Dear Editor,
The 1899 Arbitration Award was a unanimous final and binding settlement of Guyana’s border with Vene-zuela. As all Guyanese know, Esse-quibo is ours and has been ours for every moment of our existence as a sovereign state. Before that it belong-ed to Great Britain. It has never been part of Venezuela.
In a recent press report Carl Greenidge, commenting on Venezue-lan vessels and boots over our border, apparently endorsed the idea of a multinational force while simultaneously saying that the lack of visible support for Guyana from Latin American and Caribbean countries may be “a reflection of the failure on the diplomatic front on our part.”
Before Mr. Greenidge makes any further comments or suggestions would he please answer the following questions:
Why did he, as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the APNU+AFC Coalition government, instruct or permit Paul Reichler, Philippe Sands and the other lawyers in the Guyana legal team to file a case in the International Court of Justice in 2018 challenging the validity of the1899 Arbitration Award?
Why did he, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, also instruct or permit Paul Reichler, Philippe Sands and the Guyana legal team in that case to challenge Guyana’s sovereignty over Essequibo?
Did the PPP/C then in Opposition raise any objections to Guyana’s legal team challenging Guyana’s border and sovereignty or did they just go along with it?
Given that on 17th December 2017 as Minister of Foreign Affairs he asserted that the government was unable to make timely payments to the legal team and assured Parlia-ment that the US$15 Million deducted from the Exxon signing bonus and hidden in a secret account was for Guyana’s legal team, were the legal team in fact paid US$15 million?
Has Mr. Greenidge yet grasped the difference between (i) the political controversy over the border which developed from 1962 as a result of Venezuela’s unsubstantiated contentions that the 1899 Arbitration Award was invalid and (ii) the existing legal dispute over the border created by the court case filed in 2018 on behalf of Guyana challenging the Arbitral Award and Guyana’s sovereignty over the Essequibo?
As Mr. Greenidge apparently remains on the record as Guyana’s Agent in the ICJ and since President Ali has signed the Argyle Decla-ration (which is inconsistent with the authority of the International Court of Justice and which has failed to curb Venezuela’s aggression), will Mr. Greenidge now insist that Irfaan Ali upholds the ICJ process, refuses to meet President Maduro and obtain proper legal advice before he, as head of state does anything else in relation to our border?
Of course Venezuela’s aggressive behaviour from the 1960s is to blame for creating a problem (the political controversy) for Guyana in relation to the border but for more than 50 years Venezuela was unable to bring any legal challenge to Guyana’s sovereignty over Essequibo.
The irresponsible and unwise reactions of the APNU+AFC Coali-tion and the PPP/C to the threat posed by Venezuela have brought us to the stage where there is a legal border dispute and Guyana’s own lawyer Paul Reichler could tell the ICJ that Guyana has been ‘administering’ the Essequibo when in law and in fact Guyana has always had sovereignty.
I realise that this letter may appear harsh. I realise that it will not be welcomed by the APNU, AFC or the PPP/C, all of whom (along with their party stooges) resent criticism of their party or any attempt to hold elected officials to account for their actions.
Nevertheless, Guyana’s sovereignty over two thirds of our territory is now open to question and the silent decent majority of Guyanese need answers. Moreover, everybody needs to know what the government is now going to do legally and diplomatically to protect Guyana.
Sincerely,
Melinda Janki LL.B BCL
(Oxon) LL.M