[KWPeace-groups] My two letters to MP Chagger: Hands Off Venezuela & Peace with Iran/No Pipelines on Wet'suwet'en territory

[Tamara Lorincz]

Hello KW Peace!

I wanted to share with you two letters that I'm delivering to MP Chagger today. I'm going to stand with my signs Hands Off Venezuela, Canada out of the Lima Group and End the Sanctions Against Venezuela from 12-1pm today. 

In solidarity,
Tamara

(1)
MP Bardish Chagger
100 Regina St S #360, 
Waterloo, ON  N2J 4P9

Re: Our opposition to Canada hosting a meeting of the Lima Group in Ottawa and to Canada's illegal interference against Venezuela 

Dear MP Chagger,

Today the Government of Canada is hosting a meeting of the Lima Group in Ottawa on the situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. We, the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW), are opposed to Canada's participation in the Lima Group and its efforts to destabilize the democratically elected government of Nicolás Maduro. We recall that a Canadian labour and ecumenical delegation was one of the many international observers that monitored the 2018 election in Venezuela and this delegation sent a report back affirming the legitimacy and fairness of that to the Canadian government. We strongly oppose Canada's recognition of Juan Guaido as the unelected, self-declared interim president of Venezuela. We take note that 140 countries, the vast majority of the international community, do not recognize Guaido as Venezuela's leader and he has very little public support in the country. Thus, Canada's ongoing involvement in the Lima Group is undermining the democracy and self-determination of the people of Venezuela and is in violation of the international legal principle of non-interference, the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the Organization of American States. 

In the Lima Group, Canada is aligning with corrupt, right-wing countries such as Brazil, Honduras, and Guatemala. We know that the Lima Group is working closely with the United States, in particular hawkish officials such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Special Envoy Elliot Abrams, who have said that "all options are on the table" when it comes to Venezuela. Abrams, as Assistant Secretary of the United States in the 1980s under the Reagan administration, financially and militarily supported brutal, authoritarian regimes and rebels in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, which committed grave violations of human rights and mass atrocities. Abrams was later convicted of the crime of lying to Congress in the Iran-Contra Scandal, which involved a secret arms deal among the US, Iran, Israel and the violent Contras in Nicaragua. Global Affairs Canada hosted a meeting for Abrams in Ottawa this past August to discuss Venezuela. These are the people that Canada is currently and shamefully partnering with against the South American country. 

We also denounce Canada's sanctions against Venezuela that are not authorized by the UN Security Council and are exacerbating the economic crisis. Venezuela has faced a financial hardship since the collapse of oil prices in 2014 like the Province of Alberta. That hardship has worsened under severe US sanctions over the past four years and Canadian sanctions over the past two years. These sanctions are making it much more difficult for the people of Venezuela to buy food and medicine and are inciting civil discontent. In a report entitled Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela published last April by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs determined that the sanctions "have inflicted very serious harm to human life and health" and are in violation of international law.

We are also aware that Canadian mining companies, such as Chrystallex, Gold Reserve and Rusoro, have interests and operations in Venezuela, an oil- and mineral-rich country. We know that Canadian mining companies are required to follow the federal government's Responsible Business Conduct Abroad standards and respect the laws in foreign countries. The Government of Canada and Canadian extractive industries must respect the sovereign decisions of Venezuela in managing its own natural resources.

VOW is calling on the federal government to pull out of the Lima Group, restore respectful diplomatic relationship with Venezuela, end the sanctions against the country, re-open the Canadian Embassy in Caracas and support the Norway-led peaceful mediation with all Venezuelan stakeholders. 

Finally, we sent many letters to former Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland last year to express our opposition to Canada's involvement in the Lima Group and to Canada's illegal interference in Venezuela. Minister Freeland has never replied to any of our letters. As you are a member of the Liberal cabinet, I am sharing with you our concerns and ask that you please bring them to the attention of the entire cabinet including Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne. 

Sincerely, 


Tamara Lorincz
Member
On behalf of the National Board

Encl. Executive Summary of Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela (Full report: https://cepr.net/images/stories/reports/venezuela-sanctions-2019-04.pdf)

The Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) was established in 1960 and is a non-partisan, non-governmental organization comprised of a network of diverse women across the country. VOW has consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and every year takes a delegation of women to the UN Commission on the Status of Women conference in New York. For almost 60 years, VOW has tirelessly advocated for a world without war. VOW stands for a feminist peace based on nonviolence, disarmament, diplomacy and common security with gender equality. For more information about VOW, please visit: http://vowpeace.org 


(2)
February 20, 2020

MP Bardish Chagger
100 Regina St S #360, 
Waterloo, ON  N2J 4P9

Dear MP Chagger,

I am writing to let you know that citizens of the Waterloo Region including the Iranian-Canadian community came together twice last month in the public square to call for Peace with Iran, No War Against Iran, Peace in the Middle East. We are also calling for all Canadian troops under NATO and US Command to respect the will of the Iraqi people and to withdraw from the country. Canada's military presence in the Middle East has not brought peace and stability to the region but has maintained a US illegal occupation in Iraq, contributed to the chaos in Afghanistan, the ongoing war in Syria and has provoked conflict with Iran. Under Operation Impact, the Canadian military has bombed or did the refuelling of the US-led coalition airstrikes against Syria and Iraq from 2014 to 2019. US Central Command acknowledges that there have been over 32,000 airstrikes over Syria and Iraq for the five past years that has led to innocent civilians being killed and infrastructure destroyed. I am enclosing our signed statement. Please inform the Liberal cabinet of our peace protests and our messages. 

I am also writing to let you know that my family is totally opposed to the Teck Frontier mine in Alberta and the Coastal Gas pipeline in British Columbia. We are solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en peoples who are protecting their territory. We do not want any more oil and gas development that will prevent us from achieving the Paris Agreement targets and averting catastrophic climate change. We want a just transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy and a green economy. 


Sincerely, 

Tamara Lorincz