participation à un monde ouvert
- Centre justice et foi
- Comité Justice des OFSJ
- Group of 78
- Hamilton Coalition To Stop The war
- Ligue des droits et libertés
- L’Institut Rideau Institute
- Ottawa Cuban Connections
- Parti communiste du Québec
- Religions pour la Paix – Québec
- Right On Canada
- Solidarité populaire Estrie
Individuals
- Arnold Aberman
- Nadia Abu-Zahra, University of Ottawa / Université d’Ottawa
- Flavie Achard
- Rachad Antonius
- Wedad Antonius
- Angèle Aubin
- Robert Aubin
- Laura Avalos, Gatineau, Québec
- Marc Azar
- Maryse Azzaria
- Denise Babin
- Catherine Baicoianu
- Nipa Banerjee, Ph.D, University of Ottawa and Carleton University
- Stephen Baranyi, PhD, University of Ottawa
- Sabine Barnabé
- Normand L Beaudet
- Luc Bégin
- Louise Bégin
- Claude Bélanger
- Luc Bellemare
- Michèle Benoit
- Céline Benoit Anderson
- Nicole Bernier
- Manfred Bienefeld, Ottawa, Ontario
- Dave Bleakney, Canadian Union of Postal Workers
- Michèle Boisclair
- Louise Boivin
- Marc Bonhomme
- Agnès Bouchard
- Ginette Boudreau
- Joane Bourget
- Michel Brodeur
- Alexandra Cadar
- Ronald Cameron
- Jacinthe Carbonneau
- Denise Caron
- Suzanne Chabot
- Suzanne-G. Chartrand
- Bill Clennett
- Janvier Cliche
- Louise Constantin
- Marie-José Corriveau
- Denis Côté
- Roy Culpeper, Chair, Group of 78
- Linda Dahms, Ottawa Cuban Connections
- Ruby Dagher, University of Ottawa / Université d’Ottawa
- Lyette Des Alliers
- Pierre Deschênes
- Marilyse Devoyault
- Isabelle Doneys
- Pascal Drouin
- Pierre Dufort
- Marcel Duhaime
- Fernand Dumont
- Christina Duvander
- Maha Elmarraghi
- Martine Eloy
- Anna Louise Fontaine
- Ormsby Ford
- Eric Forgues
- Guy Fortier
- John Foster, University of Regina
- André Francoeur
- André Frappier
- Osanne Frémond-Guilbault
- Gavin Fridell, Saint Mary’s University
- Lise Gagnon
- Lucie Gagnon
- Elisabeth Garant
- Alain M Gaulin
- Bernard Gauvin
- Maurice Gendron
- Élisabeth Germain
- Hélène Gobeil
- Carlos Gomes
- Mauricio Gonzalez
- Carol Greene
- Camila Grossi
- Jeannine Guérin
- Luis Guerrero
- Gilles Halley
- Richard Harmston, Ottawa, Ontario
- Françoise Houle
- Owen Hughes
- Mouloud Idir
- Nicole Jetté
- John M. Kirk, Dalhousie University
- Michel Laberge
- René Lachapelle
- Francis Lagacé
- Monique Lalande
- Claire Lalande
- Serge Lalonde
- Carmen Lanoue
- Claire Lapointe
- Dominique Lebeau
- Marc LeBlanc
- André Leblanc
- Jacques Lecours
- Raymond Legault
- Michel Léger
- Yvon Lemay
- Chantale Lévesque
- Suzanne Loiselle
- Jean-Marc Lord
- Amir M. Maasoumi
- Laura Macdonald, Carleton University
- Paul Maillet, Canadian Peace Initiative
- Lisa Makarchuk, Retired Teacher, Ontario
- Guillaume Manningham
- Gilles Marsolais
- Réjeanne Martin
- Peggy Mason, L’Institut Rideau Institute
- Marie-Josée Massicotte, University of Ottawa / Université d’Ottawa
- Réjean Mathieu
- Paulina Maya
- Robert McBryde
- Alejandro Mendoza
- Albino Moldes
- Claude Morin
- George Neville, Ottawa, Ontario
- Liisa L. North, York University
- Sean O’Donoghue
- Gaby Ouellette
- Jocelyne Patole
- Gisèle Pellerin
- Lucie Pelletier
- Claude Perron
- Dominique Peschard
- Gilles Pilette
- Michel Pilon
- Bernard Pomerleau
- Josette Potvin
- Jean-Yves Proulx
- Pierre Renaud
- Dominique Reynolds
- Jean-Yves Rioux
- Mercédez Roberge
- Philippe Robert de Massy
- Chris Roberts, Ottawa, Ontario
- Joseph Roberts, University of Regina
- Nora Robichaud
- Christina Rojas, Carleton University
- Jean-Léon Rondeau
- Marianne Roy
- Martha Ruben, M.D., Ph.D., Biomedical Consultant
- Kathleen Ruff, Right on Canada
- Anne Schlenker
- Jean Philippe Sapinsk
- Safa Sebhi
- Vivian Seguin, Ottawa, Ontario
- Jorge Sorger, Ottawa, Ontario
- Michael Springate
- Susan Spronk, University of Ottawa / Université d’Ottawa
- Ken Stone
- Lise St-Pierre
- Julie Talbot
- Jacques Tanguay
- Christiane Tardif
- Heide Trampus, Scarborough, Ontario
- Gilbert Troutet
- Yves Vaillancourt
- Constance Vaudrin
- Gloria Villamil
- Chris Walker, Saint Mary’s University
- Michael Walsh, Association québécoise des amis de Cuba
- Carole Yerochewski
Cc: The Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Hon. Andrew Scheer, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party
The Hon Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the New Democratic Party
Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party