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We will not waiver in our resistance

Sep 27, 2015 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

Excerpts from an address to the National Assembly by Hon. Carl B. Greenidge M.P.

The Arbitral Award of 1899 definitively established the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.  It is clear that Venezuela, by its actions, is no longer contending that the Arbitral Award of 1899 is null and void.  The inescapable conclusion, and one which portends grave danger to regional and international peace and security, is that the Venezuelan Government has now elevated the contention of nullity and invalidity to an assertion of fact.  The Decree with respect to the Essequibo Region as well as the maritime space the region provides is ipso facto Venezuelan territory.
It is difficult for a dispassionate observer to determine what has propelled the Government of Venezuela to take this so patently illegal action-an action that flies in the face of all norms and conventions that governs relations between States.  Guyana has always sought the principled route in response to Venezuela’s persistent and continuing acts of aggression and will continue to do so.  We have been in contact with several members of the international community and have made special approaches to other Member States of the Caribbean and of the Commonwealth from whom we have consistently received support in the past to our just cause.  Other steps are being taken to ensure that Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are not compromised in any way and that our sovereign right to develop this great country, free from threats and acts of economic aggression, remains untrammeled.
For 49 years we have lived in the shadow of Venezuela’s illegal claim and attempts to despoil our country.  The sword of Damocles, for the most part unseen, nevertheless hangs over our heads.  Unless removed, it will be the legacy that will be inherited by our children.  It is time to end this cycle.  A definitive solution has to be found that will put to rest Venezuela’s contention of nullity.
Venezuela has, by its recent Decree, virtually given notice that it intends to continue increasing the pressure on Guyana and to weaken our resistance to its illegal claim.  We will not waiver in our resistance.
Apart from the diplomatic and related measures of resistance, to which I have just alluded, there is also a legal instrument assented to by Guyana, the United Kingdom and Venezuela, which provides for the examination of Venezuela’s contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899 is null and void.  It also provides mechanisms for the eventual settlement of the baseless contention.  The Geneva Agreement of 1966 remains the best hope for keeping the issue between Guyana and Venezuela from going totally out of control.  The mandate of the Secretary General of the United Nations under this Agreement is quite clear.  It is very specific.
According to Article IV (2) …the Secretary General of the United Nations shall choose another of the means stipulated in Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations, and so until the controversy has been resolved or until all means of peaceful settlement there contemplated have been exhausted.
For more than 25 years, the Good Offices Process, as one of the chosen means of peaceful settlement, has been in operation.  Unhappily, it has signally failed to resolve the issue.  The Decree of May 26, 2015 has served to widen even further the gap between Guyana and Venezuela.
Notwithstanding the fact that an International Boundary Settlement already exists in the form of the Arbitral Award of 1899, a juridical settlement in respect of Venezuela’s contention that this Award is null and void appears to be the best, if not the only way now open to us.  To that eventuality, we must now direct our full attention.  Guyana of course stands ready to continue discussions with Venezuela, with respect to our bilateral relations, while we pursue a peaceful settlement within the framework of the Geneva Agreement where the UN Secretary General has a defined role.

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