Dear Editor,
Your recent online editions alluded to statements of concern from both the Caricom and Commonwealth Secretariats over Venezuela’s pending referendum on the Essequibo. These are but customary diplomatic verbiage to please and placate both friend and foe. One assumes that there are ongoing discussions behind the scenes regarding much more concrete and meaningful actions of support for Guyana’s cause. Indeed, the provisional measures being sought from the ICJ are a normal and necessary step even if it turns out to eventually be a toothless one.
What about the concerns from our Chinese and Russian “friends.” We do not see reports on those. But will we when China marched into Tibet in 1950 despite global concerns, and is now threatening military action against Taiwan, has a territorial claim with Bhutan, has included the State of Arunachal Pradesh of India in a newly drawn map of China and attempts to control the South China Sea. Russia, on the other hand, is currently pillaging and plundering Ukraine in a war over which many have expressed concern. The ICJ, on March 16, 2022, had indicated among its provisional measures that “the Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations it began on February 24, 2022, in the territory of Ukraine”. Its invasion, though stalled, is still in progress.
What about the US? It was the one who got us here in the first instance. Using the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, previous US Administrations egged on by influence peddling and global political ambitions in the Western Hemisphere pressured Great Britain to submit the issue to arbitration which came out in Guyana’s favour.
Guyana’s oil wealth has now catapulted it into the greedy clutches of many and well into the sphere of global political and economic positioning whether it likes it or not. We are not mere pawns at the sacrificial altar for those whose interests do not at present intertwine with ours. ExxonMobil, I dare to posit, does not care who owns the land once it is allowed to come in and reap the rewards.
While there may be sympathy over the sorry plight of Venezuelans under the Maduro regime and their need for better living conditions, we should stay our welcoming hand to those who illegally reach our shores. Their numbers down the years could well add up and be the pretext for an invasion (and occupation) answering a call for help by suffering countrymen under a Guyanese regime.
When the referendum is passed as it will be, the next stage is occupation. Deep concerns will be of no help to Guyana then. We must be prepared for all the negative and sanguinary implications of a deepening conflict that will ensue as a result of the proposed referendum.
Sincerely,
R. N. Mungol
