While restating its support for a unified national position on the border controversy, the Alliance For Change (AFC) has said again that Venezuelan migrants should not be allowed to enter the country without a visa.
In a statement on Friday, the AFC said that it continues to be seriously concerned regarding the PPP/C Government’s handling of the influx of Venezuelans into Guyana’s territory “which poses a severe existential threat to all Guyana”.
It said that confirmed reports highlight a “recent unexplained and definite increase in Venezuelans arriving undocumented in boats”, jumping of out of buses after being taken into police custody while at the same time an aggressive international campaign is in motion by Caracas. It said that the Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez’s very “vocal pronouncements have informed us of their deliberate strategy to annex Guyana’s Essequibo region. No mincing of their words there and to all this, our government’s response has been nothing less than lukewarm”, the opposition party said.
It added that its recent outreaches have highlighted that the citizens of Guyana continue to be very concerned as to what is likely to occur post December 3, and are alarmed at the total lack of engagement by the PPP government on the ground especially in the Essequibo region.
“This lack of engagement, the absence of information, a plan or approach, unanswered urgent critical questions posed by the AFC, other political parties, the media, concerned NGO groups and individuals are now a slap in the face of all Guyanese”, the AFC said. At a press conference on Saturday, President Irfaan Ali said that the government was expanding its information to border communities and providing assurances to them.
The AFC said that it must be noted again that the PPP/C’s approach to Venezuelan migrants is vastly different to the treatment meted out to Haitians who based on Haiti’s membership are granted free movement within Caricom, but who were forcibly removed, detained for days and cannot enter Guyana without a visa. This duplicitous policy has still not been explained, the AFC charged.
It said that since Venezuela has clearly “upped the ante” no Venezuelan migrants be allowed to enter Guyana at any official ports of entry or at porous border crossings.
It said that like the Haitians any other Venezuelans entering Guyana must be granted a visa to enter prior.
It also said that the new ID card programme which will seek to register everyone in Guyana must be immediately halted given the “lack of electoral integrity in our systems” in Guyana and until this crisis is over.
The AFC said that the opposition must be invited to name a representative to the committee the President referred to and to participate on all national committees and agencies dealing with the border controversy as part of the promotion of unity on this issue.
The AFC reiterated its “unwavering support” for the unified national approach being taken by Govern-ment and opposition political parties with regards to the border controversy with Venezuela.
“We support all efforts and the process embarked upon by the International Court of Justice including the submissions and events of this week regarding the inflammatory contents in a referendum Venezuela intends to hold on December 3, 2023”, the statement said.
