Granger had criticised handling of Guyana-Venezuela border issue before — APNU says he merely restated his position
PPP/C Prime Ministerial candidate Elisabeth Harper
PPP/C Prime Ministerial candidate Elisabeth Harper

THE A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has said David Granger did not change his position when he recently criticised the Government’s handling of the Guyana-Venezuela controversy.The alliance leader a few days ago declared his disappointment with how Guyana responded to illegal actions by Venezuela against operators of concessions offshore Guyana and the equipment of those operators.
The APNU in a statement said that the APNU+AFC leader merely maintained his stance on the country’s defence and foreign policy.

APNU+AFC Leader David Granger
APNU+AFC Leader David Granger

Supporting this position, APNU pointed to a news article published in the Stabroek News on October 19, 2013.
The report states: “With the future of oil- search activities in the offshore Roraima block still uncertain after last week’s seizure by Caracas of a ship in Guyana’s waters, Opposition Leader David Granger yesterday declared that the Government’s engagement with Venezuela this week solved nothing.”
He expressed the view one day after delegations from Guyana and Venezuela held talks in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, to discuss the Venezuelan navy’s seizure of the oil-exploration vessel Teknik Perdana and decided to have their technical experts meet in four months to discuss maritime delimitation.
The Stabroek News report added: “… the outcome of the meeting was found wanting by Granger, who yesterday said he was astonished at the failure to address the dangerous use, or threat of the use of armed force by Venezuela against Guyana, which is a contravention of Article 2 (4) of the Charter of the United Nations.”
He also chided Guyana’s response to the challenge made by Venezuela to Guyana’s territory, and said that the role of the National Assembly, the Government of Guyana and the capacity of the Foreign Affairs Ministry need to be enhanced to be able to properly respond to such challenges.
People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) prime ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper on Wednesday took strong objection to the comments made by Granger on the campaign trail.
Harper in a statement said Granger’s pronouncement is nothing but an exploitation of a key national issue for narrow political gain.
“Mr. Granger himself had supported the actions of the Government in relation to those very violations and threats from neighbouring Venezuela. To describe Guyana’s actions as weak when we were able to garner the public support of the Caribbean Community and the Commonwealth can be nothing but dishonest,” Harper said.
Granger is quoted in sections of the media as saying that other options were open to be explored by the incumbent Government.
However, he failed to say what he would have done or would do differently if he were to become the President of this country.
“Any Government led by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic will not play politics with Guyana’s most important asset, its territory.
“In fact, utterances like those of Mr. Granger are what make us appear weak because such a stance demonstrates disunity in regard to the protection of our national patrimony when it is unity of purpose and action that is required at all times,” the clearly disappointed prime ministerial candidate said.

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