‘There must be no talks on border controversy’

Dec 10, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

– Opposition insists ahead meeting between Guyana and Venezuela

Kaieteur News – Ahead of a dialogue between the leaders of Guyana and Venezuela, the joint parliamentary opposition, A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance For Change (APNUAFC), has issued a statement insisting that there must be no talks regarding the border controversy between the two countries since the matter is properly before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton

The Opposition said while it welcomes the action being taken by the international community to ensure there is peace between the two countries, it believes that “there must not be any discussions of the territorial controversy between our two countries as this matter is properly before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and this process must be allowed to take its course so that it is settled within the confines of international law.”

The statement comes moments after it was announced that the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has offered to host a dialogue between leaders of the two countries to possibly quell rising tensions.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Opposition said outside of its reservation on discussions on the border controversy, it is not opposed to dialogue or discussions with the President of Venezuela as this could lead to better relations between the countries and their people.

The APNU+AFC noted that paragraph 3 of the Geneva Agreement recognises that “closer cooperation between British Guiana and Venezuela could bring benefit to both countries”.

“That is why since independence Guyana has sought and promoted bilateral relations with our Western neighbour across a spectrum of issues including health, education, and other relevant areas of development. It must also be recalled that during the Parliamentary debate on the territorial controversy that the opposition insisted that the door should always be open to dialogue,” the Opposition said.

The statement continued: “We believe that the meeting should seek to ensure the two states recommence bilateral discussions since they will open new vistas for good neighbourliness, and peace between our two states and peoples.”

The Parliamentary Opposition said it remains committed to playing its role in the ongoing relationship between Guyana and Venezuela and will always work towards the protection of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Guyana.

“It is the considered view of the Opposition that the two leaders could continue to explore the expansion of bilateral issues which could improve the lives of the peoples of our two countries and contribute to the peaceful development of the Latin American and Caribbean region,” the statement said.

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Aubrey Norton, Guyana, Leader of the Opposition, parliamentary, Venezuela

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