Corbyn urged to speak out against Venezuelan ‘dictator’
PRESSURE IS mounting on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to publicly condemn the increasingly authoritarian rule of the socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Mr Corbyn is facing cross-party calls to speak out following reports of political arrests and violence on the streets.
Conservative MPs Alec Shelbrooke and Nigel Adams yesterday became the latest Yorkshire politicians to urge Mr Corbyn to act, following similar calls by the Labour MP Angela Smith.
But Mr Corbyn has so far remained silent on the subject.
Signs of instability and civil unrest began to emerge from Venezuela in the wake of a vote that gave President Maduro’s ruling party nearly unlimited powers.
On Tuesday it was reported that security agents seized two opposition leaders from their homes at night and there have been violent clashes on the streets.
The Foreign Office has since withdrawn the families of its embassy staff and instructed Britons that they should consider leaving too.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has accused Mr Maduro of behaving like the “dictator of an evil regime”.
Other world leaders have joined in he condemnation, with US Vice President Mike Pence stating that “in recent days we’ve seen completion of Venezuela’s collapse into dictatorship”.
But eyes have turned to Mr Corbyn, who in the past has praised the Venezuelan “way of doing things” and in 2015 described President Maduro’s policies on housing and employment as “a cause for celebration”.
Ms Smith, who is a member of the all-party parliamentary group on Venezuela, said she was “appalled” by developments in the country and hoped to see her party leadership “condemn what’s happening... as soon as possible”.
Mr Shelbrooke suggested Mr Corbyn was “condemned by his silence”, adding: “He was very quick – rightly – to condemn the boss of Arsenal football club over a TV channel about hunting. But they are eating dogs in Venezuela.”
A spokeswoman for the Labour leader told the Telegraph: “The Labour Party’s statement on Monday made clear our position on the importance of the respect for the rule of law and human rights.
“We’re watching the situation... in Venezuela closely.”
We’ve seen completion of Venezuela’s collapse into dictatorship US Vice President Mike Pence after the arrest of opposition leaders.