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THE WAY FORWARD FOR THE BORDER DISPUTE
The United Nations (UN), which is 71 years old, is back in session. Mr.Barack Obama has addressed the world body for the last time as President of the United States. It will also be the last time that Ban Ki Moon will be presiding over the session as the UN General Secretary.
His ten-year term comes to an end in December. And once again, Guyana’s border dispute with Venezuela has been raised, but there is still no solution.
President David Granger had high hopes for a resolution to the dispute but it appears it would not happen at this sitting of the UN. Venezuela’s relentless effort to maintain its claim has resulted in President Maduro’s rejection of the UN decision to settle the dispute at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
President Maduro is aware that most of the evidence that would be presented to the ICJ would be based on the 1899 Tribunal Accord and would be in Guyana’s favor. While Guyana’s position is firmly rooted in the ICJ, Venezuela has thwarted every effort by the UN to have the dispute settled by the international court. Until Venezuela agrees for the dispute to be heard by the ICJ, the court has no jurisdiction to try the case.
During the past year, Venezuela’s actions toward Guyana have soured relationships between the two countries to the point where Venezuela had recalled its Ambassador to Guyana and delayed the granting of accreditation to Guyana’s ambassador to that country. President Maduro has stalled all efforts by Guyana to find a peaceful resolution to the dispute.
Its threat to annex two-thirds of Guyana’s territory was reinforced by its deployment of troops, tanks, missiles and gunboats on the borders. Madura’s un-statesman-like conduct has rattled the leadership in Guyana who took the case to the UN and other international and regional forums. However, this course of action by Guyana has not yielded much result.
With the defeat of President Madura’s ruling party on December 6, 2015, Guyana had hoped for a change of policy from Caracas but such hopes vanished as President Maduro’s term ends in 2018. His threat to annex the county of Essequibo was in direct response to the discovery of large quantities of crude oil by the American oil giant, Exxon Mobil in the Stabroek area of Essequibo.
It is known that Guyana is outmatched military, but it is highly unlikely that it would surrender any of its territory to Venezuela without a struggle, which could prove more costly than the value of the disputed area. The term “not a blade of grass” coined by the late Forbes Burnham in 1966 in opposition to Venezuela’s claim remains deeply embedded in the Guyanese psyche.
In an address to the UN General Assembly a few days ago, President Granger made it clear that Guyana has accepted the 1899 Tribunal Award and remained hopeful that the 117-year-old dispute will be adjudicated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He stated that since 1966, the border dispute has scared away potential investors from the region and this has had a negative impact on Guyana’s ability to exploit its hydro-carbon resources. He said that Guyana’s development is constrained by the territorial ambitions of Venezuela, which ratified the 1899 Tribunal Accord.
The President pleaded for help from the international community for a peaceful resolution to the dispute.
In the final analysis, Venezuela’s claim is a threat to Guyana’s existence as a small independent country and an assault on its sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is also a grave threat to peace and security not only in Guyana but the entire region.
The government should not only depend on the UN to solve the border dispute.The government has to be more proactive and intensify its efforts for a peaceful resolution.
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