Written by MOHAMED KHAN
SO long as Article 11 of the Protocol remains in force, no claims whatever arising out of the Venezuelan contention shall be asserted by Venezuela to territorial sovereignty in the territory of Guyana. I am amazed that the Guyana team will meet in four months time to address maritime delimitation when this claim was settled. I venture to think that there could be few Guyanese who would not share with me these sentiments.

This is essentially what the Protocol of Port-of –Spain is about, and it is clear enough what this means. It is one thing to agitate a territorial claim by Venezuela, but quite another matter to pursue policies and codes of conduct which will replace hostility by friendship and replace mistrust and suspicion by confidence and goodwill.
It is to these more positive goals that Article 1 of the Protocol is directed-requiring as it does both governments to explore the possibilities of better understanding between them and to undertake periodically, reviews of their relations through normal diplomatic channels, with a view to their improvement and constructive advancement.
Together therefore these two provisions of the Protocol require Venezuela to show restraint in its conduct so as to avoid bringing into discredit the honour, standing or authority of Guyana and to abstain from any statements, publications or other acts which could be detrimental to the economic development and progress of the state of Guyana.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs took too long to present its case to the Embassy of the Republic of Venezuela to request that the embassy brings to the closer attention of the government of the Republic of Venezuela several incidents of a nature deeply disturbing, including the seizure by Venezuela of an oil exploration vessel in Guyana’s waters and the invasion at Eteringbang which recently occurred in the Cuyuni district of Guyana.
Venezuela has always reiterated and repudiated the award of 1899 from the very unhappy date of its promulgation on to this day. After the 1905 Act following the 1899 Arbitration Award, all seemed to have been settled and both the government of Venezuela and of Britain through their parliament and chief executives respectively, ratified the Award and the demarcation of the boundaries.
The respective territories, as demarcated in 1905, were occupied and dominion exercised over them in accordance with the said Act in which maps were made, signed and accepted by both parties. The territories of both sides have since been beneficially occupied and developed, and the population settled in accordance with the line of demarcation. It may be noted that after the Paris Award of 1899,the frontier dispute seemed to have firmly settled and both the Venezuela and British governments appeared to have been satisfied with the awards and accepted them,although the former expressed surprise and was somewhat upset by it.
There was no tension or dispute since the demarcation of 1905.