The Venezuelan bullying continues unabated. Even before we got independence, they ran to the UN in 1962 to claim the PPP Government was harbouring Cuban guerrillas who were planning to invade them. Of course, they were egged on by the Americans – led by JFK himself, who visited them – for reasons of their own. But the Venezuelans seized the opportunity to raise their decades-old shrill insistence that they “wuz” robbed by Britain at the 1899 Arbitration.
Interestingly, the US was then upset with the UK and was watching Venezuela’s back!! So, does this mean we should now call in the US as an “indispensable” party – cause they’re covering our back?? Maybe the Yanks are itching for a plausible reason to go after Maduro and his gang toe-to-toe!! And they tell the international community with a straight face that it ain’t for their oil reserves – the LARGEST in the world – but to save little ole us!! Think how noble that would sound!! America rushing to save a tiny country from that mean bully trying to grab TWO-THIRDS of its national territory – including its 11 million barrels of oil, when they have 300 million!!
And that’s exactly why Venezuela’s jumping up and down like a fowl-cock for the UK to be joined at the ICJ in the controversy they’ve concocted over our settled border!! They’d then be able to tell the world that the old Imperialist Great Britain is still taking advantage of them!! That’s all it is – and the World Court fully well knows this!! First, they were denying that the ICJ even had jurisdiction over the matter, and NOW they’re INCREASING their jurisdiction?? Jeez…what a set of slimy characters!!
But we Guyanese have to keep our eyes on the facts of the matter: and this MATTER is the CONTROVERSY the Venezuelans have created over the settled border. Under no way, shape or form are we discussing the substantive matter of the 1899 Award – that’s a settled matter. So, on ABSOLUTELY NO occasion should we talk about the Venezuelan “case” or “issue” or “dispute” – all of which implies there are TWO sides to a disagreement. The Venezuelans have NO SIDE – just a unilateral controversy they’ve created all on their lonesome about the 1966 Geneva Agreement. This outlined how we should go forward on it.
They can huff and puff all they want, but they’re just gonna get red in the face!! The border is a done deal, and the only change that the World Court might make is to return our half of Ankoko Island – which the Venezuelans seized through military force!!
In the meantime, let’s sing in unison from our rooftops – “not a blade of grass – not a spring cuirass”!!
…overseas Guyanese
Jeez…why can’t the political Opposition – PNC and AFC – come straight on the matter of the Voters’ List?? All they’re doing is playing to a (deliberately uninformed) base. That for the size of our population in Guyana, the number of voters – those over 18 – are out of whack! But no one has denied that. However, simultaneously they should have the decency to point out that the anomaly’s because our list includes overseas Guyanese CITIZENS. And that the Constitution forbids us from taking them off as citizens!!
Barbados has the same situation with their voters’ list being 92% of their resident population!!
The Opposition should come clean and call for all overseas citizens to be stricken off the National Registry of Registrants – from which the Voters’ List is extracted. But they’re then faced with a dilemma – will they be willing to do so seeing that most of their funding comes from those same overseas Guyanese?? No siree, Bob!!
They want to have their money and kick them too!!
…at COP 27
How many times will we be fooled by the rich countries that they’ll keep their word on Climate Change agreements they sign on to?? Ultimately, they’ll have to temper their ever-rising standard of living – and that they’ll NEVER do!!
