…says concerns expressed at “untrustworthy nature” of Maduro regime
…as Guyana’s Opposition rejects Venezuela’s “organic law”
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo
Venezuela’s recent move to annex Guyana’s Essequibo territory by law has been described as “bad faith” by Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who has also reassured the Guyanese citizenry that Government remains vigilant on these latest developments coming out of Caracas.
On Wednesday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro promulgated “the Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba”, saying this organic law would guarantee that the December 3, 2023 referendum would be fully implemented in the defence of Venezuela and its territory.
At his weekly press conference on Thursday, VP Jagdeo indicated that the Guyana Government has notified its legal team as well as international partners about this latest act of aggression by Venezuela. In fact, he noted that there are mounting concerns about the Spanish-speaking nation’s recent attempt to annex more than two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory.
Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton
“We’ve already notified all our partners. We’ve brought this to their attention – the bad faith negotiations of Venezuela, so they’re aware of what’s happening. Many of them are expressing concern and also outrage about this approach [of] the untrustworthy nature of the regime there, and we are not going to let our guards down. So, I hope that the country recognises this,” the vice president assured.
According to Jagdeo, Maduro’s action, though not physical, is clearly a form of annexation by decree and/or by law. He added that this runs contrary to the Argyle Declaration agreed to by President Dr Irfaan Ali and President Maduro in St Vincent and the Grenadines on December 14, 2023.
Moreover, the vice president has said this Venezuelan decree not only violates the legal proceedings currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but also the provisionary measures issued by the World Court that prohibit any change to the status quo of the 1899 Arbitral Award – which he says Venezuela is seeking to unilaterally change in order to gain control of Guyana’s Essequibo territory and a portion of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), where some 11 billion barrels of oil have been discovered over the past eight years, and in which oil production activities are ongoing.
Maduro declared on Wednesday that Venezuela does not, and will never, recognize the Arbitral Award, and also reiterated the Spanish-speaking nation’s non-recognition of the ICJ.
In 2018, Guyana moved to the World Court, seeking a final and binding ruling on the October 3, 1899 Arbitral Award which settled the land boundary between the two countries.
Opposition’s rejection
Meanwhile, Guyana’s Parliamentary Opposition – the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) – has also expressed deep concerns and alarm at this latest act of aggression by the Venezuelan Government. At that party’s weekly press conference on Thursday, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton said Venezuela’s promulgation of “the organic law for the defense of Guayana Essequiba” is in total violation of international law.
“The Parliamentary Opposition not only rejects this organic law, but condemns it as a flagrant violation of International Law, the Geneva Agreement, and the letter and spirit of the recent joint Declaration of Argyle for dialogue and peace, agreed to on December 14, 2023,” Norton has said.
Moreover, Norton has said the “Organic Law” is also in clear violation of the recent decision of the ICJ, which enjoined that “pending a final decision in the (border controversy) case, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation which currently prevails in the territory of dispute…”
According to the Opposition, this illegal act by the Venezuelan regime has come at a time when the Spanish-speaking nation continues to take belligerent action against Guyana, including the fraudulent referendum of December 3, 2023; the build-up of troops along the border, and other provocative acts.
“These measures will neither contribute to the peaceful relations between the two countries nor the overall peace of the region. A zone of peace can hardly survive in these circumstances. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will therefore be responsible for the further decline in the relations between the two states and any breach in the peaceful development of the region,” the Guyanese Opposition has stated.
In fact, Norton outlined that neither the Guyana Government nor its people have engaged in any aggressive action against the Venezuelan Government or its citizenry, but have rather sought to solve the territorial controversy through peaceful and legal means, including the resort to the World Court.
To this end, he said, “The Parliamentary Opposition finally urges the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to act responsibly, and not further inflame the geo-political fault lines of the region and thereby threaten its further peaceful development.” (G8)
