Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Venezuela
Embassy Protection Collective Defies Unlawful “No Trespass” Order
As this saga of the future of the Venezuela Embassy in
Georgetown continues to unfold, history will record this as a key turning point
in U.S.-Venezuela relations
commondreams.org/views/2019/05/14/venezuela-embassy-protection-collective-defies-unlawful-no-trespass-order
An
extraordinary set of events has been unfolding at the Venezuela Embassy in
Washington DC, ever since the Embassy Protection Collective began living at the
embassy with the permission of the elected government of Venezuela on April 10
to protect it from an illegal takeover by Venezuela’s opposition. The actions
of the police on the evening of May 13 added a new level of drama.
Since
the cutting off of electricity, food and water inside the embassy has not been
enough to force the collective to leave, late Tuesday afternoon, the
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police handed out a trespassing notice that was
printed without letterhead or signature from any U.S. government official.
The
notice said that the Trump administration recognizes Venezuela opposition
leader Juan Guaido as the head of the government of Venezuela and that the
Guaido-appointed ambassador to the United States, Carlos Vecchio, and his
appointed ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Gustavo
Tarre, were to determine who is allowed into the Embassy. Those not authorized
by the ambassadors were to be considered trespassers. Those inside the building
were “requested” to depart the building.
The
notice appeared to have been written by the Guaido faction, but was posted and
read by the DC police as if it were a document from the U.S. government.
The
police taped the notice to the doors all around the Embassy and later called in
the fire department to cut the lock and chain that had been on the front door
of the Embassy since diplomatic relations were broken between Venezuela and the
United States on January 23.
Adding
to the drama, supporters of both sides began to gather. The pro-Guaido forces,
who had erected tents around the perimeter of the embassy and had set up a
long-term encampment to oppose the collective inside the building, were ordered
to take down their encampment. It seemed as though this was part of moving them
from outside the embassy to the inside.
Two
hours later, some members of the collective inside the embassy voluntarily left
to reduce the load on food and water, and four members refused to obey what
they considered an illegal order to vacate the premises. The crowd waited in
anticipation of the police going inside and physically removing, and arresting,
the remaining collective members. The pro-Guaido forces were jubilant, crying
“tic-toc, tic-toc” as they were counting down the minutes before their victory.
In a
remarkable turn of events, however, instead of arresting the collective members
who remained inside, a lengthy discussions ensued between them, their lawyer
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard and the DC police. The discussion focused on the reason
collective members were in the Embassy in the first place—trying to stop the
Trump administration from violating the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Facilities by
turning over the diplomatic premises to a coup government.
Collective
members reminded police officers that following illegal orders does not protect
them from being charged with criminal actions.
BREAKING:
authorities just taped this ‘trespassing notice’ onto the Venezuelan embassy.
It orders all those inside to leave immediately and threatens arrest to those
who refuse to comply with orders.
This is illegal under international law!
This is illegal under international law!
After
two hours, instead of arresting the collective, police turned around, locked
the door behind them, posted guards and said they would ask their superiors how
to handle the situation. The crowd was stunned that the State Department and DC
police, after having over a month to organize the eviction, had begun this
operation without a full plan to include arrests warrants in case the
Collective members did not vacate the building voluntarily.
Kevin
Zeese, a Collective member, wrote a statement concerning the status of the
Collective and the Embassy:
This is the 34th day of our living in
the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC. We are prepared to stay another 34
days, or however long is needed to resolve the embassy dispute in a peaceful
way consistent with international law...Before doing so, we reiterate that our
collective is one of independent people and organizations not affiliated with
any government. While we are all US citizens, we are not agents of the United
States. While we are here with permission of the Venezuelan government, we are
not their agents or representatives... The exit from the embassy that
best resolves issues to the benefit of the United States and Venezuela is a
mutual Protecting Power Agreement. The United States wants a Protecting Power
for its embassy in Caracas. Venezuela wants a Protecting Power for its embassy
in DC.
The Embassy Protectors will not
barricade ourselves, or hide in the embassy in the event of an unlawful entry
by police. We will gather together and peacefully assert our rights to remain in
the building and uphold international law. Any order to vacate based on a
request by coup conspirators that lack governing authority will not be a lawful
order. The coup has failed multiple times in Venezuela. The elected government
is recognized by the Venezuelan courts under Venezuelan law and by the United
Nations under international law. An order by the US-appointed coup plotters
would not be legal... Such an entry would put embassies around the world and in
the United States at risk. We are concerned about US embassies and personnel
around the world if the Vienna Convention is violated at this embassy. It would
set a dangerous precedent that would likely be used against US embassies... If
an illegal eviction and unlawful arrests are made, we will hold all
decision-makers in the chain of command and all officers who enforce unlawful
orders accountable... There is no need for the United States and Venezuela to
be enemies. Resolving this embassy dispute diplomatically should lead to
negotiations over other issues between the nations.
We
anticipate that the Trump administration will go to court today, May 14 to
request an official U.S.-government order to remove the Collective members from
the Venezuelan Embassy.
Members
of the National Lawyers Guild wrote a statement challenging the Trump
administration’s handing over of diplomatic facilities to unlawful persons:
The undersigned write to condemn the
violations of law which are occurring at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington
D.C. and to demand immediate action be taken. Prior to April 25, 2019, a group
of peace activists were invited to the Embassy by the government of
Venezuela—recognized as such by the United Nations—and continue to be lawfully
on the premises.
Nonetheless, the United States
government, through various law enforcement agencies, have condoned and
protected violent opponents in support of an attempted siege of the Embassy. In
so doing, the U.S. government is creating a dangerous precedent for diplomatic
relations with all nations. These actions are not only illegal, but they put
embassies around the world at risk. [...]
The contempt shown by the Trump
Administration for these principles and for international law puts at risk the
entire system of diplomatic relations which could have a reverberating effect
in nations throughout the world.
The undersigned demand that the United
States immediately cease its ongoing state-sponsored assault and illegal
intervention in Venezuela and against its government, which continues to be
recognized by the United Nations and the majority of the world.
We demand that
local and federal law enforcement immediately refrain from exposing the
peaceful invitees and their supporters inside and outside the Embassy to harm
in violation of their fundamental human rights.
As
this saga of the future of the Venezuela Embassy in Georgetown continues to
unfold, history will record this as a key turning point in U.S.-Venezuela
relations, U.S. violation of a key tenet of international law and most of all,
as a heroic example of US citizens doing everything in their power--including
going without food, water and electricity and facing daily assaults by the
opposition—to try to stop a US-orchestrated coup.
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Medea Benjamin,
co-founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace, is the author
of the new book, Inside Iran: The
Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Her
previous books include: Kingdom of the
Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection; Drone Warfare:
Killing by Remote Control; Don’t Be Afraid
Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart, and (with Jodie
Evans) Stop the Next
War Now (Inner Ocean Action Guide). Follow her on Twitter: @medeabenjamin
Ann Wright is
a 29 year US Army/Army Reserves veteran who retired as a Colonel and a former
US diplomat who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq.
She served in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra
Leone, Micronesia and Mongolia. In December, 2001 she was on the small
team that reopened the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. She is the
co-author of the book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience."
(www.voicesofconscience.com)
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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