GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana government says it will take the border issue with Venezuela to the United Nations on Wednesday, after it described as “unsettling developments” in relation to the “unlawful claim by Caracas to the mineral rich Essequibo region in Guyana.
In a radio and television broadcast, President Irfaan Ali said that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday night “announced several measures which his government intends to take in enforcing the outcome of the referendum held on December 3, 2023.
Maduro announced that foreign companies working in the disputed Guyanese county of Essequibo would have to withdraw within three months, asserting his right to do so after Venezuelan voters backed the December 3 referendum to seek ownership of the area.
While Maduro hasn’t yet dispatched any military forces to enforce his demands, he said he would be creating a military unit for the disputed territory but that it would be based in a neighboring Venezuelan state.
In his broadcast, President Ali said that the measures announced “are in blatant disregard of the order given by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on December 1,” and that “Guyana views this as an imminent threat to its territorial integrity and will intensify precautionary measures to safeguard its territory”.
Ali said he has already spoken to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gueterres “and several leaders alerting them of these dangerous developments and the desperate actions of President Maduro that fly in the face of international law and constitute a grave threat to international peace and security”.
He said Guyana would ahs “bring this matter to the United Nations Security Council for appropriate action to be taken by that body” on Wednesday.
Ali said that by defying the Court, Venezuela has rejected international law, the rule of law generally, fundamental justice and morality, and the preservation of international peace and security. They have literally declared themselves an outlaw nation.
Political observers say the campaign to take ownership of Essequibo is part Maduro’s attempt to boost his popularity ahead of next years election.
Venezuela has claimed the huge territory for decades — even as its 160,000 square kilometres (62,000 square miles) represent more than two-thirds of Guyana, and its population of 125,000 is one-fifth Guyana’s total.
Last Friday, the ICJ ruled that Venezuela must not take any action to seize the mineral and forest-rich county of Essequibo in Guyana based on its upcoming referendum.
Both Georgetown and Caracas had made presentations to the ICJ during two-days of hearing last month into the case relating to the 1899 Arbitral Award after Guyana, in its request, had said that the Venezuela government, through its National Electoral Council had published a list of five questions that it intends to put before the people of Venezuela in a “Consultative Referendum” on Sunday.
In its ruling, the ICJ issued a number of provisional measures that “unanimously 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”.
The ICJ said also that “unanimously both parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve.
“The court recalls that Guyana has requested to indicate measures aimed at ensuring the non aggravation of the dispute with Venezuela, when indicating provisional measures for the purpose of reserving specific rights.”
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