–Nandlall warns against ‘fabricated narratives’ undermining Guyana’s sovereignty; calls out Kaieteur News
ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., has voiced deep concern over what he termed as “fabricated narratives” coming from a local media outlet surrounding the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela.

During his programme “Issues in the News,” on Tuesday, Nandlall specifically pointed out the role of certain media outlets, such as Kaieteur News, in perpetuating these narratives, which are being exploited by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to undermine Guyana’s sovereignty.

Nandlall’s remarks stem from recent developments in Venezuela, where lawmakers aligned with President Maduro have approved the creation of a new state in Guyana’s resource-rich Essequibo region.
Despite ongoing proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Venezuela has persisted in asserting its claims to Guyana’s territory, even citing a controversial 2023 December referendum as so-called justification.

As Venezuela files its counter-memorial to the ICJ, Nandlall underscored the importance of countering distorted narratives propagated by Venezuela, particularly those that falsely implicate Guyana’s government and its relationship with oil companies like ExxonMobil.

“This tendency which continues to preponderate that is to say the creation and peddling of a fabricated narrative that the government is in bed with the oil companies is unpatriotic and anti-national,” Nandlall said, as he highlighted the detrimental impact of such narratives.

The Attorney-General highlighted how President Maduro has utilised these narratives to bolster his own agenda, citing instances where Maduro presented articles from Kaieteur News during a meeting as evidence of Guyana’s alleged collusion with oil companies and the United States.

Referring to a meeting between Presidents Ali and Maduro in December 2023 in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Nandlall recounted how Maduro leveraged public statements critical of ExxonMobil’s operations in Guyana to support his claims.

“President Maduro had volumes of these very articles and he was referring to them repeatedly in support of his contention that Guyana is selling out to the Americans and selling out to the oil companies, and that the government is selling out, and that he has articles from Guyanese newspaper that say that, not Venezuelan newspaper.

“He was throwing that in our faces, to say “look, your own people are saying that you are selling out, not Venezuelans. And we intend to take what is ours before you sell it out,”” Nandlall said.

Nandlall reiterated the importance of refraining from spreading “baseless” contentions and allegations in the press, warning that such actions provide ammunition for external forces seeking to exploit divisions and encroach upon Guyana’s sovereignty.
“So, every time these narratives appear, as fabricated as they are, they are being compiled by our enemies to be used against us,” Nandlall said.

He clarified his stance, asserting: “I am not trying to stifle freedom of expression. I am just adverting your attention to the fact that… there is a grouping out there who wants to invade our country and they are building a case to do so. And they are using this kind of materials that you are peddling.”

Nandlall underscored his duty, both as a citizen and as Attorney-General, to address these issues and protect Guyana’s interests.
He also touched on the misrepresentations about Guyana’s oil and gas industry, particularly those reported by Kaieteur News.
One of the sore issues was ExxonMobil’s Guyana subsidiary to provide an unlimited liability parent guarantee for its operations in the Stabroek Block.

MISCONCEPTION AND MISUNDERSTANDING
“That is the kind of misconception and misunderstanding that has been pushed in certain quarters of the press, and when the government seeks to clarify it, when the government seeks to dispel this dilution of misinformation, the government is accused of being in bed with the oil companies,” Nandlall said.

The Attorney-General warned that that the misinformation is being peddled by critics of the government, in a move to silence local authorities.
“So, we must say nothing and allow this misinformation. This propaganda is a baseless narrative, to permeate and perpetuate and we must stay silent. Because if we dare see anything, it is misinterpreted and then misconceived as defending the oil company.

“That is not freedom of the press. That is an abuse of freedom of the press. And when the government tries to get involved, the government is shut out and when the government appeals the government becomes the bad Big Bad Wolf,” Nandlall said.
The Attorney-General reaffirmed the government’s stance in rejecting this false narrative that it is in bed with oil companies and acting in collusion with them.

“That is a complete and utter falsehood. We are acting in the best interest of Guyana, the sector and the people of our country, but except for that privileged few who are working every day to shut the sector down,” he said.
The genesis of the border controversy goes back to the 1899 Arbitral Award, a landmark decision that delineated the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.

Despite the historic arbitration, tensions have persisted, with Venezuela repeatedly challenging the validity of the award.
In 2018, Guyana took a decisive step by approaching the ICJ seeking affirmation of the award’s legitimacy.
Venezuela initially claimed that the ICJ lacked jurisdiction, a contention flatly rejected by the World Court in a crucial ruling in December 2020. The door was thus opened for the ICJ to delve into the merits of the substantive case.