Jammu: CPI(M) activists on Tuesday held a protest here to condemn the US military operation in Venezuela with senior party leader and Kulgam MLA M Y Tarigami appealing to the Centre to review its statement and convey a “strong message” against this “open aggression”.
Chanting slogans and carrying placards to denounce the action of the Donald Trump-led administration, activists assembled at a park here and held a peaceful protest against the US operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
“The US action violated international laws and the UN Charter… The Trump administration has openly demonstrated aggression against a sovereign Latin American country and used force against unarmed people which is an act of barbarism,” Tarigami told reporters here.
He emphasised that such actions undermine the authority of the UN Security Council and the international legal framework established to prevent aggression against sovereign nations.
Tarigami said the action has sparked “historic mass protests across the globe”, with civil society groups and political parties in India too, voicing their objection to this act of aggression.
“The US is habituated in spreading baseless narratives to justify its actions and using military power to impose its will on other countries, in complete disregard of international norms. The abduction of an elected president and his wife is a cause for concern for the entire world,” he said.
The CPI(M) leader also criticised a reported comment by Trump where he claimed India “wanted to make him happy” by reducing the purchase of crude oil from Russia.
“This is insane and humiliating. India is a sovereign nation and decides its policies independently,” Tarigami said, asserting that India has always maintained strategic autonomy.
Questioning the Centre’s statement on the US aggression in Venezuela, he said the government should have unequivocally condemned the act. “The world leaders are looking at our country, and we appeal to the government to review its statement and speak with clarity, confidence and courage.”
Tarigami said, “The US destroyed Iraq after making false claims about weapons of mass destruction which could not be proved, Libya was destabilised in the name of democracy, Afghanistan was left in chaos, and today Venezuela is being targeted just because of its oil reserves, rather than drug trafficking.”
