Venezuela denounces killing of bin Laden

As the world has reacted -- largely with a mixture of relief and jubilation -- at the news of Osama bin Laden's death, Venezuela yesterday issued its own statement: "Venezuela Rejects Use of Terror to Fight Terrorism." Here's an excerpt:

The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, assuming Bin Laden’s announced death is true, demands an immediate stop to the occupation and violence provoked by the U.S in Central Asia with the alleged intention of neutralizing Bin Laden.

Considering the atrocities and illegal nature of the methods used by the U.S. government, the Venezuelan government is still convinced, as it warned in 2001, that terrorism cannot be fought with more terror, nor can violence be fought with more violence. The Venezuelan government is convinced that respect for the people’s dignity and sovereignty is an indispensable condition to consolidate global peace and security.

The Bolivarian government, together with the Venezuelan people, shows its solidarity with the people of the U.S., especially with the families of the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. It also ratifies its unrestricted condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, rejects of all forms of violence and further reiterates its commitment to peace.

In its purest form, the statement reads a bit like pacifism: Don't fight violence with violence. But that also seems like a convenient framing for a country that has strategically positioned itself on the violent side of recent confrontations. Of late, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has been the ally of last resort for Muammar Qaddafi, the Libyan leader who has been abandoned by even his own foreign minister for having so ruthlessly resorted to violence against his own people. After Iran's regime cracked down on protestors after 2009's disptued presidential elections, the country's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad still found a friend in Chávez. Then there's the very recent support he's shown for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime has killed scores and jailed hundreds more democracy protestors in the southern town of Deraa

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