The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) is calling on the Government of Guyana to work with the Opposition and all stakeholders, as a matter of urgency, to protect and defend Guyana from Venezuela’s threat, while remaining proactive on the world stage to ensure a peaceful resolution.
The GTUC also called on the political opposition and agencies of economic interest to recognise that Guyana’s best option to repel Venezuela, in the short term, is through diplomacy, international sanctions and adjudication through the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Venezuela, the GTUC says, must respect Guyana’s borders and the ruling of the ICJ.
The referendum held by Venezuela on Sunday to seize the Essequibo territory and exploit its resources should not be trivialised nor dismissed, says the GTUC, irrespective of the voter turnout and that country’s internal political conflict. In light of Venezuela’s desperation, and the new developments taking place, whereby Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has issued presidential orders permitting economic activities on Guyana’s sovereign lands, the GTUC called on the government to stop following its old playbook and to unite Guyana to raise its voice and call for sanctions against Venezuela immediately. The GTUC accused the PPP/C administration of placing Guyana at its weakest diplomatically, its policies eroding the once high motivation for protection of Guyana’s national interest. The present political environment created by the PPP/C, after years of political disruptions, sowing seeds of mistrust and fostering the marginalisation of almost half of the population, most of whom make up our military forces, has placed Guyana as a place of great disadvantage.
