For peace and democracy in the Western hemisphere

On the morning of 25 October 1983, in just one of the Reagan administration’s many acts of aggression in the region, the United States invaded Grenada. The invasion, which was officially justified on the absurd grounds that the tiny island nation represented a security threat to the USA, came amidst the overthrow and brutal murder of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and was widely condemned across the world.

The next month, by an overwhelming vote of 108 to 9, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution “[deeply deploring] the armed intervention in Grenada” which, it added, constituted “a flagrant violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of that State.”

In a powerful address to the Canadian House of Commons on October 27, 1983, my late friend Ed Broadbent fiercely condemned America’s invasion of Grenada and warned that the Reagan administration was “turning...the whole of Central America into a crusade against any kind of political regime which can be seen in any sense…to be philosophically left of centre,” adding:

It is supporting in this holy crusade-or unholy crusade-any kind of regime on the right, providing that such regime supports the government of the United States. Just as during the Crusades, Mr. Speaker, when the so-called Christian heads of state perverted the very principles of morality, of Christianity, in the name of Christianity, so do we now find people in the Reagan administration completely perverting the most fundamental principles of democracy in the name of democracy.

Throughout the 1980s, in his capacity as both NDP leader and Vice President of the Socialist International, Ed Broadbent remained a fierce critic of American foreign policy in the Caribbean, South America, and beyond, and an important voice for democracy and peace.

Amid the Trump administration’s renewed aggression throughout the hemisphere, most recently against Venezuela and Cuba, I’m pleased to bring you his remarks from October 1983 in full. (Alternatively, they can also be viewed on CPAC.ca, beginning at 6:09:30 in the clip found here.)

Mr. Speaker, the invasion of Grenada which took place not many days ago is an act which should be condemned by every person in all lands representing all ideologies who believe that negotiations, not violence, should be what conducts the affairs of mankind as they are organized in states, and who believe that no state