Dear Editor,
A Stabroek News editorial dated September 20, 2024 is basically correct in its well-crafted response to Prime Minister Gonsalves’s statements and perspectives on the contested re-election of Nicholas Maduro to Miraflores. SN reported that Gonsalves has articulated three positions, viz: (1) that Maduro was freely and fairly re-elected to the presidency (2) that Maduro is better for Guyana than the far-right in Venezuela is for Guyana; and (3) that he, (Gonsalves) would condemn any attempt by Maduro to encroach on the Essequibo.
Although the SN critique of Gonsalves’s diplomacy is apt, the ‘grand rationale’ for this critique needs tweaking. The editorial claims that “…while Prime Minister Gonsalves was insistent that he would speak out against any military action on the part of Venezuela, he did not say that he recognised Guyana’s right to Essequibo. Friendship is one thing, justice another.”
In my view, this is not a question of justice. The international system is not based on justice, even if the UN Charter and other instruments of international law conduce to such. The real question is one of interest, not justice. Accordingly, it would be more accurate to say to Gonsalves: “Friendship is one thing, interest is another.”
Sincerely,
Dr Randy Persaud
Office of the President
