Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves is urging Vincentians to read the Charter of the United Nations.
He said on Monday the document explains his Unity Labour Party administration’s support for Cuba, Venezuela and Taiwan.
“I urge all people in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and all our diplomats to read this book: the Charter of the United Nations,” he said as he held up a copy of the document on Monday at the opening ceremony of Kingstown’s one-week biennial consultation for heads of missions and consulates.
“Because if you read this, you would not have any confusion as to why we defend the independence and sovereignty of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and, for example, that of Cuban and Venezuela, and other countries too — if you read this,” Gonsalves said.
“This is the bible of multilateralism. This! This little book; look it up on the internet,” the prime minister further said.
Kingstown, under Gonsalves’ leadership, has maintained strong ties with Havana and Caracas.
Recently, the Gonsalves government has sided with Venezuela as the Organisation of American States attempted to intervene amidst the humanitarian crisis there.
Gonsalves has reiterated his government’s commitment to maintaining ties with Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its re-unification goal.
Gonsalves said that the ULP’s 2015 manifesto spoke of “a bold, principled foreign policy grounded in our interest but placed on the hub of the Caribbean and Latin America region.
“I want the young people, when you see we are doing certain things, I don’t want you to say, ‘I wonder if the elder, Ralph, losing it, how he defending Venezuela’s independence and sovereignty.
“No, don’t think I losing it; I’m reaffirming your future and I sticking to this. Those who write this and subscribing to this and want to ignore it can ignore it, but, as a small country, this is our defence against arbitrariness and imperial overrule, in the same way that in the domestic setting, the constitution is your protector…”
Gonsalves read the preamble of the charter.
Commenting on it, he said:
“So when we agree to the Paris Accord, we don’t pull out; when the United Nations passes a resolution in relation to a two-state solution on Palestine and Israel, we don’t dismiss that.
“When, annually, the [United Nations] General Assembly passes a resolution supported only by the United States and Israel that the blockade against Cuba is illegal, we take those resolutions seriously because this tells me I must take them seriously.
“Ah can’t be opportunistic about those.”
He noted that the charter says “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”
Gonsalves commented: “So that when somebody tells the press in an off-hand manner that in relation to Venezuela every option is on the table, including military intervention, how do you square that?
“… If we throw this away, is dog eat dog; survival of the fittest. We will be in a state of nature where life is nasty, brutish and short. This is why this is so important — multilateralism.”
The prime minister further noted that the charter says, “The Organisation shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United Nations act in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.”
He said: “And our relations with Taiwan are guided by that principle, because they are not members of the United Nations.”
The ULP administration has remained firm in its support for Taiwan even as the main opposition New Democratic Party has said that if elected to office, it would break ties with Taipei and establish links with Beijing.
Just 17 countries, most of them small developing nations in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, recognise Taiwan as a country independent of China.
I have to support our PM on this one. No leader is perfect when it comes to Foreign Policy. Although Ralph Gonsalves is better at it than most, and certainly far better than the USA Leadership, It still does not get us far. Our probable seat on the Security Council two years from now may as well be just as an observer. We will not be able to persuade the five major powers to do anything. The USA controls most all that occurs. If they cannot go by the law, they just ignore the law.
I would suggest that our PM instead of putting so much time in Foreign Policy, change his Economic Philosophy that does so much destruction to our society, while providing a priveledged life for the Political Elite and thier monied supporters. Saint Vincent can be a country to be admired if our Political Leadership would concentrate more on improving the lives of people at home, with fair Economic Policy rather than seeking to garner favor of leaders abroad.
Ralph Gonsalves appears to be in a very, very small minority of supporters that includes Cuba, President Nicolas Maduro’s government other ardent and avid supporter.
On Tuesday the 6th November, in ramping up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. The European Union has extended its sanctions on Venezuela for a further year. The EU says that its measures are ‘intended to bring political stability to a country’ that has seen almost two million flee since 2015. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/european-union-extends-sanctions-venezuela-year-181106115412492.html )
According to the EU “The extension on Tuesday came for what the EU said were human rights violations and undermining of democracy and the rule of law under Maduro.” Does not these things matter to our government too?
Does the Charter mention that for countries to get support from states such as SVG they must pay SVG?
Because SVG takes payment from them all in kind and money to support them in the UN.
This has resulted in the State of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines being a prostitute State, and for the UN to allow this to go on unchecked and un-investigated makes the UN a prostituted organization.
When there is money and kind for votes one never really knows where that money ends up, or at least not all of it.
I totally support this message.
Using the Prime Minister’s morally bankrupt logic, the countries of the world should have all blindly supported the sovereign nation of Germany when it was slaughtering Jews, Gypsies, mentally retarded and physically disabled people, member of Hitler’s own family who knew too much about his past, homosexuals, and other persons deemed “undesirable.”
What is now going on in both Venezuela and Cuba is not far removed from what was going on in Nazi Germany between the early 1930s and mid 1940s.
As for Taiwan, the position of Ralph Gonsalves is clearly hypocritical: nearly the whole world accepts that this renegade territory has been part of China for donkey years. If the Prime Minister actually respects territorial sovereignty — as opposed to the brides given us to support this illegal regime in various international fora — then he would immediately shift our allegience to the mainland of China.
This Prime Minister has survived so long only because the mass of our people are as dumb as a concrete block, the opposition party is incompetent beyond belief, and our tiny so-called intelligensia is way out in left field, more evidence that we deserve Ralph and Ralph deserves us.
who supports and sponsors more breakaway or renegade republics than your land of the free USA ……….ALL OF Y’ALL NEED TO STOP THE PROPAGANDA PARADE . America is the front leader of Taiwan ….who dont know that ????
I dont hear anyone complaining about the Gaza economic blockage implemented by the Jews and backed by the USA that kills and starve hundreds of thousands Palestinian men women and children !!!!!!!!!…………but of course you WONT hear this on CNN
This time I have to agree with you AI. Most of the time you write worthless fanatic ULP propaganda with your undying love of everything that is Gonsalves, but this time you are accurate. Even James H. is totally brain-washed by the US Government-paid Corporate Media. He is otherwise highly intelligent and well-informed, just Corporate Media brain-washed. If James H. ever learned REAL NEWS instead of FAKE news he would be beyond reproach.
AI I think your knowledge of Foreign Affairs is EXCELLENT! On the other hand you are a totally brain-washed ULP zombie. Ralph Gonsalves is obviously a terrible leader for SVG. His economics do not fit any country, especially ours. He enjoys a life of comfort and priveledge while the majority of the people live without hope of opportunity. C. Ben is fantastic when it comes to knowledge about the airport and tourism but he is brain-washed by the establishment-sponsored news and world history. I am sure he believes that Assad is going to gas him or use Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction against us and that Putin is hiding in the closet ready to jump out and get him. It goes to show that none of us are perfect.
I totally support this message.
Taiwan should be supported Mr. David. If you were forced to have to live in either Communist China or democratic Taiwan, we all know which one you would choose. Who’s the hypocrite now?
What a f….ing horrible man and his horrible dynasty.
Communist and Socialist, Both very evil governments.
The argument of soverirgnity as is championed in this instance can also be used to champion other issues but he is tight lipped when certain issues come to the fore.