Dear Editor,
WHAT if a member of the Venezuelan Government had leaked that the there was a secret, but secure government account with 30 million U.S. dollars in it? What if, under intense pressure and allegations of corruption, it was revealed that this sum is to be used to fight Guyanese territorial claims in court? Given that we have only 18 million dollars set aside, we would expect the Guyana Government to earmark at least the additional 12 million to match their sum, wouldn’t we? That, fellow citizens, is exactly the advantage Venezuela now has over us. Because of the selfish actions of this leaker, our opponents are likely to be far better prepared when our border dispute goes to court. There is a reason the leakers of information critical to national security are charged with treason.

Treason is a serious word, meant for serious times. But the gravity of the situation cannot be overstated. Any cursory internet search would reveal that there are 113,558 active Venezuelan soldiers, as well as over 400,000 militia men. Some estimates of the Guyanese military are from 3000 to 3500 soldiers and something in the range of 50,000 citizens with any military training. Our military is small because we rely on soft power defences such as diplomacy and judicial decisions. But if we are now to have to contend with the leaking of critical information, this strategy is totally undermined. Is the leaker going to show up at the border with our courageous servicemen and women if it looks as though our case is going sideways? Is the leaker willing to defend this country with his/her life? I believe that this leaker must be charged with treason.

But the deeper problem is that we have allowed our internal political divisions to weaken our national interests. It is suspicious that this information was made public on the same day that the leader of the opposition was due to speak in the National Assembly. Guyanese must now ask themselves whether there was any collaboration between the leaker and the opposition party. It is similarly reasonable to ask if, in order to score a political point, that group recruited this criminal and put him/her to work leaking. This information was not leaked during the Minister of Natural Resources address, as an impartial leaker might be expected to do. It was timed to come out on the day the leader of the opposition was due to speak! As expected, he opened his speech with it! This must be investigated, and if proven, the members of the opposition involved in this crime must also be charged with treason, no matter who they are. What is so ugly about the actions of those involved in this criminal act is that the contract with Exxon was due to be released in only a few weeks. Instead, details were released at the precise time it would have the greatest political impact. Shame. Shame. Shame.

My fellow Guyanese, now that the Venezuelans know that there are political actors willing to put their own fortunes ahead of the security and prosperity of the country, they don’t even have to send spies! We do the spying for them locally! I do not say these things merely to raise alarm, but to make it clear how naive some of those criticising the administration are. Ambiguity is important and has been practised as part of warfare all over the world. Whether Israel has nuclear weapons is the most famous modern example of ambiguity’s effective use, but the author of the ancient book The Art of War, Tsun Zhu, famously said “All war is deception.” Even further, he said “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” Avoiding war is the true purpose of that segregated Bank of Guyana account, and if Guyanese soldiers are injured or die, the conspirators must reflect from their jail cells on the misery they have caused.
Regards,
Malcolm Marshall