No, I did not say we should not get involved. In fact, I said quite the opposite. I said Canada should never remain indifferent to this type of transgression and I specified that that should be the case regardless of the political stripe of the government in power. Again, I insist upon this point. Not only did I study reports from PROVEA, but I also printed up some work done by the Red de Apoyo por la Justicia y la Paz, known as Justice and Peace Support Network in English, which is also recognized and respected in Venezuela and internationally. They are extremely harsh in their condemning of police brutality and repressive actions of the state.
I never said that, quite the opposite. From the start, I have been saying we need to consider these aspects and denounce them. I said we needed to continue to condemn all breaches of freedom of expression and any operation or action by the state which violates human rights. As I have stated, as a Canadian citizen I suggest we should contextualize the matter and I would hope that Canada could remain a reliable partner, an honest broker, etc. As a country and as a nation, we must denounce violations of human rights in Venezuela and we must also do the same, as forcefully, when it occurs, for instance, in Colombia or Honduras.
Further, I fear that we tend to find the problems and human rights violations more concerning in some countries we do not have an ideological affinity with or focus our attention more squarely on those countries than on others. We should set aside the context and know that human rights involve a great many things. Obviously, the rights of journalists to say what they want, including to criticize the government, should absolutely be supported and upheld, but we must also advocate for human security, and everything it involves, including the right to life and dignity, access to health care, education and the rest.
We need to have this comprehensive view of the matter to say that the situation in the country of Venezuela is grave in some regards but in others we can say that the country is comparatively better off than other countries in the region.