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‘Backing force abroad weakens Guyana’s own defence’ – Norton warns
(Kaieteur News) – Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and Chairman of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton, has warned that Guyana, as a small state, should be cautious about supporting the use of force against another country and should instead advocate for the upholding of international law.
Norton made the comments during a recent engagement with journalist Enrico Woolford, where he addressed current events in Venezuela and their implications for Guyana. On January 3, the United States military swooped down on neighbouring Caracas, Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who are incarcerated in the U.S. facing narco-terrorism charges.
Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and Chairman of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton
Norton reminded that Guyana relies on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hand down a ruling in its favour to establish a clear legal position on the Guyana–Venezuela border controversy. “What is happening now is weakening international law, including international humanitarian law and that has serious implications for us, because let us not forget we don’t have the military capacity to fight Venezuela, and Venezuela has far more military capacity than us. And therefore, as a nation we are dependent on rules govern international relations and so our interest lies in ensuring that we are in a world in which there is the rule of law and the international law governs the relations we are having,” Norton noted.
He made it clear that this does not mean Guyana is sympathetic to Venezuelan President Maduro. Norton also added that he believes the issue goes beyond Maduro and has to do with Venezuela’s oil. The PNCR leader noted that the task now before Guyana, amid an increasingly complex multipolar global environment, is to identify where its interests lie and to push consistently for respect for international law, the rule of law, and international humanitarian law.
“We have always taken the position that we oppose aggression because we ourselves are vulnerable to aggression,” he noted.
Norton outlined that the situation must be viewed from the standpoint of Guyana’s status as a small state. “If you’re a small state you want the law to prevail because you lack the capacity to use force, and once you support the use of force against another state, you kind of axiomatically create the convictions for it to happen to you,” he warned.
The PNCR leader stated that, given Guyana’s ongoing conflict with Venezuela, there should be a strong emphasis on promoting international law. He added that, as a citizen and a political leader in a small state, PNCR will always support the upholding of international law and practices that make Guyana’s situation more conducive to exist.
Moreover, Norton believes that Guyana’s task is to clearly identify where its national interest lies. He added, “I wanna make it very clear, we see Venezuela as an adversary not an ally, but at the same time we live in a complex world.”
Norton said he does not operate on the assumption that the United States, China, or Russia would fight a war on Guyana’s behalf, noting that those countries pursue their own national interests.
“I don’t believe at this stage it is part of their national interest to fight for us…our task is to ensure that we engage in a way, work through the diplomatic nuances to ensure that we can have the support and solidarity of those countries in confronting Venezuela,” he added.
Norton further called for a special sitting of the National Assembly to safeguard Guyana’s territorial integrity and avoid any path toward war or proxy conflict.
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