BEFORE I move into the discussion proper, it should be mentioned that though Guyana’s profile in the world has been elevated by a substantial oil find, Guyana still was not known by many countries in the world, the way many small nations are, like Jamaica for example.

In countries where cricket is craved for such as India, Pakistan and Australia, Guyana is still not that known and former High Commissioner to India from Guyana, Charrandass Persaud explained why. I asked him in his last appearance on the Gildarie-Freddie Kissoon Show how well is Guyana known in India. He said it is hardly known.

So, I ask him that in a cricket-mad country such as India would they not know Guyana because Shimron Hetmyer is an explosive player in the Indian Premier League. Charran says that the Indian population knows the cricketers from this part of the world as West Indian players but not sportsmen from the individual countries of CARICOM. He is absolutely right. If a West Indian cricket star explodes on the international scene, sports journalism in all the reports, without exception, describes him as West Indian and it does not and never carries the name tag of the individual country.

With Maduro’s threat to invade Guyana, the possibility of war in South America, the denunciation of Venezuela by all the important world leaders and the world media reporting on Maduro’s behaviour, I think it is a fact that Guyana’s profile has been further elevated around the world.
People who didn’t know who or what Guyana was, now know it because all over the world, there are reports about Maduro’s aggression against a county named Guyana.

Let’s move on to the scheduled meeting in the CARICOM region between our president and Maduro on Thursday, December 14. The traditional method in international relations is for leaders to meet to defuse tensions between their two countries, and history has shown that the dialogue is always at the initiative of a leader or a group of leaders who have good standing with both countries. It is called a win-win situation because nothing ventured, nothing gained. No one loses because there is nothing to lose by talking and there are all sorts of possibilities that can emerge that can lessen tensions.

In the case of the Ali-Maduro meeting, President Ali has shown political astuteness by asserting before the dialogue begins that he will not agree to the border issue being on the agenda.
President Ali will be carrying the sentiment of every local and diaspora Guyanese, the security forces, the opposition and the government that there is no border controversy that needs to be ironed out.

An international agreement accepted by the international community way back in 1899 settled the boundary line between the two countries. It is Venezuela that in the 1960s, said it wants to discuss the 1899 award. Guyana said if you want to do so then there is a mechanism for so doing; let the World Court examine your claim which we will dispute.

That is where the situation is at the moment. We know what the Guyana delegation will assert Wednesday in St. Vincent. Can we anticipate what the Venezuelans will put on the table? I think Maduro will ask for one thing and one thing only. Whether the referendum was valid or not, he will ask for a concession of land from Guyana and he will cite the referendum.

Guyana at the meeting cannot stop Maduro from putting anything on the table. At a meeting, the parties can advance any topic. What we are sure of is that anything Maduro requests which relates to a relook at the 1899 award cannot be accepted by Guyana because Guyana has committed itself to the World Court’s intervention.

Maduro has to know by now that Guyana will not approve of even a tiny reference to the border controversy at the meeting on Wednesday. He should show statesmanship by eschewing any mention of the topic. But Maduro can be expected to raise it because he is not in recognition of the codes of international diplomacy.

How it plays out, we will have to wait on Thursday to know. But what is certain is that the dialogue will fail if Maduro brings up land concession because Guyana will not accept even a momentary glance at the mention of the subject.
Present at the meeting will be one of the most loved and respected world leaders, President ‘Lula.’ Nothing is guaranteed in life but it is expected that President ‘Lula’ will bring pressure to bear on Maduro and tell him to respect international laws.