Decolonization in the Caribbean #5: Chair in Crisis

The Chair for the committee of 24 is Rafael Carreño Ramirez who is the permanent representative to the UN from Venezuela. He opened the seminar in St. Vincent with a statement, but soon had to leave the conference, with one of the committee’s vice-chairs, from the Russian Federation taking over.

This regional seminar is taking place in the seventh year of the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. The United Nations sometimes sets large goals for itself or its programs, hoping to achieve substantive results or progress within a generous time period. The UN attempted a similar thing with regards to decolonization, establishing ten year periods during which is was to work towards achieving significant progress with regards to eradicating colonialism from the world.

Over the past 17 years, no territories have moved closer in any measurable ways towards self-determination or decolonization. The last territory to be removed from the list of non-self-governing territories was East Timor, now Timor Leste, which had become independent in 1975 but was forcibly and violently annexed by Indonesia in 1976. Only after decades of international pressure was Indonesia eventually forced to give up their claim and allow Timor to regain its independence.

Since that time however, no other territories whether in the Pacific, the Caribbean or the Atlantic have made notable progress. The International Decade framework is meant to help animate a stagnant process, but giving a timeline or a deadline, by which you can slowly work towards implementing or actualizing something. There are just three years left until the end of this Third International Decade. There will most definitely be a fourth, but it is very disappointing to think that the UN made no headway on the issues of decolonization for two decades!

The chair’s statement reflected the need to show some concrete plans or actions before the end of the decade. He encouraged everyone, experts, territorial representatives and country reps to bring their ideas to the table and be prepared to dialogue over them in such a fashion, to eventually come to tangible plans that could help rejuvenate the movement to eradicate colonialism from the world. The first day of the seminar was quite engaging, as a number of proposals were suggested, in order to help engage recalcitrant administering powers or apathetic non-self-governing territories.

Chair Ramirez disappeared however after the first day. The duties of overseeing the meeting were taken over by one of the committee’s vice-chairs Stansilav Aleksaev from Russia. We did not hear formally about the chair or his absence for the rest of the seminar. 

It was eventually clear however that the Committee chair had returned to UN headquarters in New York to address the crisis that has been growing in his country, with thousands protesting and police having killed more than 40. The US has imposed sanctions and also brought the issue before the UN Security Council, to which Ramirez, as the permanent representative to the UN from his country, had to respond.

If you haven’t been following the crisis in Venezuela, here are some recent articles:

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Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Venezuela's Supreme Court Following Unrest

Associated Press

May 18, 2017 

(BOGOTA, Colombia) — The Trump administration is imposing sanctions on members of Venezuela's Supreme Court following a series of rulings that the U.S. says has usurped power from the nation's opposition-controlled congress and sparked a deadly wave of unrest.

The U.S. Department of Treasury announced Thursday it is freezing the assets of eight Venezuelan government officials on the Supreme Court in an effort to support the Venezuelan people "in their efforts to protect and advance democratic governance."

A ruling issued in late March that stripped Venezuela's congress of its last powers was later reversed amid a storm of international criticism. But near-daily anti-government protests were triggered by the ruling and have continued across the country, with more than 40 people killed.

The U.S. move marks the second round of sanctions Trump has imposed on high-level Venezuelan officials since taking office.

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More troops deployed as deadly Venezuela crisis spread
Associated Press
May 18, 2017

SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela -- Legions of national guardsmen and military helicopters began descending on a western Venezuela state Wednesday where an outbreak of looting and political violence left at least three people dead in as many days, raising the nationwide death toll in a wave of unrest to at least 43.

Fifteen-year-old Jose Guerrero died in San Cristobal on Wednesday after going out the previous afternoon to purchase flour and being shot near a protest, authorities said. His death means the number killed in nearly two months of protests and street clashes is likely to surpass that seen in the country's last political upheaval in 2014, when 43 people died during three months of demonstrations against the socialist government.

Top military commanders announced they were sending 2,000 national guardsmen and 600 troopers from special operation forces to Tachira, a mountainous state along Venezuela's border with Colombia where Guerrero and two others have been killed during protests since Monday.

A rash of violence across Tachira this week has left dozens of businesses looted, 11 police stations set aflame and nervous residents scrambling to buy what food they can find. Public transportation was shut down Wednesday, many businesses closed and long lines snaked to the few operating ATMs.
"From this moment we are not going to permit any more violent or terroristic acts," said Jose Morantes Torres, commander of a regional defense force overseeing operations.

By late Wednesday afternoon, helicopters could be seen arriving at Tachira's military airport. Hundreds of national guardsmen in green uniforms were patrolling areas where protests have taken place, while others stood in front of grocery stores and other shops and some kept watch from armored trucks.

The military operation comes as President Nicolas Maduro faces mounting international pressure to hold elections and refrain from using tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters. Anti-government street mobilizations that began after the nation's Supreme Court issued a ruling stripping congress of its last powers in late March are continuing on a near-daily basis. Meanwhile, the death toll is rising at a steady clip and is likely to surpass the 2014 protest fatalities in about half the time.
The growing list of casualties puts both the government and the opposition in increasingly strained positions, analysts said.

Deaths, which are often captured on cellphone cameras and shared widely online, will probably further isolate Venezuela's government from international public opinion. But the bloodshed also raises the question of how much longer the opposition can call on its supporters to take the risk of going into the streets, said Christopher Sabatini, a professor at Columbia University.

"The opposition has the moral upper hand, but as long as the government refuses to yield and kill its own citizens, how much longer can this go on?" Sabatini said.

Arrests have been made in just eight of the deaths, five of which involved police officers, according to the chief prosecutor's office. Maduro's government blames the opposition for the violence, saying they are purposely fomenting unrest in order to remove him from power. Opposition leaders deny that and say heavy-handed officers and armed, pro-government militias known as "colectivos" are responsible.

The violence in Tachira began Monday after several weeks of largely peaceful protests. That day, the minister of the nation's prison system was in San Cristobal to promote Maduro's push to resolve the crisis by convening a special assembly to rewrite Venezuela's constitution, a proposal the opposition rejects.

With her arrival, residents say, also came bands of "colectivos" who threatened protesters. Videos shared on social media by Tachira residents show armed men in masks roaming the streets on foot and motorcycles and in some cases appearing to open fire.

On Monday afternoon, Luis Alviarez, 18, and Diego Hernandez, 33, were fatally shot during separate demonstrations. Videos of both incidents were distributed online, showing the two men lying lifeless on the pavement.

By Wednesday, residents in San Cristobal woke up to discover dozens of businesses had been looted. Public transportation was shut down, the state's agricultural industry - a critical provider of Venezuela's fruits and vegetables - paralyzed and people worriedly lined up at ATMs to withdraw cash.

Guerrero, the latest casualty, was taken to a hospital Tuesday after being shot and died Wednesday morning after undergoing surgery, authorities said. Speaking outside a hospital, his sister lashed out at Maduro and blamed national guard officers for her brother's death.

"I hate you with all my heart," she said, crying. "He was a boy of 15."


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Has Venezuela reached a tipping point?

Al Jazeera

May 19, 2017 

Waves of anti-government protests continue to rock Venezuela as its economic and political crises deepen.

Is there a way forward?

In this UpFront special, we speak to the secretary general of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, about his stance on Venezuela.

And in the Arena, we debate whether the Venezuelan government is authoritarian.

Headliner - What can be done to rescue Venezuela?

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been facing mounting criticism from international observers as his government continues to struggle with protests on the streets.

One of his fiercest critics has been Luis Almagro, the head of the Organization of American States (OAS), who says the struggle afflicting Venezuela isn't about power, but democracy.

"This is not a struggle for power, but a struggle for democracy," says Almagro, who believes that cancelling last year's recall referendum was an attack on Venezuela's democratic institutions.
"The legitimacy of origin of this government was killed when they denied the recall referendum to the people."

In this week's Headliner, we challenge OAS chief and former Uruguayan foreign minister Luis Almagro about his stance on Venezuela.

Arena - Is Maduro turning Venezuela authoritarian?
Venezuela's political crisis is escalating fast.

With the economy in freefall, protesters have hit the streets and violence is on the rise.
Has the Venezuelan government gone authoritarian?

"It's important to say Nicolas Maduro was democratically elected," says Gabriel Hetland, a professor at the University of Albany. "But I think actions over the last 16 months have moved Venezuela unfortunately in a more authoritarian direction."

"It is a government under siege," counters Venezuelan-American journalist Eva Golinger, who also served as an adviser to former President Hugo Chavez. "The opposition doesn't play by democratic rules, unfortunately has not, and as of yet we haven't seen any such initiative or indication that they will in the near future."

In this week's Arena, Gabriel Hetland and Eva Golinger debate different perspectives on the crisis in Venezuela.

Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront and Facebook.

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US: Venezuela crisis worsening, wants to prevent new Syria
Associated Press
May 17, 2017 

The United States called Wednesday's first-ever U.N. Security Council consultations on Venezuela because the crisis is getting worse and the Trump administration wants to prevent another conflict like Syria, North Korea or South Sudan, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said.

Venezuelan Ambassador Rafael Ramirez strongly rejected the U.S. bringing his country's political dispute to the United Nations' most powerful body and accused Washington of again trying "to interfere in our domestic issues."

Haley said the U.S. intention wasn't to be "intrusive" or "heavy-handed" but to support regional efforts to find a political solution and "show respect for the Venezuelan people" who want free and fair elections, the release of political prisoners and the worsening humanitarian situation addressed.

"We think if that doesn't happen we will certainly be hearing this in the Security Council because it will be a real problem — not just in the region but internationally," Haley told reporters after the closed-door briefing and discussions that lasted over 1? hours.

Nearly two months of political unrest were set off by the attempt by President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government to nullify the opposition-controlled congress in late March. But demonstrations have escalated into a vehicle for airing grievances against the government for triple-digit inflation, food shortages and a rise in crime.

The opposition blames the bloodshed on state security forces using excessive force and on groups of armed, pro-government civilians known as "colectivos." Maduro says far-right extremists are working with criminal gangs to foment the violence.

Haley said the meeting was aimed at conflict prevention, not council action, and sought to put light on what is happening in Venezuela.

"We've seen 150 political prisoners, over 1,500 arrests and clearly we're starting to see serious instability in Venezuela," she said. "We've been down this road with Syria, North Korea, South Sudan, Burundi, with Burma," which is now known as Myanmar.

Haley said rather than waiting for the Venezuela situation to become so serious that there has to be a Security Council meeting, "Why not try and stop a problem before it starts?"

Venezuela's Ramirez accused the United States of pushing to "intervene in our country," as his government alleges Washington has tried to do in the past. He called Venezuela's problems a domestic matter and said Maduro's government is trying to resolve them and will not allow any outside interference.

"We will never be a threat against the peace and security in international or the regional level," he insisted.

Ramirez stressed that Venezuela is not on the Security Council agenda and said many council members "disagree with the U.S." and back his government's position that it shouldn't be there.

International pressure on the troubled South American nation has been increasing, with the Organization of American States voting Monday to hold a rare foreign ministers' meeting later this month to discuss the crisis. Venezuela officially notified the OAS on April 28 that it intends to quit the regional group.

Britain's U.N. ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, said it is "absolutely right" that the OAS and the 33-nation Community of Latin American and Caribbean States are taking the lead, "but it is also right that the Security Council, charged as we are on the maintenance of security and peace ... keep a very close eye on the situation."

He warned that if things go wrong, Venezuela could "descend into conflict" and threaten international peace and security. "And so we need to act, in whatever way we can, starting with our discussion today," he said.

Ramirez dismissed Britain, saying it was following the U.S.

He said Venezuela prefers the regional approach, noting that Pope Francis has offered help and the former presidents of the Dominican Republic, Spain and Panama are talking to both sides. He said Maduro's government also believes in CELAC and UNASUR, which comprises 12 South American nations.

U.N. Ambassador Sacha Llorentty Soliz of Bolivia, whose government is an ally of Venezuela, said Wednesday's council meeting interfered with regional efforts to resolve the political dispute.

"It doesn't help at all because the United States is not a mediator," he said.

He said the U.S. supports the Venezuelan opposition and "that's why this meeting instead of helping solving the problem — it will really be an obstacle."

There was no statement from the council after the meeting, reflecting the division among members.

Uruguay's U.N. ambassador, Elbio Rosselli, this month's council president, said his government favors a regional approach and is working with many other countries to help the political factions in Venezuela resolve the crisis.

"If the Colombians could overcome 50 years of war in a peaceful manner, I'm pretty sure our brothers in Venezuela can take the lesson and do likewise," Rosselli said.