EARLIER this week, Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall had cause to advise some Guyanese against taking to social media to share their misrepresented and ill-informed views about the Guyana-Venezuela controversy.

In addition to sounding this warning, he shared that the Venezuelan President has been compiling and using the thoughts posted on social media to distort the facts about the controversy.

We would all agree that Venezuela is fighting a losing battle, and so, any opportunity to twist the story and distort the facts, even based on the utterances of a tiny fraction of population, will be taken without hesitation. President Nicolás Maduro himself is fighting to hold on to power, and this is probably his last and perhaps most desperate move ahead of the 2024 elections.

Nandlall, an esteemed lawyer with a wealth of experience at all levels of the court system, has witnessed firsthand how words and thoughts could be misconstrued to create the “ideal narrative”.

While Guyana’s Constitution guarantees free speech, it ought to be an abomination for persons to engage in public commentary that is not only irresponsible but reckless.

Persons who engage in practices that are detrimental to the peace and security of Guyana should be publicly exposed; they must not be allowed to divide the population for their own personal gain.

The AG made his thoughts known in response to critical commentaries following the meeting between Presidents Dr. Irfaan Ali and Maduro last Thursday at the Argyle International Airport in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Hours of talks resulted in what is now known as the ‘Argyle Declaration’, an 11-point agreement which addresses matters consequential to the border controversy.

Throughout that meeting, Guyana firmly stated that the Essequibo region remains part of its territory, and the controversy is rightly engaging the attention of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Although the meeting was deemed a success, a few with little knowledge of how diplomacy works, and the importance of engaging in these types of situations, saw it fit to air their views on social media. There was no constructive criticism. Instead, President Ali and his government were bashed for acting in the best interest of Guyana and all Guyanese.

Further, the comments were nothing but speculation, and came across as sinister, with a view to creating problems domestically.
Sadly, some of the negative and ill-informed comments were made by Guyanese who live outside of these shores, and have never contributed to the development of this country, and, most likely, never will.

Nandlall, who was clearly pleading with Guyanese to be careful with what they say, highlighted the potential repercussions of irresponsible public statements on Guyana’s position in the controversy. He said that he only wanted to make a public pronouncement, because he wants people to understand that their public impressions can be injurious to Guyana’s interest.
Only time will tell whether they will heed this warning. Until this controversy is resolved, definitively, Guyanese at home and abroad must remain unified. We must uphold our motto: One People, One Nation, One Destiny.