By Antonio Dey
President Irfaan Ali yesterday voiced confidence that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will rule in Guyana’s favour in relation to emergency measures it is seeking against Venezuela’s controversial December 3rd referendum on Essequibo which he said was akin to the crumbling of the law.
The President spoke during a press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre amid concerns that unease had overtaken swathes of the country over the impending referendum and that the government had not been proactive in offering assurances.
The President said that Venezuela like any sovereign state has the right to consult its people on matters of national importance but that the referendum questions were beyond the pale.
“But what Venezuela has planned for December the 3rd is no ordinary consultation. What Venezuela seeks by way of this so-called referendum is a licence to not only break the law, but to crumble it to bits. A licence to violate and destroy Guyana’s fundamental right as a sovereign state”, he said.
He expressed confidence that the ICJ will rule in Guyana’s favour in relation to the precautionary measures sought.
“After the hearing of November 14 and 15 (at the ICJ in the Hague), Guyana is confident that the court has understood its petition and within a short time it will issue an order directing Venezuela not to take any actions for which it seeks the endorsement of its people on December 3rd. Guyana is confident that the court will order Venezuela not to take any action that violates or interferes with its rights to, and in the Essequibo region during the remainder of this case. Until the court has ruled on the legal validity of the 1899 arbitral award and Guyana’s eternal rights to this territory.
“We neither expect nor need the court to stop Venezuela from holding this referendum. What we expect and need is an order from the court preventing Venezuela from carrying out any of the hostile actions that might be endorsed by that referendum. Or any other action that interferes with Guyana’s sovereign rights. Such orders issued by the court are binding on the parties. Under the UN Charter all states are solemnly bound to comply with the court’s order which could be enforced by the UN Security Council. We expect Venezuela’s compliance with whatever the court orders. We do not expect that Venezuela would put itself in outright defiance of the court or in flagrant breach of its international obligations”, the President said.
“We expect Venezuela, to fully accept the ICJ’s court orders and Guyana renews it call for Venezuela under the 1966 Geneva agreement to participate fully in these court proceedings and to comply with the court’s final judgment, whatever it may be.
“We remain hopeful that good sense and the adherence to the rule of law will prevail”, Ali said.
He noted that while the Venezuelan government has assured that it has no intention of engaging in warfare, the neighbouring country is still forging ahead with its referendum.
On November 15, Venezuela, responding to Guyana’s arguments the day before at the ICJ, declared that absolutely nothing, not even the Court can prevent its referendum planned for December 3rd, as it maintained the position that the county of Essequibo belongs to it, and it is prepared to fully defend its sovereignty.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, informed the 14-member panel of justices that her country’s participation in the hearing by way of submissions, ought not to be interpreted as recognition of the jurisdiction of the Court to hear the controversy.
She told the Netherlands-based World Court at the Hague that it has a right to hold its referendum.
Existential threat
Guyana has described the planned referendum as an “existential threat” to its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and in its recent submissions before the ICJ it noted that Caracas was seeking to evade the jurisdiction of the Court and its acts of aggression are intended to lay the path for annexation.
President Ali said yesterday that while Venezuela is undoubtedly going ahead with its referendum, the country at no point should infringe upon Guyana’s territorial integrity.
In response to a Sunday Stabroek question, on Guyana’s preparedness, if Venezuela decides to escalate the situation, the Head of State, while hopeful for the two sides to amicably settle the matter, said that contingency plans are in place if Caracas violates the ICJ’s ruling, or does anything to cause chaos or disturbance in the region.
“Guyanese must know that the government is doing all it can to favourably resolve the border controversy with Venezuela and protect the country from any future aggressions…
“We are in robust engagements around the world, all our partners at the diplomatic level are aware of the situation, and we have even engaged our military partners”, Ali said.
The President said that amid the disinformation and misinformation being peddled in relation to the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy, the government will shortly embark on an education and awareness strategy or campaign on this sensitive subject.
He advised that citizens solely rely on official channels of communication from the government and trust that the information disseminated is of exceptional standard.
The Head of State urged citizens not to contribute nor engage in the incitement of fear and trepidation in face of these circumstances.
“Our citizens deserve to be informed and sensitized about what is happening, however they should not be fear driven or engaged in sensationalism, there are a lot of doctored tapes or videos being shared lately concerning the border issue, and I urge them to not be carried away or to get themselves involved”, Ali admonished.
He acknowledged that a robust communications strategy is needed to address citizen’s concerns through factual information and the government will be collaborating with members of the local media corps to initiate the education and awareness strategy.
Asked whether Guyana would be seeking military support from the United States and its other strategic partners in countering any Venezuelan military aggression, the President said that he did not expect Venezuela to act in a reckless manner.
“Well, first of all, with the work we are doing we believe that Venezuela would not act in a reckless way. However, if they do act in a reckless way we have already… engaged our strategic partners. We have engaged the Chief of Staff and the senior commanders are continuously engaged with partners across the region and of course extra-regionally and we are assured we are assured that Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty will not, will not see our development partners standing aside and allowing anyone to take advantage of us. Outside of that we are sparing no effort in ensuring that we continue to enhance and strengthen our capability”, he said.
About whether there are concerns about the Venezuelan military being part of the current group of migrants here.
The President said that the possibility of that is a concern but that there was a very robust system of monitoring those who are entering. He said that only yesterday, one person of interest was sequestered after being found with a radio set. The person is believed to be part of a community policing group on the Venezuelan side and questions will be asked.
“I am confident of the type of work we are doing”, he said.
The President was asked about the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley appearing to suggest that both Guyana and Venezuela had to tamp down tensions when it was really Caracas which had been engaged in hostile behaviour.
Ali said that Mottley and all CARICOM Leaders are supportive of Guyana in the current situation.
According to him, the Barbadian PM and other regional/international counterparts have denounced Venezuela’s actions and are calling on the country to abide with international laws and the World Court’s orders.
President Ali said while he remains open to discussing shared issues with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro beyond the border controversy, he will not re-engage Venezuela on the border controversy since the matter is before the ICJ.
Background
Venezuela began issuing threats to Guyana last month despite the fact that the two countries are before the ICJ on the question of the validity of the 1899 arbitral award which settled the boundaries between the two countries.
On September 18, Caracas denounced the award of offshore exploration blocks in Guyana’s waters.
On September 19, responding to the Venezuelan statement, President Ali said: “The Government of Guyana reserves the right to pursue economic development activities in any portion of its sovereign territory or any appurtenant maritime territories. Any unilateral attempt by Venezuela to restrict the exercise by Guyana of its sovereignty and sovereign rights will be wholly inconsistent with the Geneva Agreement and the rule of international law”.
Guyana then sought the urgent protection of the World Court, by filing with it a Request for Provisional Measures.
In that Request, Guyana seeks from the Court an Order preventing Venezuela from taking any action to seize, acquire or encroach upon, or assert or exercise sovereignty over, the Essequibo Region or any other part of Guyana’s national territory, pending the Court’s final determination of the validity of the Arbitral Award that established the land boundary between our two States, and the final and binding nature of that boundary.
Guyana said it has no doubt of the validity of that Arbitral Award and the land boundary, which Venezuela accepted and recognized as the international boundary for more than 60 years.
On October 30th, Guyana requested the Court to indicate the following provisional measures:
“1. Venezuela shall not proceed with the Consultative Referendum planned for 3 December 2023 in its present form;
2. In particular, Venezuela shall not include the First, Third or Fifth questions in the Consultative Referendum;
3. Nor shall Venezuela include within the ‘Consultative Referendum’ planned, or any other public referendum, any question encroaching upon the legal issues to be determined by the Court in its Judgment on the Merits, including (but not limited to):
a. the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Award;
b. sovereignty over the territory between the Essequibo River, and the boundary established by the 1899 Award and the 1905 Agreement; and
c. the purported creation of the State of ‘Guayana Esequiba’ and any associated measures, including the granting of Venezuelan citizenship and national identity cards.
The five questions being asked at the Venezuelan referendum were:
Do you agree to reject by all means in accordance with the law the line fraudulently imposed by the Paris Arbitration Award of 1899 that seeks to deprive us of our Guayana Esequiba?
Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana regarding the controversy over the territory of Guayana Esequiba?
Do you agree with Venezuela’s historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial controversy over Guayana Esequiba?
Do you agree to oppose by all means in accordance with the law Guyana’s claim to unilaterally dispose of a sea pending delimitation illegally and in violation of international law?
Do you agree with the creation of the Guayana Esequiba state and the development of an accelerated plan for the comprehensive care of the current and future population of that territory that includes, among others, the granting of citizenship and Venezuelan identity card in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and international law, consequently incorporating said state on the map of Venezuelan territory?
