De-escalation

Dec 20, 2023 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Did Guyana give up too much in St Vincent to Venezuela? What did Guyana get for the menaces that were heaped upon its peoples, and for their own land? Having not breached the peace of our borders, nor made so much as a hostile gesture to our Venezuelan neighbor, what was the return for this steadfast commitment to respect for neighbor, and to the dictates of peace?

Today, de-escalation is underway in this Guyana-Venezuela border controversy. From the heat of threats to the call for de-escalation is from the 14-member CARICOM body, of which Guyana is one of the founder members, there is de-escalation, as powered by the Argyle Declaration for Dialogue and Peace. De-escalation has drained Guyana’s already slim hand; it is a steep price that has been paid. We want peace as much as anyone, but it must be a peace that cannot be one that gives away too much. The Geneva Agreement of 1966 is back in play, and so also is employment of the word “dispute” instead of controversy to represent what Guyana and Venezuela almost came to battle over. The odds are that the ICJ could rule for the benefit of Guyana in this border controversy (dispute), but Venezuela has pulled another chestnut out the fire: no relevance to Venezuela, and no acceptance of what comes out of it. the question still troubles: other than for conspicuous de-escalation, what did Guyana get in return for all that it gave?

All along, CARICOM had been insistent in its call for peace, with de-escalation being one of the codewords used. It is now present, and to a noticeable degree following the signing of the Argyle Declaration. What does that mean for Guyana? Guyana was forced to a state of ‘high alert’ because of the warlike rhetoric coming out of Caracas, none of which was uttered here, with actions to match. We agree with CARICOM, and the national leaders in its membership, that it is of utmost importance that this region remains a zone of peace. But Guyana has done its part, gone above and beyond, to ensure that the customary peace is maintained. It is Guyana’s neighbor to the west that has laced its communications and built its plans on pressures that rachet up tensions, on what is objectionable by any standards. De-escalation does not have two owners in the context of the border controversy, for escalation after escalation by Maduro. Escalation is what Venezuela has practiced, and all responsibilities for de-escalation rest in the hands of its leaders, beginning with President Ma

Guyana did not initiate the tensions now fading. Who, therefore, has escalated to this alarming state, if not a domestically embattled Maduro? Who is exempt from any such charge, if not Guyana alone? It is neither President Ali nor Vice President Jagdeo, but Venezuela’s President Maduro and Vice President Rodriguez. Guyana’s Opposition Leader Norton has been firm with the fullest support for Guyana’s territorial integrity. Nothing on Venezuelan land has provoked acquisitiveness from any Guyanese leader. Though Venezuela’s opposition leaders have been more studied in their positions about Guyana’s Essequibo, both the faded Juan Guaido and the rising Maria Corina Machado have been rock-solid about their country’s newly resurrected claim over Guyana’s territory. They dare not disagree in any full-throated manner with Maduro’s mantras, which would risk their political fortunes.

The Venezuelan president interprets the 1966 Geneva Agreement to suit his own visions. The Venezuelan president trashed the December 1 ruling of the ICJ relative to his referendum. Charitably speaking, President Maduro has been reckless, and is the sole owner of any dangerous escalations in this part of the world. CARICOM must continue the push for de-escalation, within the confines of diplomatic expressions, and press President Maduro to take the swiftest steps to de-escalate what he has started and to maintain the peace that is so vital to this region.

Guyana’s hands are clean, and the words of Guyanese leaders have been carefully chosen so as to preserve the peace. President Nicolas Maduro needs to shelve his spurious claims, reverse his self-serving calculations. His next steps would confirm his country’s genuineness about peace, its commitment to keeping the relationship with Guyana safe and healthy.

controversy, De-escalation, Guyana, St Vincent, Venezuela

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De-escalation

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