When I was in the FCO, the rule on recognition was very plain and very openly stated – the UK recognised the government which had “effective control of the territory”, whatever the attributes of that government. This is a very well established principle of international law. There were very rare exceptions involving continuing to support ousted governments. The pre-1939 Polish government in exile was the most obvious example, though once Nazism was defeated Britain moved to recognise the Communist government actually in charge, to the fury of exiled Poles. I was involved in the question of the continued recognition of President Kabbah of Sierra Leone during the period in which he was ousted by military coup.
But I can think of no precedent at all for recognising a President who does not have and has never had control of the country – and has never been a candidate for President. This idea of the West simply trying to impose a suitably corrupt and biddable leader is really a very startling development. It is astonishing the MSM commentariat and political class appear to see no problem with it. It is a quite extraordinary precedent, and doubtless will lead to many new imperialist adventures....The world order is now in new territory, and it is regressive.
Craig Murray Blog
The Coup in Venezuela Must Be Resisted
Craig Murray, formerly British ambassador to Uzbekistan and Rector of the University of Dundee
Why the sudden increase in Western aggression toward Maduro’s government? It is true that Nicolas Maduro was inaugurated for his second term on 10 Jan 2019, after being democratically re-elected on 20 May 2018.
ReplyDelete(Fun fact: Venezuela’s president can serve only two consecutive terms. Hugo Chavez tried to change Venezuela’s constitution so that he could run for a third term, but the people rejected this in a referendum on 2 Dec 2007. If the oligarchs get back into power, they will ignore the constitution completely, with the West’s blessings.)
Anyway, as I see it, the main factor at work is the election of Jair Bolsonaro to the Brazilian presidency. As I have explained before, the real power in Brazil is Paulo Guedes, the disciple of Milton Friedman. Guedes was the dictator Pinochet’s right hand man in Chile, and is as neoliberal as they come. He now rules half of Brazil’s ministries, including the Ministry of Economics. Guedes is happy to let Jair Bolsonaro play with his little toys (e.g. the military) so long as Bolsonaro does as he is told and stays out of the way.
Jair Bolsonaro is a moron who loves to be called “His Excellency” and “Generalíssimo” (General of Generals). He is eager to participate in any grand plan to destroy Maduro of Venezuela. And now that all South American governments (except Bolivia’s) oppose Maduro, the time is right to attack.
Mike Norman says Russia will do nothing. I agree.
This will not be a simple coup. Maduro and his supporters will fight. The USA will launch yet another proxy war by sending in terrorist mercenaries from Colombia and elsewhere, just as the USA did against Syria and Nicaragua.
In Nicaragua the US-employed mercenary terrorists were called “Contras.” In Syria they are called “al Qaeda” and “ISIS.”™
Everyone knows that ISIS™ is armed and funded by the USA and Saudi Arabia. And yet no one objects when the USA claims that it must remain in Syria to “fight ISIS.”™