Foreign interests, Guyana’s interests

Dec 23, 2023 Editorial

Kaieteur News – The PPPC Government is banking heavily on a heavy foreign hand to be the trump card against Venezuela’s verbal aggressions, and unfolding plans. Anyone listening either to President Ali or Vice President Jagdeo is sure to walk away comforted that many ‘Big Brothers’ around the world are watching Venezuelan developments carefully, and are looking out for Guyana. There can be no question that that has some substance, but both leaders must be careful that what they are banking on is not a gamble. That is, tossing the dice and hoping for the most favorable roll.

Vice President Jagdeo literally oozes confidence: “We have allies also who will not countenance the lack of democracy in Venezuela, who will not countenance Venezuelan aggression… [they] have made it very explicit that in this hemisphere they are not going to allow it and we have to extend our capabilities on the basis of the defence cooperation with these allies and we have done so.” We take this opportunity to urge the former head of state not to put all his eggs into the foreign basket. To be sure, there is foreign interest in the rule of law, adherence to court rulings, and the integrity of borders. But their own interests are always paramount. Undoubtedly Jagdeo knows this, but puts on a brave face for local consumption.

He himself mentioned foreigners and their “interests. It would be the height of vice-presidential astuteness, therefore, to reconcile how well foreign interests and those of Guyana coincide. What is it in Guyana that holds significant “interest?” What is there left for Guyana, should those interest(s), in whatever form or shape they take, be part of the price for international support that Guyana must pay? We are on the same page with the PPPC Government and Jagdeo that we are not helpless, and that we need strong allies to help us in this tussle with Venezuela. But how heavy will be the pound of flesh that will be part of the bargain, which would be embedded in their demands? It is sound to recall that beggars can’t be choosers. Presently, we have some helping foreign hands around here, but they appear to be on the thin side; a little flesh on the foreign support skeleton would send the best signal to those in Caracas with ideas, which their words emphasize.

One of the distinctive features of the rash of daily Guyana-Venezuela developments is this flurry of words emerging from Georgetown and Caracas. There is the offensive and aggressive from the west, while from Guyana’s corner of this ancient contest, the controlled and the circumspect have been most prevalent. The international community has been wooed around the clock, and many of its members have come out with pronouncements about a region of peace, peaceful resolution, and mature and responsible conduct by all parties. Though the words have been almost unanimously in favour of where Guyana is, and how it has managed this demanding situation, the long, tall shadow in the room is still unfazed, with the levels of rhetoric raised to heated proportions. It is Venezuela, with its president, Nicolas Maduro, charging around like some out-of-control warhorse.

There is a host of foreign friends that Guyana is counted upon for support, and their words and postures have certainly indicated some level of this. A notable fly in the ointment in the Guyana-Venezuela spat is Russia, which said that outsiders must keep out of the matter. Russia is not Guyana, but a superpower in its own right, no matter how much it is besieged. Russia has to be cognizant of its own interests, and how all these appeals from Guyana to the international community could jeopardize its current and future interests.

The most undesirable situation for Guyana right now would be for it to get entangled in the bigger wars (and great games) being played out by the same people reached to for assistance. Help is needed, but some caution is vital, so as not to depend too much on what could be on the skimpy side. Foreign interests usually have what is controlling about them. Some of Guyana’s interests will suffer, how much of such is what Jagdeo must weigh.

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Editorial, Government, interests, Jagdeo, PPPC

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