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Narrative of Transcript with references.
Hey Everybody. This is Verian Barker from- XPRESSBLOGG- THE ISSUES– where we examine some of the political matters making news in Guyana.
Politics and their policies impact our daily lives,so it’s important – to get the right info about the matters making the news on our political front.
We have launched our first PODCAST and its on this issue- the topic.
In addition to the actual podcast we have provided the narrative.
The Guyana-Venezuela Border Controversy has generated a tonnage of misleading and speculative opinions which infects reliance on verifiable facts and slow-walks the desire to access critical information.
Because it is a COURT ORDER that currently dictates the actions of both Guyana and Venezuela, as it pertains to Essequibo, we thought that reporting on the MANDATE of the actual order should supersede commentary and hypothetical discourse on a matter this grave…one that threatens our native land which has already been occupied by invasion since 1966…on its half of the island of Ankoko.
We sought to understand the sum total of the order’s ramifications and did so with the help of preeminent Guyanese personnel, who have more than a casual acquaintance or conjectural notions on this consequential matter.
So, we’ll focus on, the Summary, of the Order of the International Court of Justice, dated Dec 1st, 2023 by extracting the specific findings, as of that order and date…because misinformation is still owning the issue.
On Friday Dec.1st, 2023,The International Court of Justice issued a Statement in which it unanimously decreed… and I quote:
“Pending a final decision in the case, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action, which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute whereby the Cooperative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over that area.”
In other words- don’t touch Essequibo.
That, however, still triggered an onslaught of commentary that ranged from the ‘ruling Party’s secret deal with Maduro to give Venezuela part of Essequibo, to some surreptitous allowance for Venezuela to use Guyana’s waterways.
It has always been our position, that the use of waterways are governed by UN Maritime Law and the United Nation’s Law of the Sea, Treaties established as far back as 1958; both of which Guyana subsequently became and has been signatory to for decades.
We have, personally, had conversations with several Guyanese who are undoubtedly patriotic but woefully misinformed of the facts and are more comfortable trafficking in the sensational than the proven.
What is bad, is that many people look to Social Media for their political information and have become unbudging followers and believers in the fabrications and myth- manufacturing of these disinformants.
With no frequent, repeated and timely fact checking from the Party/ies they vote for, many are left to hang on to the salacious which really cripples their capacity to be informed players in their political destiny.
We have consulted with Guyanese professionals knowledgeable of the issues and respected within the ranks of the international community that verifies and validates these things.
What we can say- with absolute certainty– is that there has been no deal made between the PPP and Venezuela to ‘use the Essequibo as a waterway’, or to provide Venezuela with a corridor through the Atlantic.
As we’ve always said, none is necessary. Guyana is and has been signatory to several UN Marine and Maritime treaties that provide for peaceful passage.
Thing is, that’s not what Venezuela wants at all!.
What Venezuela is looking for is a coastline so that they can have a larger Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) which would require Guyana’s EEZ to be reduced.
For quick reference: An “exclusive economic zone,” or “EEZ” is an area of the ocean, generally extending 230 miles beyond a nation’s territorial sea, within which a coastal nation has jurisdiction over both living and nonliving resources.
AND we’ll make these references available to you when you visit our site.
But..getting back to where we were.
We’ve learned that Guyana has never agreed to facilitating Venezuela’s need for a larger EEZ, even if Maduro released a video with Jagdeo purporting to offer assistance.
Flashes of Janet giving away 600 oil blocks to Exxon in 1999, without technical advice, come to mind. Seems Jagdeo’s party likes the bluster of unilateral decision making which always turns out to be of harm to the country.
Unsurprisingly, there was deflection to the PNC with suggestion that President Hoyte made a similar offer.
We discovered that this was nothing but cheap PR, citing a man who is very dead and can’t defend himself. We’ve been advised that the EEZ matter never came up with Hoyte…EVER. We read it like … they knew better.
Bottom line is, we’re told, Venezuela is seeking a mass of ocean with petro carbon reserves which have already been developed. Of course they have much more than Guyana but they are woefully cash strapped and need ready-made product to get cash urgently.Hence, the regurgitation of ownership of Essequibo and the threat of land grabbing.
The conspiracy chatter continues, nevertheless…
Manufactured pictures of Venezuelan flags being raised by indigenous people speaking Spanish is being shamefully peddled for consumption, along with theories of scandal and speculation about Venezuela’s recent election.
What our inquiries have informed us is this:The matter that was immediately before the Court- the ICJ -pertained to the Maduro referendum.That is finished and the Court will say nothing else unless Guyana reports a breach of the judgment.
Let’s say here that the court, by its very name INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE cannot determine what any country puts on a referendum for its domestic elections.
And we say this expressly for the people who are citing Maduro’s referendum for Essquibo as failure of the International Court – and/or a flouting of its orders.
Now, ‘The decision’ which is pending pertains to the main matter – namely whether the Arbitral Decision is valid.
If Venezuela does not do that, the Court will consider the complaint submitted by Guyana and then decide on the merits of that argument. That may take them to the end of 2024… if Venezuela does not submit its counter-arguments in April of 2024.
That’s the sum total of the order and the governing facts of the matter…this critical matter that determines whether our geographical boundaries will still be 83,000 square miles.
That’s the sum total of the order.
Before we go, we’ll say that we understand the anxiety of Guyanese at home and abroad – and know that they are looking to stay informed.
That requires ferreting out THE TRUTH and presenting it alongside its evidence.
Xpressblogg is committed to informing and uses the tools and methods to do just that.
If you’re still here, thanks for listening and we hope you return!
Vote in our POD POLL question, share this on social media and stay tuned for our next episode, which we hope to be on SURINAME’S attempt at a Guyana land grab.
Once again, thanks for stopping by.
Links to references made above.
https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part2.htm
https://www.un.org/depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/STATEFILES/GUY.htm
https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part5.htm
https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part5.htm
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