NCP denounces ‘external interference in internal affairs’ of Venezuela
Kathmandu, February 4
The Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Secretariat today adopted a proposal on the Venezuela crisis, stating that NCP adhered to the UN Charter and principles of Panchasheel and was opposed to external interference in any country’s internal affairs.
The ruling party’s secretariat, however, did not state anything about the United States, which had reacted angrily by summoning Nepal’s Ambassador to the US Arjun Karki after party Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal issued a press statement on January 25, denouncing ‘intervention in internal affairs’ of Venezuela by the US and its allies, terming it ‘an unacceptable intrusion in the internal affairs and an attempt at imperialist coup’.
Dahal had stated, “Self declaration of Juan Guaido as the acting president of Venezuela, and immediate recognition by the US and some Latin American countries, clearly shows that there is a grand design against the legitimately elected president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro, and the Venezuelan people.”
The ruling party stated today that the party’s stance on matters of international relations and foreign policy left no room for ambiguity. “Our party’s views and policies on these issues are stable and clear. We are in favour of world peace, understanding and prosperity,” NCP stated in a press release issued by party General Secretary Bishnu Prasad Paudel.
“Our party respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and it believes that there should be no external interference in any country’s internal affairs. If a country faces any problem, people of that country should independently seek resolution of the problem through peaceful means,” the ruling party stated in its release.
NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha told THT: “We have made clear our position and views on the Venezuela crisis. People should not be misled by rumours and wrong information.”
Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated on January 29 that Nepal believed that internal political problems of a country needed to be resolved within its constitutional parameters in a democratic manner, free from external interferences.
According to NCP sources, the party felt it was necessary to issue a public statement after US officials demanded clarification from the government and the Nepali Congress criticised the government and ruling party’s statement on the Venezuela crisis. The NCP came up with its official position the day European countries officially recognised Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president of Venezuela after Nicolas Maduro rejected EU’s deadline to call snap elections.
According to sources, US officials are of the view that the NCP and the government have issued statements without thoroughly assessing ground realities of the Venezuela crisis, which is no longer a domestic crisis, but a full-blown international crisis.
Angered by Dahal’s statement on the Venezuela crisis, US Ambassador to Nepal chose not to attend Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s briefing to foreign diplomats in Kathmandu on February 1.
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