St. Vincent’s meeting was a success

Dec 18, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – I surveyed opinions in the literature (articles) in Guyana’s papers on the St. Vincent meet (before and its aftermath). Opinions were/are divided on whether the President should have gone to St. Vincent; ditto on evaluation of the success of the meeting with Nicolas Maduro. Those who are supportive of the President feel it was a success and that Irfaan Ali came out on top. Those who were not supportive of the President felt he didn’t gain anything and that Maduro came out on top. Both sides claimed victory in their respective countries — in any peace summit, both sides are supposed to be winners, and the leaders must convince their supporters of same. For me, peace was the winner. People will enjoy a period of peace and calm at least for three more months when another report is to be released on progress in their agreement.

There was knee jerk reaction on whether the President should have accepted the invitation from Dr. Ralph Gonsalves as Chair ECLAC and from CARICOM with some saying he should not have gone, arguing it was a set up to entrap the President into making concessions. Some saw the meet as in the self-interest of selective Caricom states who were beneficiaries of Venezuela’s PetroCaribe generosity. Others like me advised that Ali could not decline an invitation to talk peace especially when Caricom was the host; the President could not blank his Caricom friends who were trying to avoid conflict in the region. Wisely, Ali went and the principal objective was achieved — peace in the region and respect for the ICJ as the mechanism to resolve the border conflict.

Unless one studies and masters international relations or foreign policy or international diplomacy or international law, one will not really understand how nations (their leaders) behave and how peace is achieved when war is on the horizon. In real politick, it might make right. It is almost impossible to get a powerful nation that is defiant to follow the rules of the international order. It would always want to bully a smaller nation. If willing to talk, you engage a bully or a bigger nation and urge it to follow the rules of international behaviour. The fact that Caricom or the chair of ECLAC was able to get Maduro to agree to a meet was a success in itself. Maduro had made it clear that he would not abide by the ruling of the ICJ. He appeared to now soften his position on the World Court after the meet. He was very bellicose over the last month threatening military action; such language has abated after December 14 meet. After the December 3 referendum, he said steps would be taken to annex Essequibo. After the meet, that plan has been shelved for now. Before the meet, Maduro had ignored the ICJ’s provisional order of December 1 to maintain the status quo. After the meet, he agrees that neither State should take action to change the status quo in the order. He has stated that investors in the Essequibo region would need to apply for licences in Venezuela. Now he has backed off.

In general, Maduro agrees to peace and order in the region. This is very important to Guyanese, especially those in Essequibo, and the people in the region. Prior to the meet, Guyanese were in the edge fearing an imminent invasion and annexation of Essequibo. The region was also worried about the consequences of war. People were emptying out of Essequibo moving to Demerara and some booking flight to North America and the Caribbean. Now they can breathe easy.

The purpose of the meet was to talk peace and peace has been promised at least for short period. The status quo about the border has been maintained. In that sense, the meet was a success and both sides have won. Ralph Gonsalves, ECLAC, and Caricom and others who encouraged the meet are commended for their efforts to maintain peace in the region.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram

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Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Essequibo, Guyanese, PetroCaribe generosity, St Vincent

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