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UK says Venezuela’s claim of Essequibo “unjustified and should cease”
…affirms border was settled in 1899 through arbitration
Kaieteur News – The United Kingdom on Thursday expressed concern about the move by the Nicolas Maduro-administration to annex the county of Essequibo, saying that the action is unjustified and should cease immediately.
In a post on its social media account on X, formerly Twitter, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “we are clear that the border was settled in 1899 through international arbitration.” Venezuela has claimed the Essequibo region, which it calls ‘Guayana Esequiba’, currently accounting for two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. While defying the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced on Tuesday night that his government is putting measures in place to claim Essequibo.
Among its threats to annex the county, the Maduro-regime said it would activate a debate in the National Assembly for the approval of the Organic Law for the defense of Guayana Esequiba. “That instrument that will give rise to the implementation of the decision made by the people of Venezuela in the consultative referendum,” Maduro explained.
UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
The move by Maduro came following the December 3 referendum which the opposition in that oil-rich country has poured cold water on- estimating that about two million people voted out of a total of 20.7M eligible voters. Addressing the nation Tuesday night following the threats by the Venezuelan President to annex the Essequibo Region, President Irfaan Ali said as “I made clear from the date the referendum was first announced, this is a direct threat to Guyana’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence, and in violation of fundamental principles of international law enshrined in the UN and OAS Charters.”
President Ali said the measures announced by Maduro on Tuesday night are in blatant disregard of the order given by the ICJ on December 1, 2023 and that Guyana views this as an imminent threat to its territorial integrity and will intensify precautionary measures to safeguard its territory. “I have tonight spoken to the Secretary General of the United Nations and several leaders alerting them of these dangerous developments and the desperate actions of President Maduro that fly in the face of international law and constitute a grave threat to international peace and security,” President Ali stated.
Also, he said Guyana informed the United Nations Security Council on the developments to take appropriate action. Several of Guyana’s international partners have condemned Venezuela’s actions following the country’s December 3 referendum. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, in a briefing, urged “Venezuela and Guyana to continue to seek a peaceful resolution of their dispute. This is not something that will be settled by a referendum.”
On Thursday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said at his weekly press conference that despite recent announcements by Venezuela regarding the county of Essequibo, Guyana is forging ahead in its development in all of the country’s 83,000 square miles. He said any attempt by Venezuela to explore Guyana for oil will be seen as an incursion by the government. He said Guyanese should not worry “about Venezuela because Maduro will never succeed now or ever.
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