The proposal was presented by former foreign ministers Alan Wagner, Manuel Rodriguez, Raphael Roncalliolo, Eduardo Ferrero, Diego García Sayan, Oscar Mortua and Ida Rivas, in a joint statement released today.
The document calls for “lifting the unilateral sanctions that further affect the standard of living of the population as a necessary measure to alleviate the humanitarian crisis,” which, they assert, suffers from the Bolivarian state.
The text implicitly alludes to the economic embargo imposed by the United States on Venezuela and the measures taken by the European Union and the so-called Lima Group against that country. It also requests, as a preliminary measure of confidence, the verification of the human rights situation in Venezuela.
He said that the Lima Group, the Contact Group and the Oslo Initiative “should take converging initiatives that make it possible to enhance the capacity for joint action.”
He notes that the recent announcement by the European Union’s High Representative, on January 6, is a step in this direction. This statement stopped calling the belligerent opposition Juan Guaidó the responsible president, whom previous Peruvian foreign ministers had not mentioned.
They add that “the central and decisive leadership role corresponds to the democratic political and social forces in Venezuela” in what he calls “the process of restoring democracy” and makes other comments about the internal politics of the Plains country.
After questioning the Venezuelan legislative elections last December, the statement affirmed that the end of the elected parliament’s mandate in 2015 “raises new facts that the Venezuelan opposition and the international community must address.”
He urges the opposition to unite in a legitimate and representative manner “to successfully promote and implement dialogue and negotiations leading to the conduct of local, presidential, legislative, democratic and fair elections.”
It also states that the international community committed to the democratic cause of Venezuela must also undertake coordinated action, including all concerned parties, and contribute to the good offices process that they can undertake in the negotiations, whether the Oslo initiative like the United Nations.
Commenting on the statement of the former ministers, which is not related at all to the Venezuelan government, former MP and political analyst Gustavo Espinosa criticized the fact that they “do not say a single word about the aggression of the Yankees against Venezuela.”
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