-Foreign Secretary, several gov’t ministers reiterate

REITERATING the stance that Guyanese should stay strong in the face of adversity, Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud has said that Guyana will not be bullied by Venezuela.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Persaud spoke on Venezuela’s referendum, which is seeking to annex Guyana’s Essequibo region and turn it into a Venezuelan state.

“Venezuela will have to determine whether they will deal with the consequences of its continued violation of international law and ethics,” he said, when asked about the Spanish-speaking country’s behaviour.

The Foreign Secretary also stressed that Guyanese should not fall for any false narratives which seek to drive fear into them.

“[Guyanese] should not be fearful. International law and the international community are fully behind us and we will not be bullied,” Persaud stated.

Meanwhile, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond and the Minister within the Ministry of Works, Deodat Indar, stood firmly in the defence of Guyana’s territorial integrity.

In separate videos which were posted to Facebook, they highlighted that the Nicolas Maduro administration through its referendum has sought to galvanise support to further their unfounded claim.

“We’ve taken immediate steps to address the Venezuelan aggression by engaging the International Court of Justice,” the government officials said, while adding that Guyana, unlike Venezuela, respects international law.

They then underscored that Guyana is committed to a peaceful resolution.

The ICJ last Friday granted Guyana provisional measures to prevent any action by Venezuela that could lead to the annexation of Guyana’s territory.

The decision was handed down by the President of the ICJ, Justice Joan E. Donoghue, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.

The court ordered that pending the decision of the substantive case, Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action that would modify the situation that currently prevails with the territory in dispute, whereby Guyana administers and exercises control over the Essequibo.

As an additional measure, the court also ordered that “both parties refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve.”

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has called on Venezuela to respect the ICJ’s order, which bars it from taking control of Guyana’s Essequibo region by any means, including the planned December 3 referendum.

“Venezuela cannot, by a referendum or otherwise, violate international law and disregard the Order of the world’s highest Court.

“CARICOM expects Venezuela to uphold the ICJ’s Order of 1 December, 2023. It also insists that Venezuela complies with international law in all respects, and the Charter of the United Nations, and, in this connection, calls on it to take no actions in violation of them,” CARICOM said in a statement.

Moreover, the Commonwealth has offered its “full support” to Guyana in the wake of the ICJ ruling granting Guyana provisional measures regarding the Bolivarian Republic’s planned December 3 referendum.