U.S. Activists Vigorously Defend Venezuelan Sovereignty and the Rule of Law in Washington, DC

For the last two weeks a growing number of U.S. anti-war, peace and justice activists calling themselves the Embassy Protection Collective, spearheaded by the women's anti-war group CODE PINK and Popular Resistance, have been living and working around the clock in the Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown with the permission of the government of Venezuela. The vigil began April 13 after opposition forces facilitated by U.S. authorities forced their way into the Venezuelan Consulate in New York and took it over, doing the same to two Venezuelan military attaché buildings in Washington, DC. The aim is to prevent coup forces and U.S. authorities from doing the same with the embassy. The embassy building is owned by the Venezuelan government and is a protected international compound that is considered sovereign Venezuelan territory under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Based on this the activists have made it clear that any forced entry and arrest of persons inside the embassy would be unlawful as they are in the premises as tenants and guests of the owner. They have also said that they are prepared to stay as long as it takes to protect the embassy until a mutually satisfactory arrangement has been reached between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments, for which the Venezuelan government has expressed appreciation.

In addition to painting murals and making large banners to adorn the embassy walls, the collective has been holding rallies, press conferences and teach-ins with invited speakers to educate the public about issues related to Venezuela and other pressing concerns. On April 25, a member of CODE PINK stood up on her chair with a sign saying "No Coup in Venezuela" and denounced Elliot Abrams as he spoke to the Atlantic Council on "Venezuela after Maduro" until she was dragged away, shouting at him: "You should not be in charge of the future of Venezuela. How dare you orchestrate a coup in Venezuela! How dare you impose sanctions on Venezuela that harm the Venezuelan people! How dare you, in the name of the American people, overthrow the government of another people!" "Guaidó was elected by nobody! Maduro was elected by six million people. The UN recognizes Maduro as the elected president of Venezuela!"

A special call-out was made by activists guarding the embassy for all those who could, to come to Washington on the weekend of April 27-28, saying: "We are making history -- each one of us can make a difference. If you are retired, if you have vacation time, if you can take the weekend off, if you have any availability please make it a top priority to come to Washington, D.C. this Saturday and Sunday and join the Embassy Protection Collective in this historic struggle to defend the sovereignty and independence of the people of Venezuela."

This article was published in

Volume 49 Number 15 - April 27, 2019

Article Link:
U.S. Activists Vigorously Defend Venezuelan Sovereignty
and the Rule of Law in Washington, DC

    

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