Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has denounced acts of violence in Venezuela and called for the release of protesters who were arrested following the disputed election results.
“Canada condemns the human rights violations, as well as the acts of violence that are occurring following the presidential elections and calls for the immediate release of the arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned or detained individuals,” Joly
said in an Aug. 4 statement.
Throngs of protesters have taken to the streets to denounce the July 28 election results giving Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a third term, and security forces have fired tear gas and rubber bullets and made numerous arrests as they crack down on the demonstrations.
International rights groups said in a July 30
letter that local organizations have documented arbitrary arrests and potential “unlawful deaths.”
“These arrests have taken place in a context of harassment, persecution, and criminalization that marked the electoral campaign,” says the letter signed by Human Rights Watch and others.
Joly said Venezuelans should not face repression for exercising their democratic rights.
Amid protests occurring in different cities, Maduro
told supporters in the capital Caracas on Aug. 3 that around people 2,000 have been arrested.
“This time there will be no forgiveness,” said Maduro, who’s government
accuses the United States of being behind a coup attempt. Socialist Maduro replaced strongman Hugo Chavez as president after his death in 2013.
Venezuela has been embroiled in a crisis following the election, with Maduro
declared the winner by the country’s National Electoral Council with 6.4 million votes (51.95 percent), whereas opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez purportedly received 5.3 million votes (43.18 percent).
The electoral council has not published proof of the results, while the opposition has published 80 percent of the tally sheets. An
analysis of the tally sheets by The Associated Press shows Gonzalez received 6.89 million votes while Maduro received 3.13 million votes.
A number of foreign countries have expressed concerns about the results and some, such as the United States, have recognized Gonzalez as the winner.
U.S Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said last week there is “overwhelming evidence” that Gonzalez received the most votes. Latin American countries such as Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Uruguay have come to the same conclusion.
Canada has not gone that far yet but has cast doubt on the validity of the election and called the Venezuelan authorities to release the detailed results from polling stations.
“The electoral data collected by citizen witnesses and independent international observers provides credible evidence that the results claimed by Maduro authorities of this election don’t reflect the will of the Venezuelan people,” said Joly.
Other countries such as China, Russia, and Cuba have congratulated Maduro.
Joly has been active regarding the situation in Venezuela,
saying on July 31 she spoke with opposition leader María Corina Machado, who
emerged from hiding on Aug. 3 to take part in the demonstrations in Caracas.
Joly also discussed the situation with her counterparts from
Mexico,
Brazil, and
Spain in recent days.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
