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Venezuelan Maduro vows to “reconquer” Essequibo; makes new presidential decree
Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro. (Photo – @NicolasMaduro Twitter)
Kaieteur News – President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, on Thursday issued a presidential decree, reinforcing the country’s claim to Guyana’s Essequibo Region and in a tweet has vowed to “reconquer” the Essequibo.
Alongside that action, the Venezuelan President announced on the same day that he wrote to Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, requesting the union to lead direct negotiations between Guyana and Venezuela as an alternative solution to the ongoing litigation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Maduro said that the Essequibo region has always been the territory of Venezuela but that it suffered imperial dispossession.
In a tweet posted on Thursday, Maduro said “I signed the decree by which the Territory for the Development of the Atlantic Façade of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is established, which becomes part of the legal, diplomatic and political actions for the defense of our rights for more than 200 years.”
“That territory belongs to the Venezuelan men and women and we are going to reconquer it.” Maduro said in another tweet, as he called on Venezuelans to support his cause.
Maduro’s call was buttressed by a unanimous agreement made on Thursday by all political factions in Venezuela’s National Assembly that they would fight for the region they call ‘Guayana Esequiba.’
According to Venezuela’s Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information, the National Assembly made three agreements, which include the formation of a ‘Special Commission for the Defence of the Guayana Esequiba Territory and Territorial Sovereignty.’
Maduro also announced in another tweet on Thursday that he wrote to the UN with the objective of advancing a peaceful alternative to the ICJ litigation.
The Venezuelan President said that only sovereign states can bring us closer to a solution to the controversy.
“We reject the ICJ’s decision. We are determined to defend our Essequibo.” Maduro said.
The Court, in December, delivered a judgment stating that it has jurisdiction to hear a matter in a border case Guyana filed against neighbouring Venezuela. The judgment states that the UN Secretary-General may choose a means of settlement under Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations, which includes judicial settlement.
Venezuela had long held that it would prefer direct negotiations and that it rejects the jurisdiction of the ICJ to settle this matter once and for all. After the judgment was passed down, Venezuela declared that it rejected the Court’s assumption of jurisdiction
The Guyana Government’s Advisor on Borders, Carl Greenidge, has said that he expects the ICJ to take two to three and a half years to issue a judgment settling the matter.
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