THE FOLLOWING statement was issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Georgetown last evening:THE Government of Guyana is extremely perplexed by the fact that the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, while declaring as false Guyana’s statement that Venezuela’s actions are aimed at stymieing Guyana’s development, that same Government seeks to publicize those very objections to Guyana’s development initiatives – by also utilizing Guyana’s local media.

While the Communiqué which appeared in the Kaieteur News edition of March 13, 2015, mentions the fact that leaders from both countries have underscored the “necessity of deepening cooperation” between Guyana and Venezuela, it fails to recognize that those efforts have in fact been defeated by Venezuela’s threats and actions against investors wishing to operate and those already operating in Guyana, including by the very Communiqué under reference.
The premise of Venezuela’s objections continues to be its spurious and illegal claim to Guyana’s territory.  The land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela was permanently and definitively delimited on October 3, 1899 pursuant to the Treaty of Washington of February 2, 1897.  The view expressed in the Communiqué under reference that there is a territorial dispute “inherited from British colonialism” is therefore patently false.
As a sovereign State, empowered under international law to exercise sovereign rights over its continental shelf and exclusive economic zone, the Republic of Guyana has full and unfettered authority to unilaterally explore – with or without partners – and exploit the living and non-living resources within its jurisdiction.  Any act or objection to the exercise of such jurisdiction is contrary to international law – both codified and customary international law.
While it is a fact that the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Guyana and Venezuela remains an outstanding matter, it is pellucid that there are maritime spaces that can legitimately belong to only one of the two States.   That is fully recognized under both customary and codified international law.  Venezuela’s vain effort to link its spurious and illegal claim to Guyana’s Essequibo to matters related to the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone of Guyana within the context of the Geneva Agreement of February 17, 1966 therefore has no legal basis.  The fact is that the Geneva Agreement does not relate to a boundary or territorial dispute, but to a unilateral and unsubstantiated claim by Venezuela that the Arbitral Award of 1899 is null and void.  Guyana completely rejects this effort to conflate two separate matters within the context of the Geneva Agreement.
The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guyana earlier this year elaborated on the reasons why Guyana was in the process of reviewing the options under the Geneva Agreement for bringing the controversy initiated and maintained by Venezuela, to an end.  It should suffice to repeat that the Good Offices Process has been in existence for over twenty-five years, but Venezuela has on many occasions taken actions and issued statements that are inimical to that process even while it was in full operation – this includes both military actions and strident statements by high officials of Venezuela.
Guyana rejects the subtle threat issued in the sixth paragraph of the Communiqué where it is stated that Venezuela “reserves the right to execute all actions in the diplomatic field and in accordance with international law, that might be necessary to defend and safeguard the sovereignty and independence [of Venezuela]”  over Essequibo.  The Government of the Republic of Guyana has had occasion to caution the Government of Venezuela that any such action will be in flagrant violation of the territorial integrity of Guyana, international law and will also constitute a material violation of the Geneva Agreement.
Finally, the Government of Guyana wishes to make it clear that investment approvals by it are done solely in the interest of the people of Guyana.  Guyana therefore utterly rejects the insinuation that its investment operations are or could be inimical to the interests of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.  Guyana notes that this assertion is without foundation since the Venezuelan Government has also sought to derail other projects in Guyana that are being supported by a mutually friendly State that is fully a part of the “unity of Latin America”.
The Government of Guyana is convinced and assured that the people of Guyana, and indeed international investors and public opinion, will not be swayed by the falsities and fabrications in the Communiqué issued by the Venezuelan Government on March 13, 2015.
The Government of Guyana further calls on the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to be respectful of the 1897 Treaty, the Arbitral Award of 1899, the 1905 demarcation of the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela pursuant to the Arbitral Award and other formally ratified documents between our two countries, the principles of general international law and the Charter of the United Nations in the conduct of its relations with the Republic of Guyana and its people.
The Government of Guyana remains committed to a diplomatic solution consistent with international law, however the public pronouncements by Venezuela through various media agencies cannot go unanswered.