The Organisation of American States (OAS) yesterday condemned the seizure of two fishing vessels with their crew last week by Venezuela from Guyana’s waters and called for their immediate release, even as this country rebuked the Opposition-led Juan Guaidó’s support for the action of the Nicolas Maduro government.
“The General Secretariat demands that the Guyanese citizens are released promptly and safely to Guyanese authorities, as well as the two detained vessels,” the OAS yesterday said in a statement, following a meeting of its Permanent Council in Washington on the COVID-19 pandemic in the region and developments relating to the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy.
“Moreover, the General Secretariat reiterates its support for the rules and processes set by international law regarding ongoing territorial conflicts. The resolution of the territorial [controversy] between Vene-zuela and Guyana is a matter that lies under international jurisdiction, and cannot be settled by unilateral actions. Any attempt to derail this international legal process, such as the decree issued by the Maduro regime, is contrary to international law and standards, and has no legal bearing or significance,” it added.
At yesterday’s meeting, while he condemned the Nicolas Maduro-led government and said it was usurping political power, the opposition Juan Guaidó’s special representative to the OAS, Gustavo Tarre Briceño sought to defend the Venezuelan Navy’s interception of the Guyanese-registered vessels, ‘Lady Nayera’ and ‘Sea Wolf’, with their 12 crew members on 21st January.
“The actions taken by the usurper Maduro, giving rise to this discussion, I don’t think that anyone, despite that, would deny a country’s legitimate exercise of its sovereignty, as long as it doesn’t affect other states, that we should recognise, under international law, Venezuela’s right to protect its communal territory for the maritime region,” he declared.
Briceño said that when United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres made a decision to refer the controversy to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), he should have sought agreement from both countries after mediation and reconciliation.
“All parties should offer their prior consent before such a case is taken up by the ICJ. Now, this has been reiterated on a number of occasions. It cannot be acceptable that only one party brings a case such as this to a body; that’s why no government of Venezuela can recognise the ruling of the court or the jurisdiction of the court to solve this border or any border territorial matters so despite that Venezuela has sound arguments … to make its case,” he said.
The Guaidó representative continued that he did not feel an ICJ decision was “practical” and that other means should be used to come to an amicable solution between the two countries.
His address to the body saw swift objection from Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the OAS, Ambassador Dr Riyad Insanally, who expressed astonishment and rejected Briceño’s position calling it offensive while pointing to his “distortion of the facts.”
“Mr. Tarre seems to be taking the side of the bellicose Maduro regime, implying the same threats to our territory and maritime area to which we are being subjected by Caracas. This attitude is more than ironic. It is absolutely misplaced and downright offensive.” Insanally said as he flayed Briceño.
According to Insanally, Venezuela’s opposition representative “does not speak for a sovereign state” and he was perplexed as to “what basis” he spoke.
Given that the ICJ is the highest World Court for such matters, Insanally asked “What more peaceful and legally binding means of settlement can there be, apart from recourse to the Inter-national Court of Justice, the highest and most respected global court that we have?”
Insanally emphasised that Guyana was confident that the 1899 arbitral award settling the boundary with Venezuela will be “upheld unequivocally.”
Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd would later echo the position of the Ambassador but added that the opposition representative’s position “was not unexpected.”
“It is a matter that we know that all of Venezuela is onboard; which includes the Maduro government and the opposition.”
Todd reiterated that Guyana continues to support the ICJ and will not be bullied by Venezuela into any other position.
Up to press time last evening, the Minister said that there had been no update from Guyana’s embassy in Caracas on when the crew and vessels will be released. Another update on that matter will be given sometime today, Todd informed.
The 12 men who were on board ‘Lady Nayera’ and the ‘Sea Wolf’ when they were intercepted by the Venezuelan Navy remain in custody pending an investigation into their activities.
Aboard the Lady Nayera are the captain, Richard Ramnarine and his crew; Ramlakan Kamal, Nick Raghubar, Javin Boston, Michael Domingo and Joel Joseph.
On the Sea Wolf are its captain, Toney Garraway and crewmen; Errol Gardiner, Orland Roberts, Christopher Shaw, Shervin O’Neil, and Randy Henry.
Following an appearance in a Venezuelan court, they are to remain in custody for 45 days while the authorities attempt to collect enough evidence to possibly lay charges.
Meanwhile, several countries expressed their support yesterday at the OAS for Guyana and are calling for a peaceful resolution to the controversy, even as they insist on the release of the vessels and their crews.
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Guatemala, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States, all called for a peaceful resolution to the controversy so as to avoid conflict in the region.
The US condemned the January 23rd seizure of the vessels and called for the immediate release of the vessels and crew.
Antigua and Barbuda said its government was concerned about the “heightened tensions” as it repudiated the seizure of the vessels and crews.
Panama went a bit further and took the position that not only should there be an immediate release, but that measures be taken now to ensure that the “health and well-being” of the crews are protected.
Belize reiterated a statement released on Tuesday. The release from the Belize Press Office states that country’s unequivocal support for Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the process underway before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to finally and peacefully resolve the controversy between the two countries.
According to the statement, the Belizean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration, Eamon Courtenay, met with Venezuelan Ambassador to Belize, Gerardo Argote on Sunday for an explanation of the incident. During that meeting Courtenay took the opportunity to condemn “this latest flagrant violation of Guyana’s sovereignty.”
Belize, which has a long-running territorial dispute with Guatemala, has urged Venezuela to respect international law and ensure a peaceful resolution of this incident.
Trinidad and Tobago earlier this week, as the current Chairman of CARICOM, brokered bilateral talks between Foreign Minister Todd and his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza. The Foreign Ministry here had said that Todd has secured a commitment from his Venezuelan counterpart for the early release of the 12 fishermen.
The interception of the two vessels comes amid rising tensions between the two countries following the ICJ decision on December 18 last year to assert jurisdiction following an application by Guyana for a juridical settlement of the longstanding border controversy with Venezuela.
Venezuela has since asked the ICJ twice for the case management meeting to be deferred and it was shifted from Monday, January 25 to February 26. The first deferral was from January 10 to January 25.
Guyana has said that while it holds firm to the view that Caracas has no sound ground for the deferrals given the meetings are only procedural, it will allow the court to do its job.
Since the ICJ decision, Caracas has engaged in a series of hostile actions including the issuing of a decree purporting to establish control over waters adjacent to Guyana’s Essequibo coast. This decree has been repudiated by Guyana.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs says that this country believes that Venezuela’s latest act of aggression is to avoid the current case before the ICJ and get Guyana to return to the UN Good Offices Process; an act this country refuses to do.
