Talking with Maduro may help to avoid war 

Dec 13, 2023 Letters

---

Dear Editor,

Reference is made to news report on President going to St. Vincent and letter by Chris Ram (Dec 11) advising the President not to cede anything to Maduro. Ali assured that the only solution to the border controversy will come from the ICJ.

Those who studied or are studying international relations and or wars would appreciate the get together of the four leaders in St. Vincent to talk about the border. Ralph Gonsalves is merely the facilitator and President Lula is there to help goad the two main leaders to a workable solution to the border controversy.

There is no harm in talking. Thus, it is unhelpful to criticize anyone who is seeking to preserve peace. Diplomacy is a requirement in any conflict. Opposing figures must speak if we are to avoid war. PM Gonsalves is commended for the effort to bring the two sides together. A parley may help to preserve the peace and by extension the status quo that Ali seeks in a ruling and that your editorial and Mr. Ram advocate. And at any rate, it would have been discourteous to reject the invite from a friend who helped protect democracy in 2020. Our President could not decline an invitation to speak peace with a purported nemesis. And he has committed to attend and cannot now back down. He must stand his and our ground which is well known. Need to repeat it! We will not cede territory.

A conservatory ruling was issued by the ICJ to maintain the status quo on the territory. Maduro talks and threatens of defying it and repeatedly states the ICJ has no jurisdiction on the matter. But his government repeatedly appeared before the court. And he has not violated the December 1 order in actuality. This is not to say, he will not in the near future although in my estimation no rational leader would risk the survival of his regime by invading neighbour in the Americas.

In studies of international politics and international relations and even in diplomacy and foreign policy, there is a required study of war with all its implications and how to end it. Carl Von Clausewitz, who wrote extensively on war, is mandatory reading on “theory of war”. And so are eminent scholars like Hans Morgenthau, Kenneth Waltz, Robert Jervis, Robert Keohane, Joseph Nye, Samuel Huntington, John Gaddis, Thomas Schelling, Karl Polanyi, among others. Henry Kissinger, as a scholar and a practitioner of diplomacy, is also among required reading of scholars though his scholarship in IR is limited; Kissinger wrote more on his White House experience in diplomacy. But he offered sound advice on war that should be heeded.

On studies of wars, scholars advise, you give your opponent a face-saving, graceful exit strategy. If not, he would behave like a raging bull destroying everything in its path. Kissinger is a stickler for that principle in a war.  Months before he died, he advised that Putin be offered an exit strategy on Ukraine. Even before the Ukraine war, he advised that the west should give consideration to Russia’s national security concerns to avoid a devastating war. Kissinger served at a time when diplomats were scholars and gentlemen who shook hands over agreements. His main opponent was Andrei Gromyko of USSR, himself a savvy diplomat. They knew importance of diplomacy.

As Chris Ram noted, our country benefited from outstanding diplomats at the time of Kissinger like Fred Wills, Dr. Rudy Inshanally, Lloyd Searwar, among others, a far cry from today’s diplomats who conduct our foreign policy and diplomacy. The President needs sound advice from scholars to counter Maduro’s expected offers at the St. Vincent meet.

Perhaps Maduro is seeking a face-saving “exit”, a pull back from his bellicose, militant war-like language used over the last few months on annexing Essequibo. Or let’s hope he wants an exit strategy. Guyana does not need an exit strategy; we are not violating any neighbour’s sovereignty.

Maduro’s back is against the wall. He would appreciate an exit strategy. The President meeting Maduro should be supported. He should go with the best IR and diplomacy specialists if there exists any in Guyana. Individuals like Chris Ram, Ralph Ramkarran, Baytoram Ramharack, Randy Persaud, Ravi Dev, Daniel Gibran, among others, would be assets. They should be consulted for strategies. Maduro would have the benefit of an experienced team of IR scholars who would have been advising him. Chris Ram offered sound advice to the President to consult with rather than talk to the nation. Knowing the public’s view on the meet as well as on other issues would help the President and his government to counter Maduro. The president should also seek the view of civic society on the meet and what is offered.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Vishnu Bisram

---

• Chris Ram, Dr. Vishnu Bisram, Maduro, President, Ralph Gonsalves

---