PETALING JAYA: A group of Malaysian non-governmental organisations (NGO) leaders and activists have called on the United States to immediately cease military actions against Venezuela.
In a joint statement on Sunday (Jan 4), the group condemned the move, calling it an unprovoked and illegal military attack against Venezuela.
“This act of aggression constitutes a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and fundamental principles of international law, including the prohibition on the use of force and the right of all peoples to self-determination.
“The stated objective of securing control over Venezuela's natural resources reveals this action for what it is, a brazen war of predation and a return to the darkest practices of colonial plunder,” read the statement.
The group called on the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly to address the breach of international peace and security, and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
It said an immediate and unconditional cessation of all hostile military actions against Venezuela is needed, along with the full withdrawal of US forces from Venezuelan territory and airspace.
It added that Venezuela's sovereignty, political independence, and right to control its own natural resources need to be respected.
“We urge the international community, particularly nations of the Global South, to unite in rejecting the aggression and to develop collective mechanisms to deter and oppose such predatory actions,” it said.
The group claimed that the attack was not an isolated incident, but part of a broader historical pattern of intervention by the United States in the Global South.
They added that the attack is part of a decades-long pattern of inflicting violence and destabilisation upon the Global South to maintain an unjust global order that serves the interests of its wealthy elite and corporations.
“The world must not stand silent. We urge all people of conscience, civil society organisations, and member states committed to a just and peaceful international order to join us in condemning this outrage,” it added.
Among those who signed the joint statement are Polity executive chairperson Nurul Izzah Anwar, who is also PKR deputy president, Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights co-chair Charles Santiago, and Third World Network executive director Chee Yoke Ling.
Also signing the statement were Prof Dr Mohd Afandi Salleh from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin’s Faculty of Law and International Relations, Malaysian Humanitarian Aid and Relief president Jismi Johari, and Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman.
