Venezuelans should reject Maduro’s referendum on Essequibo – Teixeira

… Nandlall says referendum has legal ramifications for border case

Venezuelan people, already suffering under the socio-economic fallout of sanction-hit Venezuela, will be asked to go out and vote on a referendum to annex Essequibo. According to Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister Gail Teixeira, Venezuelans should reject this referendum.
She made this comment during her contribution to the debates during the Extraordinary Sitting of the National Assembly, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, on Monday. According to Teixeira, Venezuelans ratifying the referendum will only cause more problems.
“I call on the hardworking Venezuela people to reject questions three and five of the referendum… I believe the Venezuelan people are capable of reading through the lines and this decision they are asked to make would not bring greater benefits to their lives, in fact it will bring greater harm,” Teixeira said.
“We just have to look at the world right now and see the destruction that annexation unilaterally does… we must be on the side of righteousness and justice not on the side of bullyism and threats. We hope that the Venezuelan Government will see the light.”
Meanwhile, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall urged that the international and in particular, the legal community condemn Venezuela’s efforts to annex Essequibo. He noted that the referendum has ramifications for Guyana’s current case against Venezuela before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“Anyone familiar with the curial process would know that a party in a litigation has a right to seek appropriate legal remedies, interlocutory, if the other party in the litigation is taking steps that can defeat, compromise or render negatory, the legal proceedings itself and/or its final outcome.”
“Guyana is of the considered view, that the impending referendum slated for the 3rd of December, 2023 is intended to and will compromise the legal proceedings pending at the International Court of Justice, if not subvert the legal process altogether and prejudice its outcome,” Nandlall said.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General made a call for unity, noting that “in our short history as a nation state, if there was ever a time to transform the words of our national pledge, our national anthem and our national songs into action, that time is now.” According to Nandlall, the commitment that Guyanese make when singing the national anthem, must now be converted into action.
After years of failed good offices process, Guyana approached the World Court in 2018, seeking a final and binding judgement to reinforce that the 1899 Arbitral Award remains valid and binding on all parties, as well as legal affirmation that Guyana’s Essequibo region, which contains much of the country’s natural resources, belongs to Guyana and not Venezuela.
Guyana’s Spanish-speaking neighbour has laid claim to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass in the Essequibo region, and to a portion of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in which nearly 11 billion barrels of oil have been discovered largely by United States oil giant ExxonMobil.
Last month, the Venezuelan National Electoral Council had published a list of five questions that it plans to put before the Venezuelan people in a referendum set for December 3, 2023.
The referendum will seek the Venezuelan people’s approval to, among other things, annex Essequibo and create a Venezuelan state. A particular question (#5) also seeks the citizens’ approval for Venezuela to grant citizenship and identity cards to residents of Essequibo.
Last week Tuesday, it was revealed that the Guyana Government has sought the World Court’s intervention to prevent Venezuela from taking action through its planned referendum to annex Guyana’s Essequibo region.
One of the questions from the referendum that Guyana is seeking an order against is the very first one, which asks the Venezuelan people to reject the boundary between the two countries that was set in the 1899 Arbitral Award – following a process of arbitration.
In a statement on Friday last, the Netherlands-based Court had said it will hold public hearings in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899 (Guyana v Venezuela) on Tuesday November 14, 2023, at the Peace Palace in The Hague.
According to the ICJ, the hearings will be devoted to the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Guyana on October 30, 2023.