After the Ukraine Invasion, Guyana should be careful of dependency on China, India and Russia

Mar 05, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,
Some time ago, I penned a letter to the media titled, “Guyana should not become dependent on autocratic nations like China, Russia and India,” It is now more urgent that Guyana not become dependent on China, India and Russia especially since Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine. On the fence, and silently supporting Putin, are China and Modi’s India. These authoritarian leaders from Russia, China and India have emboldened Guyana’s aggressive neighbour, Venezuela which has violated Guyana’s sovereignty over and over. They have also sent messages to countries like Serbia which wants to invade Kosova and Bosnia. China also has desires to invade and take Taiwan by force.
Russia under Putin was demanding oil blocks from Guyana after multiple discoveries by the US giant, ExxonMobil. The previous Granger administration was faced with this dilemma.
India and China have refused to call the Russian invasion of Ukraine an “invasion” and a violation of Ukraine territorial sovereignty. Nor did Modi condemn the Russian annexation of Crimea. India drew criticism from US Lawmakers for being among 35 countries to abstain from Wednesday’s UN General Assembly vote to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Guyana, like most of Latin America and the Caribbean, condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine during the UNGA vote.
Further, none of these countries will stand up for democracy in Guyana. Only recently the People’s National Congress (PNC), now in opposition, from March to July 2020, violently and brazenly tried to seal the 2020 election. China and Russia were silent. India issued a weak statement on the Guyana election crisis. Thus, it is wise that the government in Georgetown maintained close ties with the United States, Canada and the EU. For this reason, Guyana should tread carefully in any oil deals with Narendra Modi.
China and India are silent supporters of Putin. These countries also have ambitions to invade their neighbors in land grabbing. While India is a democracy and Modi is the elected leader of India, he is becoming more and more authoritarian. His BJP party, an offshoot of the RSS which killed Mahatma Gandhi, is today eroding India’s democracy and running vigilante groups across the country dictating people’s private lives. Modi has abandoned India’s non-aligned policy and has been keeping close ties with global non-democratic regimes and authoritarian leaders.
The rise of India’s autocratic and nationalist government has plans to retake land lost during the 1947 partition and wars that followed.
Then there is China which has occupied Tibet and East Turkestan. China and Russia ended the independent republic of East Turkistan. More atrocious is China’s genocide against the Uyghurs who have been placed in dentention camps.
China is making its own deal with Putin. According to the New York Times, “A Western intelligence report said senior Chinese officials told senior Russian officials in early February not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, according to senior Biden administration officials and a European official.”
Thus, imagine India becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and Serbia invading Bosnia and Kosovo; Venezuela invading Guyana; China invades Taiwan. Certainly China and Russia will vote against or abstain on any UN resolutions condemning these actions. However, let’s not be so in a rush to support India getting a seat on the Security Council because Modi will not support justice for small nations.
Since the Cold War ended, the United States, home to about 400,000 Guyanese, has been instrumental in pushing the People’s National Congress (PNC), the party of Guyana’s first dictatorship to hold free and fair elections. The United States, the EU, CARICOM and the OAS have emerged as guarantors of democracy in Guyana. Were it not for the United States sanctioning the rigging cabal of the PNC, Guyana would have descended into another dictatorship and China, India, and Russia would not have cared. At the end of the day, immigrants are flocking to the United States and the EU. Chinese, Indians, and Russians are flocking to America, and not the other way around.
Regards
Ray Chickrie

Latest News

After the Ukraine Invasion, Guyana should be careful of dependency on China, India and Russia

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | November, 20th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Bakewell supports Kashif and Shanghai Futsal tourney

Captains Face Off ahead of Petra-Republic Bank...

CWI announces women’s squad for...

The Mangra Family: Building a Dynasty of Strength...

Windies break home Test drought with 201-run win...

President Ali sees sports as ‘centrepiece’ of...

Features/Columnists

The illusion of compliance

Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all

Defamation allegations, libel retaliation

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

After the Ukraine Invasion, Guyana should be careful of dependency on China, India and Russia

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | November, 20th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]