Dear Editor,
It was with pride that I read in the Stabroek News of August 8 that some of the brilliant political minds in the Guyanese community are voicing their opinion on the Venezuelan border issue.
In the international arena nothing is fair, and many countries with military might disadvantage the weak. With this in mind, we as Guyanese should be ever vigilant and not allow our concern to dissipate, thus giving the impression that we are not vigilant and passionate about our borders. We must unite in this cause, for it is imperative for our national survival.
It is the perception of indifference on the part of the Guyanese community that spurs Venezuela to always propose economic expansion plans which exclude our input as to the use of our land. We seem to be always reacting to what Venezuela has to say about our land. We would never be able to calculate the financial impact on Guyana’s economy of not being able to develop the land which Venezuela spuriously claims.
Now that some prominent political minds have voiced their opinion, the question must be, what is the position of the Guyanese government? The current silence on the Venezue-lan issue is somewhat deafening. It is not good enough to be mute, especially when our national existence is constantly being threatened. The Government of Guyana should not sit idly by, and believe that by not objecting, there will be a change in the Venezuelan conscience as it pertains to the border controversy.
The Government of Guyana seems satisfied with the largesse it obtains from Venezuela, not giving thought to the fact that we could have been providing our own benefits to the Guyanese nation. Any unilateral proposal relating to the use of someone else’s land, our Guyanese land, is clearly usurping our authority as an independent nation. The twelve-year moratorium that the PNC had agreed with Venezuela did not provide us with much cushion; it did not give us the time we thought we needed to spur our development, because Guyana’s development was, part and parcel, dependent on the Essequibo districts providing the economic impact the nation so clearly needed.
Today, should we as citizens of Guyana, expect our government to suddenly announce that the border controversy has been resolved; that the Venezuelan government has unilaterally renounced its claim to Essequibo? When would our government be proactive, and find a solution that favours our interest?
As Dr Kirton stated, “We have to look at Venezuela not only in the context of the traditional border line but from the perspective of its increasing petro-diplomacy and the potential impact of ALBA and Petrocaribe.” That may be in the proper context, but what I see is Venezuela being satisfied in keeping its neighbour’s potential tied up in the controversy for the long term, with the intent of permanently having that neighbour in an obsequious relationship, intensifying the dependency effect. It will distribute some oil to the needy, but we could have found oil in the area that Venezuela wrongly claims to call its own, and would gladly pilfer.
We Guyanese should not lose sight of the fact that we are better served when we control our own sense of direction. Our economic position, or lack thereof, has caused us to become a migratory people. We are now seeking refuge in shores that are smaller, less economically viable with far less potential for growth and development. For a small nation, our people are now scattered worldwide, and it could be attributable to the lack of development caused by Venezuela as a consequence of its consistent but erroneous claim to our most fertile land. If we are to reverse this migratory trend we must make the effort to alleviate the current situation, where we have become dependent on the very nation that attempts to keep us in economic bondage.
Those of us that see no threat from Venezuela should consider their claim to part of the twin island nation of Trinidad. That raises the question of whether Venezuela has an expansionary ambition and where would it end?
Allowing an humongous pipeline to snake its way through the length and breadth of Guyana, is not in our best interest both economically and in other ways, and could become an albatross that we would like to remove, if and when, we develop our own hydrocarbon industry.
Yours faithfully,
Patrick Barker
