IN what can be described as an historical event, His Excellency President David A. Granger will be attending Parliament, today, where he is expected to address the National Assembly on Venezuela’s shameful and illegal claim to Guyana’s sovereign territory.President Granger has just returned from his first major Regional assignment – the annual CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Barbados where his main task was to marshal the solidarity of the Heads in support of Guyana’s territorial conflict with Venezuela.
He came out with flying colours. His address to the meeting made a strong case for the Region’s support. Crucially, he made the linkage between Venezuela’s aggression towards Guyana and the potential threat to the sovereignty of the rest of the Region. As heads of vulnerable small states, this argument must have resonated with them. It was smart politics on the part of the Guyanese Head of State.
In the final analysis, CARICOM expressed unqualified support for Guyana. On the surface it may have appeared to be an easy task. But many CARICOM countries have very close economic and political relations with Venezuela. Hence the choice for them would not have been a straightforward one. In the end, historical cultural and political ties won out. So credit to President Granger is in order.
But the President’s success at CARICOM drew a swift response from Venezuela. The Venezuelan leader lost no time in issuing a new decree that in essence strengthens the previous decree. In addition, the Venezuelan ambassador to Guyana has been recalled and there is more than a hint that diplomatic relations with Guyana would be scaled back. It is obvious, then, that Venezuela is not about to tone down its aggression.
This is a very serious development. Clearly our big neighbour is not in a fraternal mood. We have already established that the territorial claim is without merit; the borders were settled more than a century ago. So Venezuela can only be interested in using this fictitious dispute to halt Guyana’s economic development. Such action is a violation of all acceptable international laws and norms. How can a country that espouses noble Bolivarian ideals justify naked bullying of a peaceful neighbour?
Guyana is left with no choice but to mobilise a broader support base in defense of our sovereignty. We have to embark on an aggressive campaign aimed at exposing Venezuela’s naked aggression and isolating it internationally. In this regard, the mobilisation of CARICOM solidarity is just a start.
The President and his Government must now build on this Regional goodwill. They should use it as a stepping stone to mobilising wider hemispheric and international support for Guyana’s cause. We must seek active support from all countries and international organisations that have a commitment to peaceful co-existence among countries. The 53-member Commonwealth bloc of countries has also thrown its full support behind Guyana’s position.
We must not be afraid to take our case to the community of nations for it is a just case. Let us rally international opinion on our side and force the world community to once and for all put an end to global intimidation and the illegal grabbing of sovereign territory.