Granger, Maduro to talk for first time

Sep 27, 2015 News

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Head of State, David Granger, is expected to meet with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, today on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, currently being hosted in New York, USA.
The two are expected to pursue an amicable settlement to the age-old controversy where Guyana’s western neighbour continues to lay claim to more than two-thirds of its territory namely, the entire Essequibo.
This is despite an 1899 Arbitration Tribunal ruling which for all intents and purposes settled the land border dispute between the two countries. Venezuela never accepted this ruling and from time to time, would resuscitate this claim despite the fact that it is officially recognized by none outside of that country as legitimate.
In recent years, Venezuela’s aggression has intensified and more recently there has been a heavy resort to that country’s use of its armed forces—one of the largest in the world—to intimidate Guyana, a relatively small and somewhat inconsequential country on the world stage.

As Guyana pressed on with its offshore oil exploration activities, Venezuela upped the ante on its ‘illegitimate’ claims now extended to the maritime shelf. In 2014, the Venezuelan military seized a survey vessel, the Teknik Perdana, which was under contract by the Guyana Government.
In the past week, Venezuela’s military forces amassed a massive buildup on Guyana’s borders and have even taken to having gunboats traversing the Cuyuni, a river recognized as Guyana’s sovereign territory. But what exactly led to the international community having to step in and hand down a ruling 1899?
It was without question that Britain was the world super power and in 1814 through what is known as the Treaty of London, the British ceded the Dutch colonies of Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice.
This very Treaty also allowed the British to be successor to the Dutch Colonies, which records indicate they had taken great pains to define.
By the 1830s the Republic of Venezuela was established since the settlers there had broken their bonds with Spain through violent revolution led by the renowned Venezuelan leader, Simon Bolivar.
That revolution meant that the spoils of victory had to be divided among the senior hierarchy and as such they attempted incursions into what had now become British Guiana, consisting the entire Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice.
In order to safeguard its territory, the then British Government, in 1840 Commissioned Robert Schomburgk, to survey the boundaries of British Guiana.
By 1850 the tension between the Venezuelan and British Governments led to a mutual agreement on the part of the two which stated that neither would occupy of encroach on the territory under dispute.
The rest of the world by this time was in the throes of revolution against the British Imperialists and America was no different.
In 1823, the Americans issued what it called the Monroe Doctrine which essentially championed the Latin American countries in their fight for independence.
Venezuela used this American Doctrine to solicit the support of the Americans in making its case against the British in its claim to Essequibo.
British aggression in Venezuela became a rallying cry in that country and the Venezuelans used the Monroe Doctrine in its crusade. In 1895 the Americans bowed to the Venezuelan pressure which in turn sent a 10,000 word document outlining the history of the border controversy to the British.
European Powers
In their desire to keep Europe out of the Western Hemisphere, the Americans asserted that, “…the American Continents by free and independent condition which they assumed and maintain are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by European powers.”
In 1895 there was an appeal in the American Congress to take measures to defend Venezuela and US$10,000 was at the time set aside by the US Government to investigate the case fully.
By 1897 an Anglo-Venezuelan treaty was signed in Washington, where all parties agreed to have the matter be considered by Arbitration.
Two years later in 1899, the Tribunal met between June and September, at which point in time the Tribunal in Hague made its ruling.
Venezuela was granted the mouth of the Orinoco and a region of about 5,000 square miles on the Southeastern headwater of the Orinoco. The Boundary lines were effectively drawn to reflect what was initially earmarked by the British Government and in 1905 survey teams representing both Venezuela and the Brits accepted the award as legally binding and final, or so everyone thought.
Venezuela dissatisfied
Venezuela initially accepted the award as final and legally binding but 57 years after the award was made, Venezuela again moved on its claims, this time to the United Nations. Venezuela wanted the matter be put on the agenda of the United Nations, General Assembly, similar to the one currently being held in the United States.
According to the then Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister, the country at the time could not have effectively represented its claims since it was in the throes of its own political turmoil. It had also claimed to have come into possession of new evidence that would bolster its claims. The Governments of both British Guiana and the United Kingdom was willing to examine the documentary evidence Venezuela claimed to be in possession of, but neither agreed to revisit the actual 1899 award.
Independence
By this time British Guiana was knee deep in its negotiations for independence from its colonial masters and Venezuela again used the opportunity to resuscitate its claims. The then British and Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministers met with British Guiana’s Prime Minister Forbes Burnham in Geneva where they signed on to yet another agreement over the border controversy. That agreement provided for the establishment of a mixed commission to work out a satisfactory solution for the practical settlement of the controversy.
The UN Good Officer Process and other similar initiatives have since all failed to settle the controversy between the two countries.
To this date, the matter has never been put to rest by Venezuela which from time to time even hampered the development of Guyana’s sovereign territory notably among which was deterring the establishment of the ‘BEAL Deal’ which would have seen a launching pad for a space station being set up in Guyana’s Northwest region among a host of other initiatives.
Last May, Venezuela’s President Nicola Maduro took his claims to Guyana’s territory to the maritime shelf issuing a decree purporting Venezuelan ownership of offshore Exclusive Economic Zone.
Head of State Granger has since responded calling for a judicial settlement of the controversy, a measure Guyana has committed to vigorously pursuing.

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