Dear Editor,

AS we enter into an election year when every Guyanese of voting age who has been properly registered to vote, is expected to go to the polls on election day and cast his or her vote in favour of the political party of their choice to govern our country, we need to be particularly alert to the fact that our country continues to be under external threat.

None of the major established political parties, nor, for that matter, the minor parties, have, as yet, presented their manifestos setting out their policies and programmes for the governance of our country, but, already, each is busy finding fault of the other and, as is always the case, those parties in the opposition quickly target the government on their performance or failure to deliver on their promises to the electorate.

The very nature of this contest for political power is, therefore, divisive, albeit expected to be conducted under the rule of law and the rules and regulations under the Constitution for administering the Regional and General Elections.

Our country, as a result, becomes significantly vulnerable at the time of elections if threatened externally and that is very much the case for Guyana.

So, as we enter into an election year, let us all be conscious of the fact that the security of our country continues to be threatened from outside, demanding that we remain united against that threat even while we are divided on the choice of which political party should govern us.

On February 5, the Venezuelan Newspaper, El Nacional, reported extensively that “the government of Nicolas Maduro described the Essequibo region as an area of the highest strategic importance, insisting that the Venezuelan authority will be elected for the first time in this area during the regional elections on April 27”. That is Venezuela’s Regional Elections.

“You know that for the first time, we will elect a governor for our Guyana Essequiba. This is a territory of the highest strategic level for us, the highest strategic level,” according to Venezuela’s Minister of Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, broadcast on the Venezuelan’s State television channel VTV. Cabello happens to be the First Vice President of the United Socialist Party (PSUV).

The day before Cabello’s pronouncement, Maduro himself confirmed, in his words, that the “first governor of Guyana Essequiba” will be elected.

Lest anyone in Guyana believes that the Venezuelan regime’s determination, under Maduro, to take possession of the Essequibo region of our country has somehow lessened, then they must think again.

On the other side of our country bordering Suriname, during an International Business Conference held in Paramaribo hosted by the Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce and organized by Action Invest Caribbean Incorporated (AICI), under the leadership of Mr. Vishnu Doerga, a map depicting the New River Triangle area of Guyana as part of Suriname was presented by a Surinamese Minister, unfortunately, without protest from the Guyanese present
at the time.

This incident has prompted a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation reminding that “the New River Triangle is situated at the tri-junction of Guyana, Suriname and Brazil. The territory is firmly part of Guyana’s sovereign territory, as established by a legally binding process and international agreements from 1936. That agreement involving Great Britain, Brazil, and the Netherlands, set the boundary between British Guiana (now Guyana) and Suriname, defining the New River Triangle as part of Guyana”. The Ministry’s statement went on to point out that the internationally recognised map of Guyana includes the New River Triangle as part of Guyana.

Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, immediately reminded us on his Facebook page that “every Guyanese, particularly those in leadership positions, must be unwavering in their understanding of the nation’s territorial limits.”

It is particularly heartening that the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and the Private Sector Commission of Guyana (PSC) have all condemned this incident as a direct affront to Guyana’s sovereignty.

The Private Sector Commission expressed “its profound concern and disappointment” at the incident, condemned and disassociated itself from “this significant lapse in national responsibility by those Guyanese present” for not having protested immediately at the time and have called upon Mr. Vishnu Doerga “to issue an apology to the Government and people of Guyana for permitting this offensive incident to occur without raising any objection or taking appropriate action.”

Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amanza Walton-Desir of the People’s National Congress, has also condemned the incident, though unfairly criticising Guyana’s diplomatic efforts in Suriname in this regard.

All of this brings us back to the central point of my letter, and, that is, as a nation and as a people, especially as we will be contesting a divisive election this year, we have to be able to rise above and reach beyond our internal political differences at any and all times, to reject with one collective voice, any and all external threats to our sovereignty.

Yours sincerely,
Kit Nascimento