Guyana continues to be imperilled by militaristic threats from Venezuela

…Granger tells world leaders at UN

Guyana continues to be imperilled by the ever militaristic threats from Venezuela which has laid claim to more than two thirds of Guyana’s territories, a situation that threatens the very existence of peace in the Caribbean region once protracted.
This was the clarion call of Head of State David Granger, who in his third appearance at the United Nation’s General Assembly in New York, appealed to world leaders dedicating a third of his presentation to the escalating conflict over Venezuela’s claim to the Essequibo.

Addressing the more than 180 world leaders in attendance, President Granger reminded the Assembly of his warnings in September last, and reminded that Venezuela’s claim to Guyana’s territory, “has not diminished or been diverted…Guyana remains imperilled.”
The Guyanese Head of State in bringing the border conflict to the world stage, acknowledged that the disturbing developments within Venezuela have attracted the world’s attention and roused the concerns of many over the privations of its people.
He cautioned world leaders however, that while the Caribbean people wish for the Caribbean to be a zone of peace, “the Venezuelan claim to Guyana’s territorial integrity, however, would be a threat to that zone.”
Reminding that Venezuela is more than four times the size of Guyana, with a claim of more than two-thirds of Guyana’s territory, including its maritime space, the President said “we depend on our territorial and maritime resources for development and for the release of our people from poverty.”
According to Granger, “Guyana warns the world, through this Assembly, that peace will be at stake in our Region if justice does not become ascendant, not only within Venezuela, but also in respect to its border controversy with Guyana.”
Four UN Secretary Generals have been apprised of Venezuela’s claims, and Granger said the choice has become one between just and peaceful settlement in accordance with international law, and a Venezuelan posture of attrition that is increasingly more blustering and militaristic.
“In this matter, protraction is the enemy of resolution and the ally of sustained conflict,” he cautioned.
The Guyanese Head of State did acknowledge that “fortunately, as they indicated publicly, former Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and current Secretary General António Guterres have decided that, under the 1966 Geneva Agreement, if by the end of the year 2017 significant progress has not been made toward arriving at a full agreement for the settlement of the controversy, the International Court of Justice will be the next means of peaceful settlement, unless Guyana and Venezuela jointly request otherwise.”
Guyana, he said, has continued working assiduously with the Secretary General’s personal representative. “Guyana looks to the international community to ensure that Venezuela is not allowed to thwart the processes of judicial settlement which is the clear and agreed path to peace and justice.”
Foreign policy
The President did use his time at the UN to also give Guyana’s position on international affairs. In what can be perceived as a direct appeal to the Donald Trump Administration, the Guyanese President reiterated Guyana’s longstanding position that all embargoes against its Caribbean sister country Cuba, be lifted by the United States of America.
“We demand the withdrawal of the injurious economic embargo against the Caribbean island of Cuba… The embargo frustrates that State’s right to development,” according to Granger.
Speaking to another of Guyana’s long standing foreign policy positions, President Granger also reiterated the country’s demand for a two-State solution to the decades’ old Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
“We affirm the right of the Palestinian people to a homeland and to a dignified existence,” President Granger said as he reminded world leaders that, “striving for peace must aim at resolving long-standing inter-state conflicts and in this regard, Guyana supports the call for the reform of the Security Council to give even greater voice to developing countries.
He told world leaders, striving for peace has been the principal purpose and preoccupation of this organisation throughout its existence and in fact “must be humanity’s ceaseless quest.”
Acclaiming the United Nations as the paramount global instrument of peace, Head of State Granger emphasised on the world leaders present that “nothing is more important in this General Debate than that all delegates should respect the relevant theme – Focusing on people: Striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet.”