Church group calls for national unity against Venezuela’s aggression

Nov 24, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

Zadok Ministers Fellowship notes the escalation of Venezuela’s aggression in its unlawful claim to Guyana’s Essequibo Region. We are firmly of the view that Guyana’s border with Venezuela was legally and internationally decided by a tribunal of arbitration in 1899 in what was determined then to be a full, perfect, and final settlement. The Fellowship views Venezuela’s actions as an illegitimate attempt to disrupt our peaceful way of life.

We commend the strong united approach between the Government of Guyana and the Opposition, and indeed, all the peoples of Guyana on this singular vision and goal – defending Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Fellowship is aware and conscious that the planned December 3 Referendum by Venezuela can create fear and uneasiness in our country. Therefore, we call for civility and the sensible creation, use, and dissemination of videos, flyers, posters, and statements on social media and other media platforms. We urge vigilance and for fact-checking to be done so that we do not feed the spirit of fear and fear-mongering. We strongly condemn propaganda that seeks to incite war, violence, xenophobia, discrimination, ethnic tension, and inhumane behavior.

Zadok Ministers Fellowship recognizes and embraces the International Court of Justice as the only competent institution for a peaceful, legal, permanent, and final settlement of the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy. God is more than able to deliver and protect Guyana from all dangers. The Holy Scriptures in Hebrews 12:14 places an obligation and responsibility on all human beings to “make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy…”. We therefore call upon all Christian brothers and sisters to pray for Guyana to continue on its path of peace and prosperity.

Finally, we believe that this current situation creates an opportunity for our people to come together as Guyanese and break down racial and ethnic barriers as we embrace our nation’s motto of One People, One Nation, One Destiny. In this regard, we support the Government’s call for National Unity in defending our territorial sovereignty for every blade of grass within the 83,000 square miles of Guyana’s internationally established boundaries.

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