‘Guyana on the right side of int’l law’ – Todd opens Extraordinary Parliamentary sitting as political unity on full show
Political unity on Guyana’s rejection of Venezuela’s claim to the Essequibo region was on full display Monday morning when an Extraordinary Sitting of the National Assembly got underway at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre at Liliendaal, Georgetown.
And Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd, who started the day’s presentations, made it clear that Guyana is firmly adhering to international law.
“We are here this morning as a nation united to show the world that we are on the right side of international law,” the Foreign Affairs Minister said.
And he later added, “In every phase of our history, Venezuela has always been on the wrong side of international law.”
Throughout his presentation, Minster Todd provided what he described as a “history lesson on Venezuelan expansionism” detailing how Venezuela has been trying to negate the 1899 Arbitral Award that both countries participated in and that clearly defined the boundaries between the two countries.
According to him, Venezuela already secured land four times the size of Guyana but now has its eyes set on Guyana’s land.
Now, he believes that Venezuela is threatening the peace and security of the Latin America and Caribbean region, a region that has traditionally been a zone of peace.
“It is unbelievable and inconceivable that Venezuela would want to try fool the rest of the world that it has legitimate right to Guyana’s territory
“This will not stand, we live in a world where international law stands,” Minister Todd said further.
The Foreign Minister moved a motion denouncing Venezuela’s “provocative and unlawful” referendum wherein the Nicolas Maduro government will seek the support of citizens in continuation of its claim of Guyana’s Essequibo region. Guyana views the move as an affront to the ongoing juridical process currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The lawmakers gathered for this Extraordinary Sitting of the National Assembly to denounce Venezuela actions and clearly demonstrate the political unity on the border controversy. They were joined by members of the diplomatic corps, President’s College students and other stakeholders.
And that political unity was quite evident as usual heckling from opposing sides of the House was replaced by sounds of agreement and affirmations including “Essequibo is we own” and “Not a blade of grass.”
Some Opposition Members of Parliament also held up Golden Arrowheads, Guyana’s national flag, as Minister Todd spoke.
And Minister Todd firmly reiterated Guyana’s position; that is, the ICJ is the place where the controversy will be settled once and for all.
“Venezuela has always been defiant… it has displayed to its own citizens and the rest of the world that she is not committed to any legal process but this must end.
“The ICJ will end Venezuela’s (tyrannical) and unlawful behaviour,” he said.
The Guyana government has condemned what it sees as Venezuela’s expansionist ambitions and said the border controversy should be resolved in court as the case is before the International Court of Justice as dictated by the United Nations Secretary General as the means to settle the controversy.
Guyana has since approached the ICJ, seeking an injunction to prevent Venezuela from taking action through its provocative referendum over Guyana’s territory – Essequibo.
The borders of Guyana and Venezuela were determined by an arbitral tribunal on October 3, 1899, and Venezuela inherited 13,000 square kilometres of Guyana’s territory (then under British rule).
The ICJ already found that it has the jurisdiction to hear the border controversy case and Guyana believes it will get a favourable ruling.
“We are sure that the ICJ will prevail and the world will stand with Guyana and the people of Guyana,” Todd said on Monday.
Minister Todd and other Government Ministers have to be careful about reciting Venezuela’s claims and incursions into Guyana’s clearly administered and legally occupied territory because:
1. It can expose Guyana’s lack of exclusive control and policing of areas that it must control and oversee;
2. It can add up to years of Venezuela’s claims and counter claims to territory and reduce the strength of Guyana’s continuous and unbroken display of effective sovereignty should the 1899 title based on a 1907 treaty lose its sway and Guyana has to resort to show its control, occupation and exclusive jurisdiction and control option (Island of Palmas principles)both of which it possess at present..
It is now patently clear that Venezuela will not accept and adhere to the future ICJ ruling and judgment because it will not participate in the substantive hearings and may adopt a unilateral use of force intervention in and annexation of the Essequibo Region as it proposes to do if its Consultative Referendum is passed by the Venezuela legislature.
The ICJ will not bring an end to Venezuelan use of aggression and violence in its relations with Guyana post ICJ and this tenuous weak expectation must not be fed to the Guyanese people as it may not happen given Venezuela’s sabre-rattling, domestic support and internal political mobilisation mechanism that its is first and foremost in Caracas
The inclusion of secondary students and the Diplomatic Corps was strategic move at the Arthur Chung hall on both domestic and foreign considerations.
Guyana has to very careful in its public utterances to ensure that it is not selling guns to the Venees because Foreign Minster Todd speaks for the country on foreign policy. It cannot raise unfulfilling expectations to the people of Guyana because the ICJ will not serve as the legal panacea to the ills that bedevil and mar Guyana-Venezuelan relations for the rest of the century.