FOR too long Venezuela has held a “baseless” claim over two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory as its own, holding it like the “Sword of Damocles” dangling over Guyanese, a situation that must be brought to an end immediately.This was the hardline adumbrated by Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister and Vice-President, Carl Greenidge, who yesterday on the first sitting of the 11th Parliament used the occasion to give an update on the recent presidential decree by Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro.

ESTABLISHED BOUNDARY
Addressing members of the National Assembly in the presence of scores of international representatives, including Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana, Reina Diaz, Minister Greenidge emphasised that the Arbitral Award of 1899 has definitively established the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.

As such, he contends it is clear that Venezuela, by its actions, is no longer simply contending the 1899 Award to be null and void, but rather the Venezuelan Government has now elevated its dissatisfaction to an assertion of fact.

Greenidge observed that the decree under the hand of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, implies that international norms and good practices are not applicable to that country and consequently, the decree indicates that the Essequibo region as well as the maritime space the region provides as ipso facto Venezuelan territory.

Greenidge told the House that it is difficult for a dispassionate observer to determine what has propelled the Government of Venezuela to take “this so patently illegal action – an action that flies in the face of all the norms and conventions that govern relations between states.”
He reminded the House that Guyana has always sought the principled route in response to Venezuela’s persistent and continuing acts of aggression and will continue to do so.
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
The Foreign Affairs Minister in updating the House, said: “We have been in contact with several members of the international community and have made special approaches to other member states of the Caribbean and of the Commonwealth from whom we have consistently received support in the past to our just cause.”
Other steps, he said, are being taken to ensure that Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are not compromised in any way and, that “our sovereign right to develop this great country free from threats and acts of economic aggression remains untrammelled.”
According to Greenidge, “For 49 years we have lived in the shadow of Venezuela’s illegal claim and attempts to despoil our country…The Sword of Damocles, for the most part unseen, nevertheless hangs over our heads; unless removed, it will be the legacy that will be inherited by our children. It is time to end this cycle.”
He was adamant that a definitive solution has to be found that will put to rest Venezuela’s contention of nullity.
According to Greenidge, “Venezuela has, by its recent Decree, virtually given notice that it intends to continue increasing the pressure on Guyana and to weaken our resistance to its illegal claim.”
The minister said however, “We will not waver in our resistance.”
He told the House, the issuing of a decree is well within President Maduro’s constitutional right, but what “is not his right is to utilise the sovereign territory of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to generate maritime territory to meet Venezuela’s illegal ambitions.”
According to Greenidge, that is precisely what the Decree purports to do in relation to Guyana’s Essequibo.
VENEZUELAN NAVY
He pointed out too that the Decree also mandates and authorises the Venezuelan Navy to secure the area and clearly to prevent any other state from exploiting, without Venezuela’s consent, the resources of the area, “an area that now includes a significant portion of Guyana’s maritime space.”
According to Greenidge, “This Decree in its baseless and shameless attempt at usurping Guyana’s territory is also intended to deny Guyana its legitimate right to continue the pursuit of existing developmental initiatives.”
He said the Maduro Decree is also intended to impact negatively on other pending and future developmental initiatives in that portion of Guyana’s legitimate maritime space that falls within the area circumscribed by the Decree.
Minister Greenidge said that contrary to the Venezuelan Government’s public statements, the Decree cannot be considered an act of sovereignty where it applies to territory that does not belong to Venezuela.
“It flies in the face of all norms and principles of international law and it negates the very commitments assented to by Venezuela in numerous international and regional fora regarding the peaceful settlement of disputes. Guyana condemns this Decree in the strongest possible terms,” he asserted.
Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister also used the opportunity to address the House and respond to the Venezuelan Government which he said, is in fact, “claiming that it has done nothing wrong in issuing the Decree.”
He told the House, this information was communicated to him by Ambassador Diaz.
In fact, Greenidge reported to the house that the Venezuelan position is that over the years it has been very kindly disposed towards Guyana and “indeed virtually accuses the Government of Guyana of over reacting.”
According to the Guyana Foreign Affairs Minister, “Let it be clear,” Guyana is reacting to “an act of territorial aggrandisement.”
He said, no reasonable observer could have possibly anticipated that Venezuela could ever regard the position where the ExxonMobil Deep Water Champion oil rig is located, as even remotely falling within the areas claimed by Venezuela.
“Clearly, as was revealed at the end of February, we all underestimated Venezuela’s appetite for territory.”
FUTILE ATTEMPTS
The Foreign Affairs Minister reported too that efforts at getting Venezuela to do the logical and reasonable thing, namely, sitting down to discuss the issue of maritime delimitation have to date proved futile.
Greenidge also used the opportunity to point out that apart from the diplomatic and related measures of resistance available to Guyana against Venezuela, “there is also a legal instrument assented to by Guyana, the United Kingdom and Venezuela, which provides for the examination of Venezuela’s contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899 is null and void.”
According to Greenidge, the Geneva Agreement of 1966 remains the best hope for keeping the issue between Guyana and Venezuela from going totally out of control.

He said the mandate of the Secretary General of the United Nations under this Agreement is quite clear in that it calls on the Secretary General of the United Nations to choose another of the means as stipulated, “until the controversy has been resolved or until all the means of peaceful settlement there contemplated have been exhausted”.

Minister Greenidge reminded the National Assembly that for more than two decades the UN Good Officer Process, as one of the chosen means of peaceful settlement, has signally failed to resolve the issue and that the recent Maduro Presidential Decree only serves to widen even further the gap between Guyana and Venezuela.
According to the Guyanese Foreign Affairs Minister, “Notwithstanding the fact that an International Boundary Settlement already exists in the form of the Arbitral Award of 1899, a juridical settlement in respect of Venezuela’s contention that this Award is null and void appears to be the best, if not the only way now open to us.”
As such, he said Guyana of course stands ready to continue discussions with Venezuela with respect to its bilateral relations, while we pursue a peaceful settlement within the framework of the Geneva Agreement.
He stressed that under this arrangement there is a defined role for the UN Secretary General.
The Guyana Chronicle understands that Guyana’s submission to the United Nations has been acknowledged and assigned to a subcommittee.
This publication was also told that Government is currently actively seeking to have the United Nations fast track a hearing of its case for determination in light of the recent escalation of threats to Guyana’s territory by neighbouring Venezuela.

By Gary Eleazar