Several years ago, a respected Caribbean
international relations expert told me in private conversation that the notion
of “national sovereignty” was becoming an outdated concept.
Yet, few issues generate greater unreserved
bipartisan political and wider social support than real and perceived threats
to a country’s territorial integrity or a claim that its sovereignty has been
violated.
Both Guyana’s and Venezuela’s fierce
internecine political environments, for example, de-escalate and cohere around
the question of the Essequibo region. It has not mattered the political
administration in power in either Guyana or Venezuela.
For example, Guyana’s agent to the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) is former Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Carl Greenidge, who is not associated with the ruling People’s Progressive
Party (PPP) and is among the more eloquent advocates on his country’s behalf on
this subject. Correspondingly, neither Chavismo nor anti-Chavismo is a factor
in Venezuela when it comes to this.
I have interacted with independent human
rights defenders in Venezuela who casually contend that “Guayana Esequiba”
belongs to their country.
As interim Venezuelan President Delcy
Rodrigues has said, this is taught at school alongside negative views on the
process that led to the current situation, and she is not about to “change
history” … as she understands it.
Mention to young and old Venezuelans the
1899 Arbitral Award which essentially granted most of the Essequibo region to
what was then “British Guiana” and they would have at least heard about it as
something of a longstanding travesty - though the result remained uncontested,
and even applauded, for over 60 years
Most Guyanese can tell you about the tens
of thousands of fellow citizens who live in the region. They will also be able
to recite at least one line from the Tradewinds’s 1980 hit “Not A Blade of
Grass” – repurposed now as Essequibo slogan.
When Juan Guaidó was unilaterally declared
by some big and powerful countries as the “legitimate” President of Venezuela
in 2019 I followed accompanying social media narratives by his supporters for
mention of “Guayana Esequiba.”
I found mainly derogatory mention of Guyana
and its Caricom partners in their support of Guyana’s position on Essequibo.
This was hardly Bolivarian imperialism as enunciated by their sworn enemies,
the Chavistas. Witness as well the general position of María Corina Machado.
The fact is, whatever the nonsensical
claims to the contrary, Caricom member states have long, actively, and
repeatedly rallied in support of Guyana on this question. Check Caricom Summit
discussions and communiques going back to its formative years in the 1970s.
I have however noted that in commentaries
regarding Delcy Rodrigues’ provocative brooch - depicting her rendition of a
map of Venezuela – people have been speaking about the seemingly passive
treatment of the matter by Grenada and Barbados as indicative of a lack of
support for Guyana.
The divisiveness generated could well have
been intentional. I am nevertheless
unaware of anything by either Caribbean leader suggesting action on the
deliberate insult, though there should hopefully have been discreet
communication.
I think both Mia Mottley and Dickon
Mitchell should explain to us how this sentiment has been conveyed to the
Venezuelans, if at all. But failure to do so cannot and should not be
considered to be lukewarm postures on the substantive Essequibo issue.
With the Venezuelans due to present their
version of history at the ICJ today, we are likely to witness insertion of
similar provocations.
Monday’s oral submissions on behalf of
Guyana appeared to establish a clear progression from relative passivity on the
part of Venezuela to belated opposition to the arbitral award. There have been
minor border skirmishes, but through the years there has been unimpeded,
peaceful occupation via longstanding agreement, productive activity, and
functional governance by one of the two parties - Guyana.
Some recent work by CIJN Guyanese
journalist, Nazima Raghubir also reports, at least anecdotally, that the people
who live and work in the region are crystal clear about which country they
occupy.
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| Guyana - Land of Many Waters |
I am not going to play “bush lawyer” and
speculate on the ICJ’s evaluation of that point and others as being seminal to
final determination of the case. There is certainly much more to consider.
Venezuela meanwhile holds that its
participation in the proceedings is “without consent” and meant purely to
demonstrate the "truth” about its rights to “the territory of Guayana
Esequiba."
Guyana, along with Caricom, insists that
not one blade of Essequibo grass belongs to anyone else. It’s our collective
position that this carries the weight of international law.
