President Irfaan Ali yesterday told the nation that bilateral relations with Venezuela remain on hold until such time as it desists from aggression and immediately releases the fishing vessels and crew members currently detained.
“We are committed to bilateral discussions of matters of joint concern such as COVID-19 and Venezuelan migration to Guyana but….these discussions must be preceded by a commitment from Venezuela to desist from aggression and release immediately the vessels and crew,” Ali said during a public briefing on the matter.
The pronouncement is a direct response to an offer made by United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres to play a “good offices” role between Venezuela and Guyana on issues other than the border controversy.
Ali announced during his address that the SG wrote to him on Friday and reaffirmed that on January 30th, 2018 he chose the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as the means “to be used for the solution of the controversy” as he was empowered to do under an agreement signed in Geneva by all parties in 1966.
The Secretary-General acknowledged that the Court is proceeding to adjudicate the merits of the case and noting that the bilateral relationship between Guyana and Venezuela “is broader than the controversy” offered his good offices should both the Governments of Guyana and Venezuela wish to avail themselves of his role “to address other important issues”.
“Guyana is not averse to engaging Venezuela on bilateral matters in which we have a common interest…however, such discussions while welcomed, especially if the UN Secretary-General wishes to play a good offices role, will have to be preceded by a clear demonstration by Venezuela that it will desist from any further acts of aggression against Guyana, starting with the release of the Guyanese fishermen and their vessels,” Ali indicated.
Flagrant
Ali stressed that the incursion by Venezuelan armed forces into Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and its recent arrest and detention of the crews of Guyanese fishing boats is a flagrant violation of international law and the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of Guyana over its maritime spaces.
This flagrant violation according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd is why several states and multilateral organizations have issued statements condemning the action.
“We live in a rules based international system…when the rules are broken there is condemnation and this is what Venezuela is facing…it is not that these countries are taking Guyana’s side,” he explained at the briefing that Ali held.
Ali too reminded that the actions of Venezuela have been so egregious that they drew condemnation from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organization of American States (OAS) which emphasized that the resolution of the issue between Venezuela and Guyana “is a matter that lies under international jurisdiction, and cannot be settled by unilateral actions.”
“We have friends. We are not alone. We have the international community behind us,” the Head of State pronounced while he reminded that the Organization of 33 countries was clear that “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”.
The decree in question was issued on January 7 and purports to establish a new maritime territory of Venezuela called the “Territory for the development of the Atlantic Façade” which claimed, for Venezuela, “sovereignty and exclusive sovereign rights in the waters and seabed adjacent to Guyana’s coast, west of the Essequibo River”.
Following this decree the navy vessels and other Venezuelan assets had illegally patrolled Guyana’s maritime space.
Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Godfrey Bess announced at the briefing that the Venezuelan Navy has been “intermittently” moving in Guyana’s EEZ since January 14, 2021 navigating approximately 60 nautical miles east of the median line and approximately 25 nautical miles from the coast of Guyana.
According to Brigadier Bess the Venezuelan military was last seen in Guyanese waters on January 27, 2021. The GDF he said was also conducting patrols to ensure that “our presence is felt”.
“We continue to log their operations and inform the Foreign Ministry of their operations… We continue to work with regional partners and monitor our sea space including by air and have recently met with mariners and will continue to share information with those using our sea space,” Bess indicated.
The fact that Maduro’s declaration closely followed a ruling by the ICJ that it has jurisdiction to adjudicate the validity of the 1899 arbitral award has led to speculation that the decree was an attempt to derail that legal process.
Ali said yesterday that there will be no such derailment as Guyana remains committed to the process pursued on the recommendation of the Secretary General of the United Nations.
“We believe international law and independent international jurists of the highest calibre offer the most credible and definitive way in which to put an end to the Venezuelan contention,” he said.
Advisor on Borders Carl Greenidge reminded that the case management with the ICJ has been rescheduled to February 25 to accommodate a request from Venezuela.
“We have to wait to see what they (Venezuela) will say especially since they have gone to the extent of asking the Court to disturb its own arrangements for a procedural exercise. If they participate they will have to justify why they have failed to adhere to a treaty they signed,” he stressed.
