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Sanctions

Act Now To Stop The US War On Venezuela

April 16, 2020 Popular Resistance. , , ,
As the United States government escalates coercive economic warfare (sanctions) on Venezuela and sends warships to its shores, people in the United States, in solidarity with Venezuelans, are taking action to stop this insanity. Venezuelan activists sent a video message to us. Here are actions you can take - post a photo of yourself holding a sign and tag it with #FightCovidNotVenezuela; sign the open letter to the US government and the United Nations; attend the webinar, "An Inside View of Resistance to US Imperialism in Venezuela and How to Build International Solidarity," on April 22; and, organize for the International Week of Actions against Imperialism.

We Need Solidarity, Not Sanctions

April 16, 2020 John Scales Avery, Transcend Media Service. , , ,
According to the United Nations Charter, only the Security Council may impose sanctions. No individual nation may do so. Nevertheless, the United States currently imposes economic sanctions on Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Cuba, Venezuela, Belarus, Burundi, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. Besides violating the United Nations Charter, these unilaterally imposed sanctions also violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, under which collective punishment is a war crime. Article 33 states that “No protected person may be punished for an offence that he or she did not personally commit.”

Nicaragua: US-Backed Opposition Exploits Pandemic To Create Chaos

April 14, 2020 Ben Norton, The Grayzone. , , ,
Managua, Nicaragua - The coronavirus pandemic has paralyzed the global economy, unleashing what is easily the worst crisis since the Great Recession of 2008, if not since the Great Depression of 1929. In Nicaragua, US-backed right-wing forces have exploited the pandemic to try to destabilize the democratically elected government, run by the leftist Sandinista Front (FSLN) and led by the party’s President Daniel Ortega and Vice-President Rosario Murillo. As soon as the Covid-19 crisis hit, the Donald Trump administration took the opportunity to escalate its economic war on Nicaragua, imposing a new round of US sanctions on the Sandinista government on March 5. Although Nicaragua has managed to contain the Covid-19 outbreak much better than its US-allied neighbors in other parts of Central America, where the infection rate is far higher, that has not stopped domestic opposition forces from trying to milk the crisis.

Sanctions Kill People

April 14, 2020 Eva Bartlett, RT. , , ,
A recent opinion piece in the Washington Post proposing a new oil-for-food scheme, this time in Venezuela, surprisingly acknowledges that sanctions “can also end up harming the people that they intend to protect.” Okay, first off, we know there is no intention of “protecting” civilians in any of the countless countries targeted by Western sanctions. Do Western talking heads really think we’ve forgotten the half-a-million dead Iraqi children, thanks to US sanctions? Yet, ask a Western leader about crippling sanctions placed on nations which don’t bow to Imperial demands and you’ll be met with some nonsensical explanation that sanctions only target ‘regimes’ and ‘terrorists,’ not the people. I’ve lived in, spent considerable time in, or visited areas under sanctions and siege, and I’ve seen first hand how sanctions are a form of terrorism, choking civilians, depriving them of basic and urgent medical care, food, employment, and travel entitlements that many of us in Western nations take for granted.

Venezuela: Community Organization Key To Fighting COVID-19

April 12, 2020 Federico Fuentes, GreenLeft.org. , , ,
Venezuela has been under a nationwide quarantine since mid-March as the government battles to quash the coronavirus before it overwhelms its health system.  In this endeavour, the government of President Nicolas Maduro faces many challenges, not least of which is the state of its embattled health system that has suffered from years of economic sanctions and the return of thousands of Venezuelans from neighbouring countries fleeing the horrors the pandemic has inflicted in the region. While, by April 9, Brazil to its east had registered more than 16,000 cases and 822 deaths and Colombia to its west, had seen its tally climb above 2000 cases and 54 deaths, Venezuela had only recorded 167 cases and 9 deaths.  Key to this success are the existing community organisations, in particular the communes, that permeate Venezuelan society.

Sign The Open Letter To Stop The US War On Venezuela

April 10, 2020 US Peace Council, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
The global spread of COVID-19 has exposed the illegal and immoral practice of imposing unilateral coercive measures (economic sanctions) by the United States government against more than thirty nations. The economic war against those nations had already resulted in unimaginable suffering of the people in the targeted nations even before the COVID-19 pandemic. With the devastation of the global pandemic, the targeted countries — especially Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Syria and Zimbabwe — are finding it prohibitively difficult to protect and save the lives of their citizens in the face of the ongoing global emergency. These sanctions constitute crimes against humanity. Instead of helping these countries fight the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of the United States is now using the public distraction caused by the pandemic to intensify its military actions against the targeted nations.

Zimbabwe: Protests Over Coronavirus Fears

April 9, 2020 By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters. , , ,
Customs officials at the country’s biggest airport have also stopped reporting for work, fearing exposure to the coronavirus and a lack of measures to prevent its spread, their union said. The virus has killed one person from three confirmed cases in Zimbabwe, although the opposition and critics of President Emmerson Mnangagwa accuse his government of under-reporting the number of cases. The government denies this and Health Minister Obadiah Moyo says the government has set aside resources for the purchase of protective equipment. “Our members think the government is not taking them seriously. We can’t afford to lose nurses to this serious pandemic,” Enoch Dongo, secretary general of the 18,000-member Zimbabwe Nurses Association said.

As The World Tackles COVID-19, The US Raises Pressure On Venezuela

April 6, 2020 Vijay Prashad, Paolo Estrada, Ana Maldonado and Zoe PC, Counterpunch. , , ,
It is surreal that the United States—during the COVID-19 global pandemic—chooses to put its efforts into this ridiculous, evidence-free indictment against Maduro and other members of the government. There is better use for the money put up as a reward in the overstretched hospital in Elmhurst in New York City. Already, there is pressure on the United States to cut the sanctions not only against Venezuela but also against Iran (even the New York Times came out on March 25 to call for an end to sanctions on Iran). The World Health Organization has made it clear that this is just not the time to hamper the ability of countries to get precious supplies in to tackle the pandemic. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for a ceasefire in conflicts; it is only a matter of days before he was expected to make a statement about sanctions.

Letter To The People Of The US From President Maduro

April 5, 2020 Nicolas Maduro, Popular Resistance. , , ,
It is clear that the Trump administration is creating a smokescreen to cloud the improvised and erratic handling of the pandemic in the United States. The most optimistic forecast shows that close to 240,000 souls will be lost in the United States. From the beginning, Donald Trump downplayed and even denied it, the same way he has done with climate change. Today, the crisis in the United States aggravates simply because, despite having the resources, he is not willing to transform the healthcare system to prioritize full care for the population instead of profit-based private medicine, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical industry. We in Venezuela do not want an armed conflict in our region.

Europe Sends Medical Aid To Iran Using Sanctions Workaround

April 3, 2020 Al-Monitor. , , ,
In the first transaction of its kind, France, Germany and Britain have sent medical goods to Iran under a trade mechanism set up to bypass US sanctions against Tehran. In January 2019, the three European countries, known as the E3, developed the trade mechanism — dubbed INSTEX — as a workaround to export goods to Iran. “INSTEX and its Iranian counterpart STFI will work on more transactions and enhancing the mechanism,” the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “These goods are now in Iran.” The German Foreign Ministry did not specify what was included in the shipment, only confirming its arrival. Citing people familiar with the transaction, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that “the sale was equipment related to blood treatment from a German exporter.”

Are The European Union And The UN Willing To Bypass The Blockade Against Venezuela?

April 2, 2020 Mision Verdad, Orinoco Tribune. , , ,
This week, multilateral organizations such as the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) have supported Venezuela in its fight against the spread of the new coronavirus (Covid-19), in the midst of the US unilaterally imposed economic and financial blockade. The first organization to express its support for Venezuela was the EU, when on Monday, March 23, it supported the requests for aid made by Iran and Venezuela to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), countries that face an analogous situation of criminal blockade through coercive unilateral sanctions. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,” the two countries are in a very difficult situation especially because of US sanctions that prevent them from obtaining resources from the sale of oil,” as quoted by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza by international media.

US Senators Call For An End To The Blockade On Venezuela And Iran

March 30, 2020 Staff, Alba Ciudad with OT content   , , ,
A group of 11 Democratic senators demanded that the White House temporarily suspend the coercive measures imposed on Venezuela and Iran in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. The senators sent a letter on Thursday to the secretary of the State Department, Mike Pompeo, and to the secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, to request the suspension for 90 days and allow the reception of humanitarian assistance, Hispan TV reported.

In Letter To American People, Iranian President Raps Sanctions

March 28, 2020 Hassan Rouhani, Tasnimnews.com , , ,
On behalf of the great Iranian nation, I write to the people of the United States of America on the occasion of the Iranian New Year (Nowruz). The coronavirus outbreak has endangered the health of—and even presented a considerable threat to—humanity with no distinction as to nationality, or gender or religious backgrounds. This presents an opportune moment to further contemplate our common pains and our human principles. Today, all of humankind feels apprehensive toward the future; a future threatened in every aspect; be it health, business, and even social relationships and the way of life. The level of unpredictability and uncertainty is simply unprecedented. It is self-evident that our success in what is likely to be a long fight depends on the spiritual and heartfelt affinity of all human beings.

Eight Countries Under Unilateral Sanctions Ask UN Chief For Help

March 28, 2020 Edith M. Lederer, Apnews.com , , ,
United Nations — Eight countries under unilateral sanctions, mainly from the United States and European Union, urged U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday to request the immediate and complete lifting of those measures to enable the nations to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. In a joint letter obtained by The Associated Press, the ambassadors from China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria and Venezuela urged the U.N. chief to “reject the politicization of such a pandemic.” The ambassadors, who said they were under instructions from their foreign ministers, did not name any countries responsible for what they called “illegal, coercive measures of economic pressure.” But the United States has imposed sanctions on all of the nations except China and the European Union has imposed sanctions on all but Cuba.

United Nations Expert: “The United States Is Committing Crimes Against Humanity”

March 23, 2020 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Clearing the FOG. , , ,
It was recently confirmed that the former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, won the last presidential election in October. He was forced to resign in a US-assisted coup that has brought a violent and fascist government into power. We speak with Alfred de Zayas, a legal expert on civil and political rights and an independent expert to the United Nations, about the legal implications of the coup and interference by the United States in other countries besides Bolivia. Mr. de Zayas describes the US government's history of flouting international law and why the international legal system is unable to enforce those laws. He also discusses the COVID-19 pandemic and what the world needs in this time of crisis.
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