UN pushing for early border settlement-Granger
President David Granger and Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge emerge from the plenary sessions of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta.
President David Granger and Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge emerge from the plenary sessions of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta.

By Neil Marks in Malta

UNITED Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and President David Granger said he would use the opportunity “to take our discussions further.” “The Secretary-General has been very engaged over the last three or four months in particular and he has been very helpful. Several teams have come down to Guyana working on his behalf and we are convinced that he is committed to moving the process forward.”

It was on the eve of Guyana’s independence some five decades ago that Venezuela claimed the 1899 arbitral award which defined the two countries’ borders was null and void. An agreement signed in Geneva in 1966 provides for the Secretary-General to take action to bring a resolution to the contention by Venezuela. During an address to the United Nations General Assembly in September, Mr Granger urged the UN to curb Venezuela’s expansionist agenda.
Here in Malta, President David Granger said he is looking for the Commonwealth’s solid backing for Guyana’s position and the President had no doubt this would be forthcoming by the end of today or Sunday.

“That has always been guaranteed,” Granger said of the Commonwealth’s support for Guyana on the border controversy. “The Commonwealth has never let us down and there is no reason to believe that that support will drain away,” Granger stated. He said that outgoing Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma had been very strong from the time of the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting back in July. He said that Guyana has always been able to rely on the Commonwealth. “We don’t take it for granted, but I think they are aware of the plight of Guyana and they too are committed to having the controversy resolved. I would say that they are in strong support of Guyana’s territorial integrity,” Granger stated.

“It has traditionally formed part of the final communiqué and, yes, we expect to get a favourable declaration. The Foreign Minister is right here and he is working on it.”
Following recent statements and actions by Venezuela, President Granger indicated to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon that the process of talks has worn out and that it is time for a final legal settlement to Venezuela’s claim that the arbitral award of 1899 which settled the countries’ borders is null and void. Guyana’s position was laid out when Granger met Mr Ban in the presence of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last September. Since then, the UN has sent two teams to Guyana to move the process further.

Guyana has accused Venezuela of a series of acts of aggression, starting with a Presidential decree of June 1968. The border controversy flared early this year when American firm Exxon Mobil announced that it had made a “significant” oil discovery.
After threatening the company, the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro issued a decree on May 26th this year, seeking to extend Venezuela’s land claim to also annex the country’s maritime space.
Two years ago the Venezuelans sent a naval ship into Guyanese waters and seized a U.S.-chartered oil survey ship and escorted it to Margarita Island.
In September, Guyanese authorities also said the Venezuela army was up the Cuyuni River.
More recently, late last month, Canada-based mining company Guyana Goldfields said it had received an “unfounded” notification of possible legal action by Venezuela over its operations in Guyana.
During a visit to Guyana at the start of July this year, the outgoing Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma affirmed the Commonwealth’s solidarity with Guyana and support for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Mr Sharma said: “What is clear, is that Guyana is not only a country with bountiful natural resources. It is also defined by its strong human capital. Guyana is on the cusp of great advancement, and the Commonwealth stands ready and willing to support this country in advancing the culture of democracy and creating an era of prosperity for its citizens.”

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