The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, on Thursday, condemned the attempts by the Opposition to politicize the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy.

According to Dr. Jagdeo, when all should be united because of the threats Guyana has been receiving from Venezuela, statements emanating from the Leader of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton and Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, can be seen as “dangerous” and a threat to Guyana’s national security and well-being.

The General Secretary of the PPP made these remarks during a press conference at Freedom House, where he publicly criticized Norton and Ramjattan for spreading falsehoods.
According to him, although it is common knowledge that the Opposition distorts various situations to align with their political agenda, their recent press conference could have yielded adverse consequences owing to the sensitivity of the topic.

Dr. Jagdeo said: “…This was, as usual, a press conference lined with half-truths, a lot of fabrications, conjectures [and] lies… we’ve grown accustomed [to] that coming out of Congress Place,” adding that the manner in which APNU+AFC handled the topic could have been misinterpreted by many.
Earlier this week, the Opposition put forth a series of allegations. In response to this, Dr. Jagdeo blasted AFC Leader and former Public Security Minister Ramjattan for his claims, and asserted that given his actions during his tenure, he was in no place to accuse anyone.

Moreover, the PPP General Secretary refuted accusations that he once remarked that Guyana should make concessions to Venezuela.
He firmly remarked: “No time in our history has any government moved away from our position that there has been a final solution to our borders with Venezuela based on the arbitration that took place in 1899 and the demarcation of our boundaries in 1905.”
He noted: “No government in independent Guyana has ever changed that position or has suggested anywhere, locally or internationally; that we have a different view on that matter and that matter is before the ICJ.”

Amid social media reports of the mobilisation of increased personnel and execution of military exercises by Venezuelan troops in close vicinity to Guyana’s borders, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that the country remains ‘on guard’ and has shared the increased military activities by Venezuela taking place on its border with the Caribbean Community (CARlCOM) and other international partners.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, the ministry said: The Government wishes to advise that every piece of information is taken seriously and is being examined in detail. The Guyana Defence Force has also been reviewing these reports.”

According to the statement, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation requested an explanation of the Venezuelan Ambassador who claimed that the mobilisation of troops was geared towards curbing illegal mining operations.
Although the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has yet to deliver a decree on the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy, the Bolivarian Republic has continued its claim over the country’s territory.

In April of this year, the World Court ruled that the case Guyana brought before it seeking to affirm the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award settling the boundaries between it and Venezuela was admissible.

This meant that the court could move forward with hearing the substantive case on its merits, of whether the 1899 Arbitral Award settling the boundaries of the two countries is valid and binding.
|
Guyana is seeking a final and binding judgement 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.