–Greenidge to remain on the team

By Lisa Hamilton

MINISTER of Foreign Affairs, Hugh Todd said on Sunday that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) will continue to work with the APNU+AFC Opposition in the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy as the matter supersedes political disagreements.

Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle on the sidelines of an event at State House, the Foreign Affairs Minister said that Guyanese can look forward to still seeing the representation of the country’s Foreign Secretary, Carl Greenidge, along with members of the new government.

Greenidge is the Agent of Guyana in the case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In a photograph in June 2020, lauded by many, current Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, and the Foreign Secretary were seen virtually participating in the public hearing on the question of the Court’s jurisdiction in the case.

Minster Todd said that the interest in Guyana’s territorial sovereignty is shared by both the Government and Opposition which are committed to working towards resolving the issue created by the neighbouring country. He said that Greenidge had already briefed him on his role and the achievements thus far, efforts which the government is pleased with.

While some have labelled the government as having ill-intention to make agreements with Venezuela that could compromise Guyana’s territory, Todd said that such opinions are false and destructive.

“That’s a wild rumour. I don’t think that anyone will take a comment that the PPP/C wants to give away Guyana seriously,” he said. “We have a very competent team and we’re optimistic that we’ll have a solution that is consistent with international law and practice and we’re awaiting a decision. I believe we’re in a good position. We’ve always held that that matter was already resolved.”

Furthermore, in his address on August 8, at his inauguration ceremony, President Irfaan Ali said that it was the PPP/C Government that ended the interminable ‘good offices’ dialogue with Venezuela in 2014 because it had become, for Venezuela, a strategy of prolonging contention rather than of seeking solution.

Then, in his first year in office in 2015, former President Granger sought meetings with former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki-moon and, subsequently, current Secretary-General, António Guterres, to bring a favourable closure to the territorial issue. The former President was pleased that Guterres decided to refer the matter to the ICJ for a final ruling.

At his inauguration ceremony on Saturday, President Ali said: “…the PPP/C gave full support to the former administration when, as initiated by us, they submitted the Venezuela contention to the International Court of Justice. In doing so, as a united people, Guyanese went to the top of the mountain of peace. We shall not descend. The sovereignty of our State, the integrity of our territory – of both land and sea – is a sacred trust.”

On June 30, Guyana, in its virtual presentation in the Arbitral Award of October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) case said that, not only is Venezuela’s current interpretation of the Geneva Agreement illogical and erroneous, but it is in stark contrast to the interpretation the Spanish-speaking country had when it signed the very agreement in February, 1966.

Represented by a battery of international lawyers, Guyana said that the Agreement, in unambiguous terms, empowered the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General to determine an appropriate dispute resolution mechanism to enable a peaceful settlement, which is the ICJ.

Distinguished Guyanese Diplomat and Co-Agent, Sir Shridath Ramphal, in leading the arguments before the ICJ said the case was of significant importance to the people of Guyana, who are united in defence of their sovereignty and territorial integrity of their homeland.

Guyana is seeking to obtain a final and binding judgment that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the location of the land boundary between then British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid, and that the Essequibo region belongs to Guyana, and not Venezuela.