For weeks, Canada has unleashed another round of hypocritical denunciations of “human rights violations” in Venezuela—while remaining silent as its ally in Bangladesh shot hundreds of students and workers.
This is yet another reminder that the Canadian government’s concern for “human rights” is just a performance to mask their imperialist interests. This is patently obvious as Canada backs dictatorships and slaughter all over the world in the interests of their and their allies’ profit.
Canada’s special relationship with Bangladesh
For weeks, Bangladesh has been in the throes of revolution. Millions joined a country wide general strike staring down the army and police. In response, the government cracked down, arresting over ten thousand and killing over 400.
This placed the Trudeau government in a bind—Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, dubbed “Asia’s Iron Lady” by The Economist, has been an ally of Canadian imperialism.
Since Bangladesh’s independence struggle was betrayed, it has been a source of cheap labour for Canadian companies. This was even admitted by a Parliamentary Delegation which visited Bangladesh in 2013 which described Bangladesh as a “low cost” production base—“even by regional standards”—for Canadian corporations. And in order to assist the Bangladeshi regime in guaranteeing that the workers don’t get out of line, Canada provides Bangladesh’s with millions in military aid, weapons and militarized police training.
This year, Trudeau even promised to visit the “iron lady” after the G20 Summit, calling it a potential “plus point” for Canada’s “Indo-pacific strategy.” This “strategy” is a counterweight to the rise of China as an economic power in the region and a part of Western imperialism’s desperate plans to secure its markets and spheres of influence.
This is why the Canadian government refrained from denouncing the Bangladesh government as they massacred hundreds of civilians. Only after the masses had defeated Hasina and she was forced to flee on Aug. 5 did the Canadian government all of a sudden discover “the human rights violations, deaths, torture, arbitrary arrests and lethal force used against the people of Bangladesh”—carried out by their ally, with weapons they supply.
Still, Canada stopped short of supporting the protesters.
Instead, Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs merely insisted that those who were imprisoned in mass arrests should be “accorded due process” to “ensure accountability for crimes [they] committed.” And, to make matters clearer, Global Affairs Canada reiterated their hope that nothing fundamental changes in the country—that the movement respect the same “laws”, “norms” and institutions that have served the imperialists well.
Canada’s hue and cry over Venezuela
Canada’s about-face on Bangladesh contrasts starkly with its regular denunciations of Maduro’s government in Venezuela. The same Trudeau cabinet has spent years trying to bring down Maduro’s government—backing coups, imposing sanctions and conspiring with its right-wing opposition.
The hypocrisy in this regard is as blatant as can be. After groundlessly complaining about China supposedly interfering in Canadian elections, here the Canadian government has been openly talking about how they are conspiring with the opposition in a foreign country. Aiding Venezuela’s right-wing “opposition” ring leader, Maria Corina Machado, is supposedly done for “democracy” and “human rights.”
This is in spite of the fact that Machado backed Venezuela’s 2002 military coup against the elected government of Hugo Chavez. Machado was also one of the signatories of the “Carmona Decree,” which nullified its constitution, the judiciary and the parliament and placed the head of the chamber of commerce in power. Anyone who did this in Canada would find themselves in prison, not running in an election.
And if Machado and her friends took power in Venezuela, they would be more than willing to impose a dictatorship—much like the one that was brought down in Bangladesh—to overcome popular resistance. Indeed, they’ve attempted it—with Canada’s support—several times before.
There is plenty to criticize Maduro for. But the “suppression” of Venezuela’s “opposition” is not one of those things. The Canada-backed opposition runs in elections and organizes right-wing mobs in the streets—and, unlike in Bangladesh, the Venezuelan government has not responded by gunning them down in the streets.
Imperialist hypocrisy at its finest
Comparing the responses of the Canadian government to the situations in Venezuela and Bangladesh, the hypocrisy is clear for all to see. But behind this contradiction stands the cold and calculated economic interests of the Canadian ruling class.
For Canadian imperialism, the government in Venezuela, unlike in Bangladesh, is seen as a left-wing government that trades with Russia and China—rivals to Western imperialism. And, accordingly, Canada and its allies want the government brought down so they can open up the country to Western capital.
While Canada is eager to label Maduro a “dictator” the Canadian government is fine backing genuine dictators all over the world, when it is in the interest of Canadian imperialism.
Canada of course claims its foreign policy strictly promotes “democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance.”
Yet it arms monarchies, right-wing regimes and coup governments in Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Peru and Uzbekistan to name a few, while they crush democratic rights and brutalize workers and youth regularly. For Canada, Saudi Arabia “is an integral and valued regional security and economic partner.” Together, Canada and Israel supposedly “work toward greater regional stability and security”—with ethnic cleansing and wars of aggression abroad. Canada and Singapore share “mutual interests” in maintaining open markets. The list goes on.
Fundamentally, this is because the imperialists cannot offer a decent living to the working class, internationally. In the former colonial countries especially, the rule of profit over the working class increasingly cannot be maintained voluntarily. It can only be sustained by balancing between coup-plotters and dictators, in between the invasions and occupations. The rest is just public relations.
Canada is willing to arm any regime and partner with any faction that enables it to exploit workers and youth abroad. This is why Canada’s hue and cry about “human rights” and “democracy” only applies to its opponents, rivals and irritants, like the Venezuelan government.
