Guyana unfazed by Venezuela’s attempt to ‘fund the world against us’

Nov 03, 2015 News

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Most might find it strange that Venezuela is going through recession, is faced by food shortages and shortage of basic commodities but has yet found it necessary to aid numerous countries. However, Guyana has, as the locals say, ‘spot that

move from a distance.’ Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge told the media he has long realized that Venezuela is trying to buy support.
At a recent press conference Greenidge was asked “To what extent he believes Venezuela’s consistent lobbying with the provision of oil to Caribbean nations will garner support for its claims on Guyana’s territory?”
Greenidge’s response was to the effect that he thinks, “The entire purpose of Venezuela’s collaboration with the Region is to suborn the nations and get support for its spurious claims on Guyana’s territory”.
He said that the move is not peculiar and he is not ruling out that Venezuela will try this same or similar strategy on the international scene. Nevertheless, Greenidge said that Venezuela must know, “You cannot fund the whole world against Guyana. But, there is clearly a purpose to this exercise.”
Asked if he thinks that this strategy is bearing fruit, Greenidge said, “Well it hasn’t succeeded to the sense that they (Venezuela) have not been able to get a decree that calls upon Guyana to concede and to abandon the treaty that binds the two of us, it is still binding.”
Notwithstanding that, the Foreign Minister noted that. “International relations and politics being what they are, the path in public resolution in things like these is never smooth so don’t expect it to be and I don’t expect it to be. There are going to be hiccups along the way and there are going to be attempts to derail, divert, misrepresent.”
He noted that some nations already feel that what Guyana is reporting about Venezuela is outrageous and must have been misrepresented. “They cannot believe our report on what is going on so they give the benefit of the doubt to Venezuela.”

However, Greenidge told the media that notwithstanding the bribery, he still believes that Caricom and Commonwealth will continue to support Guyana.
The Minister said that Caricom has a standard item on its agenda and when it meets at the level of Head of Government it will be the matter and then decide its course of action.
Greenidge added that Caricom recognizes “It (Venezuela’s claims) as a problem and as a threat to peace and so forth.”
Asked why Caricom has not categorically stated its support of Guyana going the juridical route, Greenidge said that too much is being read into the fact that Caricom has not made a public move as yet.
“I think that you, as a media corps, are making too much of what Caricom says publicly; the facts are as follows.
He reminded of Decree 1787. Greenidge said that when that decree was promulgated, Guyana sought Caricom’s intervention. “When we addressed the issue we drew to Caricom’s attention that this was not a Venezuela-Guyana issue; the Heads of Government decided that this was in fact a Caricom/Venezuela issue.
Meaning that Decree 1787 sought to annex the EZ of a number of Caricom territories; ranging from St. Kitts all the way to Grenada as well as Suriname, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago and Colombia.
“It was on that basis that Caricom chose a team which met with the Vice President of Venezuela, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. At that meeting, they called upon the Foreign Affairs Minister to speak to the President. With that exercise, the President of Venezuela gave the undertaking that the decree would be withdrawn and replaced by one not affecting Caricom.
In my view, that was as strong an intervention as was required of Caricom. They thought the decree was odious, affected the Caricom countries, unacceptable and should be withdrawn.”

Greenidge said that even though the decree was withdrawn, Venezuela replaced it with another which had Guyana as its principal target, “So it was withdrawn in bad faith, Venezuela had the discussion in bad faith.”
“Caricom is not the problem; the problem lies elsewhere.”
Since the recent decree, Caricom and the Commonwealth have been leaning towards continued support for Guyana. But the jury is still out as to whether support will continue in the face of Venezuela’s bribery.
According to the World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2015, “Venezuela is falling into a deeper recession.”
Numerous violent clashes have flared in pockets of Venezuela in recent times as Venezuelans wait for hours in long supermarket lines for basics like milk and rice.
Angry mobs looted and set fire to a National Guard command post; a mob infuriated by worsening food shortages rammed trucks into the smoldering edifice.
Wall Street Journal reported that soldiers had been deployed to stem rampant food smuggling and price speculation, which President Nicolás Maduro blames for triple-digit inflation and scarcity. But after they seize contraband goods, the troops themselves often become targets of increasingly desperate people.
“What’s certain is that we are going very hungry here and the children are suffering a lot,” said María Palma, a 55-year-old grandmother who on a recent blistering hot day had been standing in line at the grocery store since 3:00 a.m. before walking away empty-handed at midday, the report quoted.
In a national survey, the pollster, Consultores 21, found 30 percent of Venezuelans eating two or fewer meals a day during the second quarter of this year, up from 20 percent in the first quarter. Around 70% of people in the study also said they had stopped buying some basic food item because it had become unavailable or too expensive.
“It’s a national crisis,” said Marco Ponce, head of the Venezuela Observatory of Social Conflict, noting that unlike the political protests of last year, residents are now taking to the streets demanding social rights.
The nonprofit group recorded 500 protests over food shortages during the first half of 2015, 56 looting incidents and dozens of attempted lootings at grocery stores, pharmacies and warehouses. Even delivery trucks are frequently targeted.
“If people aren’t outside protesting, they’re outside standing in line for goods,” Mr. Ponce said.

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