Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton yesterday confirmed that although the Opposition was invited to the meeting between President Irfaan Ali and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro they decided to opt out as the government was not “specific” about the meeting.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) brokered a meeting between the two countries following heightened tensions over their border controversy. The meeting was held yesterday in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Norton at his press conference, while offering his support for dialogue between the two sides, stressed that the agenda for yesterday’s meeting should have been clearly defined which the government had failed to have done.
He said, “If the Opposition had access to all the information, if the Opposition was involved in a proper consultative process, if the opposition was aware, what is the agenda of the meeting, then I might have considered it but as the Leader of the Opposition, I wouldn’t want to involve the opposition in a meeting for the sake of saying there is involvement. One has to know what are the objectives in the meeting.”
Norton pointed out that the opposition is already “on record as stating that the territorial controversy between Guyana and Venezuela must not be on the agenda in any form or fashion.”
He stressed, “We did not oppose this meeting when presented to us by President Ali as a fait accompli. Had we been in government, however, we would have responded to such initiatives for dialogue more effectively to further protect and promote Guyana’s national interests.”
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo in responding to Norton’s comments at his press conference yesterday pointed out that while Norton steered clear of being led down a road by questioners to make hostile statements that are not in keeping with the country’s national interest, he however conceded that they were invited to be part of the delegation and did not participate.
Jagdeo said, “I do not want to pursue a partisan approach today because I have my views on what would have happened had they been in government but I’m not going to pursue that and explore that publicly at this moment.”
However, touching on Norton’s comments that Guyana should have had a settled agenda and demanded Venezuela de-escalate the situation prior to the meeting, Jagdeo said that unfortunately, the opposition leader has not participated in similar meetings. “When you go to these meetings you have to ensure that your positions are not compromised”, he said, stressing that President Ali is fully aware of this.
According to the Vice President, “Sometimes the meetings are fluid particularly when they are mediated by third parties” and that when you want peace in the region the de-escalation cannot be demanded before the meeting but rather discussed at that level.
Furthermore, Jagdeo pointed out that Caricom had made it clear what the meeting should be focused on which included peaceful co-existence, de-escalation of the conflict, avoidance of the use of threats and force, and respect for international law.
Meanwhile, Norton yesterday also questioned what would have been the purpose of the opposition’s presence at the meeting between the two heads of state given that the Government of Guyana has already assured the nation that there would be no dialogue on the border controversy.
“If it was a case where there was a clear role for the Leader of the Opposition, then there should have been consideration. We have been sending a technical person to the meetings in The Hague [the seat of the ICJ] but we opted not to send somebody on this occasion, because our understanding is that the Guyana/Venezuela territorial controversy will not be discussed. And, to the extent that it is not going to be discussed, we saw no need to send our technical person,” Norton explained.
Additionally, he advised that while it is always important for dialogue to take place there is also the need for caution. “I would not say I am optimistic and I wouldn’t even say cautiously optimistic. For me, if there is movement in the direction of peace, peaceful co-existence, the non-use of force, and we manage to de-escalate tension, then I would welcome it. However, from my own experience, unless a summit is well prepared, there are prior agreements on what will be the final outcome, it is not likely that you will have success in that sense,” Norton said.
He is adamant that the meeting must not produce a “slippery slope” that derails Guyana’s national interests resulting in Guyana bending to the requests of Venezuela. “Today’s (yesterday’s) meeting must also not entertain any discussion on matters which technically are outside the ICJ process, but which, nevertheless, have implications for our territorial integrity, in particular, Venezuela’s desire for access to a sea lane or any maritime concession”
“It must avoid any outcome that entraps Guyana into a process of continued and meaningless meetings that eventually suck in the territorial question”, he said.
Furthermore, the Opposition Leader stressed that the APNU+AFC will remain supportive of the border case before the International Court of Justice.
“I have already indicated that this dialogue should be aimed at bringing peace, it should be aimed at peaceful co-existence, it should be aimed at reducing and de-escalating the tensions and so that is the context in which I supported the talks”, he said.
