Venezuela’s Foreign Minister: 20 Years After April 11 Our Country Is an Example of Resistance
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia reiterated his country’s commitment to the defense of freedom, multilateral sovereignty, peace, and full democracy, during the inauguration of the International Summit Against Fascism which took place in the Casa Amarilla, in Caracas.
Plasencia highlighted the importance of compliance with the United Nations Charter in order to strive towards mutual respect between nations, to “avoid one-sided abuses, and to grant more significance to shared responsibility.”
“A day like this one, 20 years ago, an embarrassing, treasonous coup attempt was carried out in order to stop the proposals being made which were addressing the historical debt owed to the majority of Venezuelans for their suffering,” he remarked.
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This Monday, April 11, marked the opening of the International Congress Against Fascism, in Caracas, which was attended by almost 200 international guests, and which will continue for three days with debates on events such as the 2002 coup attempt in Venezuela.
“We are going to celebrate the fact that the people rejected the coup and decided that their political project would not be stopped,” said Plasencia, “a project which was born from within their country, and which sought to create the necessary alliance of Latin American peoples. Thus we stand in solidarity with those who have dedicated themselves to this path.”
“In this space we are going to celebrate the triumph of the people who brought their government back, which had been chosen through by a majority vote,” Plasencia added.
“We are trying to promote responsible management which will guide us to construct the world we aspire to see,” Foreign Minister Plasencia said. “We are convinced that platforms such as this one make our voices loudly heard so that we can guarantee a better, more equitable, balanced and responsible society in which all of us participate and all of our voices are heard.”
He then noted how his platform of politicians and students, let by the government of President Nicolás Maduro, is an attempt to build the Patria Grande, “an integrated society, capable of resisting foreign meddling. It will also permit us to denounce and expel the intervention of foreign powers, just as was done to free our land when it was under the yoke of the Spanish empire.”
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“Today we celebrate and remember that victory [of April 11, 2002],” Plasencia said, “in which the people brought their government back, which they had chosen democratically, a government which had passed a new constitution, guaranteeing the legal framework needed to make the necessary changes, to construct a better society, with more dignity and worthy of love, and based on the needs of each Venezuelan.”
“The Casa Amarilla is full of revolution, of effort and hard work, full of the voices of all of you,” Plasencia added. “In the name of President Maduro, I welcome all of you and remind you that this is your home, and that we want to listen to you.”
Plasencia referred to debates such as the Summit Against Fascism as particularly important at this time due to the “fascist tendencies in our country and continent … An imposition which has cost Venezuela much suffering and pain. Our government has been persecuted for providing dignity to the people, and for not wavering from this path, for being there with our fraternal neighbor countries when they need it.”
“We add our voice to the worldwide debate in favor of this cause,” Plasencia said, “in favor of protecting, as we have, the United Nations Charter, the mandates that we instated to construct responsible relationships and respect between nations and governments, so as to reach a position of peace and development.”
Venezuela resists
“We have survived the unilateral coercive measures imposed against the Venezuelan people,” he said. However, he noted that Venezuelans have suffered “deeply and in an immeasurably from these violent measures which violate the respect-based system of the United Nations Charter for attacking the legitimate government of Venezuela, which was attempting to built a society with dignity.”
In concluding, he reminded his audience that the Bolivarian Revolution is based in the union, cooperation, and solidarity of peoples. For this reason, said Plasencia, Venezuela is more committed to the cause of justice and equality than ever before: “now there are more sovereign governments than before. More of us are aspiring to a multipolar society, of respect and balance, where everybody’s voice is heard.”
Featured image: The International Summit Against Fascism. Photo: Últimas Noticias.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
