Prakash likens V'zla crisis to wife-beating

Prakash Ramadhar
Prakash Ramadhar

JUST as no decent person would ignore a man who beats his wife and children, so too no one should side with the actions of the Maduro regime in Venezuela, said St Augustine MP Prakash Ramadhar.

The Prime Minister’s stance of non-interference and non-intervention has been soundly shot down as archaic by the International Criminal Court, said the former minister of legal affairs.

“Are we by analogy saying that if a husband is physically and mentally abusing his wife and children in their home we must do nothing and more so say nothing?” Ramadhar wondered in a statement yesterday (Monday.)

He said Dr Rowley misunderstands the workings of the UN, whose Universal Declaration of Human Rights says human rights must be protected by the rule of law.

“The Maduro regime has effectively put an end to the rule of law with the reported mass arrest of political protesters, arbitrary detention, torture, murders and intimidation, the suppression of the free press. We have tyranny at hand.”

Ramadhar said it is obscene to suggest tyranny can reign and good men do nothing.

“It would mean that the atrocities the world witnessed in Nazi Germany, in Bosnia, in Rwanda etcetera would be acceptable because it occurred within sovereign borders. The world gratefully has moved forward and away from such short-sighted and pedestrian views.”

He said Venezuela was once the wealthiest country in South America, where TT nationals flocked to shop and vacation, but today its citizens lacked food, medical treatment, and basic services, all in breach of the UN ceclaration.

“As their citizens flee by the millions, their government partners with Russia, the flag bearer of oppression and dictatorial rule,” Ramadhar said.

“We the people of TT must not partner with that.

“We love our freedom and respect the rule of law. We are a charitable, kind and peace-loving people. We want our history, to be written that we stood with goodness and decency.”

The MP urged TT to stand for human rights, the welfare of the Venezuelan people and the return of the rule of law.

“We will not partner with tyrants and dictators.

"Prime Minister, the book of history is being written now. The future pages are blank. You, as our Prime Minister, hold the pen. History will not absolve you if you actively or passively support the wrongs being perpetuated within the state of Venezuela.”

He quoted political philosopher Edmund Burke saying that all that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Ramadhar warneded, “History will not absolve us, it will condemn us. We will stand tall in the mind of the oppressed as a supporter of tyranny. That will be our legacy.”

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"Prakash likens V’zla crisis to wife-beating"

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