In his address to the nation before midnight when Guyana would officially celebrate its 54th Republic Anniversary, President Dr. Irfaan Ali made it clear that Guyana will never surrender an inch of its territory.
The President, in a rousing address, also called on Guyanese to reject any threats that will interfere with the nation’s sovereignty.
The President gave his address at the Public Buildings, Brickdam, Georgetown. He was surrounded by members of government, members of the disciplined services, the diplomatic corps and other stakeholders.
And as he spoke, he reminded them that Guyana’s sovereignty was reinforced on February 23, 1970 when the nation became a Cooperative Republic. On that day, Guyana moved beyond being just a state that had four years prior become independent of British colonial rule.
As such, he posited that Guyana must continue to defend itself against any threats to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“A threat to our territorial integrity poses a direct threat to our sovereignty.
“Without total control of our territory, our sovereignty is compromised…We shall never surrender an inch of our territory,” the Guyanese Head of State said.
He did not explicitly mention Venezuela’s claims over Guyana’s Essequibo territory but the President’s comments come months after a serious escalation in the tensions between the two countries.
In the arbitral tribunal award of October 3rd, 1899, the borders of Guyana (then British Guiana) and Venezuela were settled, with Venezuela inheriting 13,000 square kilometres of what was then British Guiana territory – an area bigger than Jamaica or Lebanon.
Venezuela was bound under international law to respect that award, which it did for the subsequent six decades. Venezuela, however, at the onset of Guyana’s independence in 1966, resorted to various strategies and challenged the award. There has been a series of acts of aggression by Presidents of Venezuela against Guyana.
Last December, Venezuela pursued a referendum even though the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Venezuela must not take any action over Guyana’s Essequibo region.
President Nicolas Maduro issued a redrawn map of Venezuela that includes Guyana’s Essequibo region. He also ordered companies to leave Guyana and outlined plans for the development of oil and gas and mining activities in the Essequibo region.
Following regional and international intervention, Guyana and Venezuela engaged each other in December and they agreed to refrain from escalating the decades-old border controversy. Guyana is also pursuing its case before the ICJ where it is seeking a final, binding resolution that the Essequibo region is its own.
Meanwhile, the President also urged Guyanese to reject any attempts to drum up strife locally. According to him, the instigation of political strife poses an “impediment” to Guyana’s development. The country’s developmental path, he said, is one that will guarantee all Guyanese live prosperous lives in a matter of years.
