Leaders and parliamentarians of major political parties in India, including the communist parties, organized a joint convention in New Delhi on Monday, January 12, condemning the illegal US actions in Venezuela and demanding the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Hundreds of people, including representatives from the embassies of Venezuela, Cuba, and Palestine attended the meeting. Participants cheered and shouted slogans at every mention of the heroic resistance of the people of Venezuela, waving its national flag.
The participants in the convention adopted a unanimous resolution expressing solidarity with the people of Venezuela and demanding the Indian government pursue an independent, principled foreign policy and condemn the US threats and aggressions, which violate the UN charter and international law.
The resolution also called for greater popular mobilization of the people against the growing aggression of the US and threats to intervene in countries like Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Iran, and Greenland.
The 10 parties which participated in the convention include Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Samajwadi Party (SP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), among others.
Recalling how the legacy of the Indian people’s anti-colonial struggle against British occupation, speakers, which included some members of the parliament as well, underlined its similarities with the fight of the Venezuelan people against US efforts to colonize them.
Speakers urged the common people of India to stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela, arguing that colonialism cannot be allowed to win anywhere.
After deploying significant military assets to the Caribbean over the past three months, US armed forces bombed various parts of Venezuela, including its capital, Caracas, on January 3. The forces killed over 100 people and kidnapped President Maduro and his wife Cilia.
Modern day gangsterism
After claiming that Venezuela’s oil belongs to the US and that his administration will run the country for weeks now, on Sunday, US President Donald Trump declared himself, in a bizarre move, the “interim president of Venezuela”.
“US aggression is a brazen attempt to seize Venezuela’s rich natural resources, particularly its oil. The US seeks to take over and control the world’s largest known oil reserves, located in Venezuela,” the resolution adopted on Monday states.
Read more: Venezuela’s Revolution still stands: debunking Trump’s psyop
Trump wants to implement his version of the “infamous Monroe Doctrine, aiming to dominate the entire Latin America region,” the resolution reads, terming Washington’s declaration of not allowing “Latin American countries to trade with nations outside the region” as nothing but “modern-day gangsterism and bullying”.
The resolution condemned the silence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in India over the US aggressions and its repeated threats to other countries. It noted that the Indian government has “succumbed to US pressure and is unwilling to stand in defense of the rights of the Global South.”
Various speakers termed India’s silence over American threats a betrayal of its declared policy of “South-South cooperation” and adherence to the UN principles.
Speaking during the convention, M A Baby, general secretary of the CPI (M), termed US actions in Venezuela as an act of “international terrorism”. Underlining Trump’s imperial ambitions, expressed through the renaming of the 19th century “Monroe doctrine” the “Donroe Doctrine”, The CPI (M) leader called it a “naked violation” of all existing norms and laws and a threat to world peace.
Ravi Rai, a polit bureau member of the CPI (ML) Liberation, invoked Fidel Castro, saying “US imperialism is the greatest enemy of humanity.” Rai underlined that the genocide in Gaza, war against Iran, blockade of Cuba, attacks on Venezuela, and threats to countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and even Greenland confirms the danger the US empire poses for the people across the globe.
Read more: Tens of thousands across India mobilize to oppose US attacks on Venezuela
All the speakers asserted that the US attempts to dictate terms to other countries must be resisted in all possible forms as every country has a right to decide its own path of development.
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