Venezuela Storms Out of OAS Session In Support of Venezuelan Position
OAS thought it could cunningly manipulate Venezuela into supporting it by approving a declaration Venezuela might as well have written. No such luck.
Yesterday, OAS did what OAS does best: approve a totally anodyne, milquetoast, unobjectionable declaration redoubling the members’s unflinching support for motherhood, apple pie, and Dialogue in Venezuela.
The declaration, as a whole, reads:
THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,
Reiterating the Declaration of June 1, 2016 about the situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela [CP/DEC. 63 (2076/16)],
DECLARES:
1. To welcome and support the establishment of the national dialogue in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and recognize the commitment of both parties to peaceful, respectful and constructive coexistence and the decision to put the common good of Venezuela above any differences between parties.
2. To encourage the Government and the Mesa de la Unidad Democratica to achieve concrete results within a reasonable timeframe to end the difficult situation facing Venezuela and to stress the need for the constitutional authorities and all political and social actors to act with prudence and avoid any act of violence or threats to the ongoing process.
3. To support the Vatican’s important accompaniment of this process, and reiterate its support for the efforts of the three former presidents Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Leonel Fernandez and Martin Torrijos.
4. To reiterate the readiness of the Permanent Council to support these efforts.
So what does the Venezuelan delegation do in response to a declaration that reads like it might have been drafted in Casa Amarilla? They storm out of the meeting, of course, because saying the totally-unobjectionable-declaration constitutes an aggression against its sovereignty because it was prepared behind its back.
(One suspects the real reason has more to do with the fact that was accompanied by a letter of support from their archenemy, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, who wasn’t even in the room.)
Just a reminder, if one were needed, that when it comes to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, MUD still faces determined competition in Venezuela.
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