Venezuela trying to bully us and harass us mentally

Dear Editor,
It is obviously most painful to observe the fact that Venezuela seems more concerned at being like a hungry, drunken monkey, hopping on our backs and trying to bully us and harass us mentally, so that we cannot exploit the resources bequeathed by God Almighty to our lands, and as per international covenants and treaties. It was former President David Arthur Granger who coined the words: “Venezuela is like a monkey” jumping on our backs.
Instead of trying to make the Guyanese people’s lives miserable, the Venezuelan President, as he says he is, should concentrate on feeding his people; instead of driving his citizens away for others to feed them. He needs to provide food, housing, medication and peace of mind; and utilise the vast resources he has within his country’s territory to bring some semblance of joy to the hearts of the Venezuelan people, instead of to himself and his family, as dictators usually do.
Because of mismanagement of the resources; abuse of the people; confusion in the minds of the people; starvation of the people; lack of milk for the babies, and lack of medicines for the people, Venezuela has become a despicable pariah state of mass starvation and insecurity of its people.
Maduro, instead of being the ‘jumping, drunken monkey’ on the backs of the Guyanese people and our various Governments, should come to us with his hands folded, kneeling to our President and our Government and our non-governmental organizations, thanking us for feeding his masses — Venezuelan masses who land as refugees on our territory in mass hunger and confusion. Those of his country folks who need medicine, care and love he continues to chase away.
Maduro should applaud the Dr Irfaan Ali Government, and even any other previous governments in our country, for providing comfort to his hungry mass of people in our land. We are a hospital people, people who will share their food, medicine and water.
I sometimes wonder if Maduro is bereft of shame! I wonder how he can look at himself in the mirror. The Venezuelan Government issued a communiqué published in the media, in which it protested against the recent oil blocks’ auction by Guyana (Guyana Times: 20th September, 2023). The communiqué stated that: “Guyana does not have sovereign rights over these maritime areas, and consequently any action within their limits. It is a violation of International Law, as long as they are not carried out through an agreement with Venezuela”.
Venezuela further said that “any illicit and arbitrary concession that Guyana grants, has granted, or intends to grant in the areas in question is unacceptable and violates its sovereign rights, and warns that these actions do not generate any type of rights to third parties who participate in said process.” (Guyana Times 20th September, 2023).
I must remind you, readers, that this communiqué issued by the Venezuelan Government has been made despite the UN Geneva Agreement of 1986, which reinforced the 1899 Arbitral Award that confirmed Essequibo as belonging to Guyana (Guyana Times 20th September, 2023).
Guyana has taken its case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Further, Guyana and Venezuela made representations on this matter before the World Court in November 2022, since Venezuela had long sought claim to “more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass in Essequibo. Venezuela is also laying claim to a portion of Guyana’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in which more than eleven billion barrels of proven reserves are estimated to exist (G-3)”
His Excellency President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has issued a response to the Venezuelan Government on behalf of the Guyanese people: “The Government of Guyana reserves the right to pursue economic development activities in any portion of its sovereign territory or any appurtenant maritime territories. Any unilateral attempt by Venezuela to restrict the exercise by Guyana of its sovereignty and sovereign rights will be wholly inconsistent with the Geneva Agreement and the rule of international law” (Guyana Times 20th September, 2023).
The President is being supported in his stand by the APNU/AFC parliamentary Opposition, who categorically stated: “We affirm that it is the right of the Government of Guyana to pursue economic activities in any portion of its sovereign territory or any appurtenant maritime territories, for the benefit of the people of Guyana (Guyana Times 20th September 2023).
I want to applaud our Government for standing up to the brutal face of Maduro, and also for being close to the USA and contracting with ExxonMobil and other American and international corporations to exploit the resources in our part of the hemisphere that we have been blessed with.
It would appear that President Maduro and His Government have truly won the ‘list of shame’. It is a wonder how they could face the international community with their gluttony. I say gluttony because they have one of the largest reserves of oil in the world, but cannot seem to bring any semblance of joy to their population. And yet still “he”, “they” are gluttons for more, and must prey on little Guyana’s newly-found oil reserves in its exclusive sovereign territory.

Sincerely,
Roshan Khan