Guyana’s Parliament is preparing to hold an extraordinary session of the National Assembly next week to address the escalating tensions surrounding the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy.
This sitting is underscored by recent escalating tensions by Venezuela. In September, the Spanish-speaking nation had strongly objected to Guyana’s 2022 Licensing Round for oil blocks, primarily citing concerns related to maritime delimitation.
Venezuela had issued a strongly worded communique, expressing apprehension about Guyana’s intentions to auction specific oil blocks in the disputed waters off its coast. The communique also contained veiled threats to take “all necessary measures” to prevent operations authorized by Guyana in these contested waters, which Venezuela lays claim to.
Recent reports and videos have also revealed increased Venezuelan military activity near Guyana’s border in Eteringbang, Cuyuni, Region Seven.
Further complicating matters, Venezuela has scheduled a referendum for December 3, 2023, regarding its claims to Guyana’s oil-rich territory. The questions approved for the referendum encompass issues related to historical disputes and legal instruments.
The questions approved for the referendum were as follows:
1. Do you agree to reject, by all means, in accordance with the law, the line fraudulently imposed by the Paris Arbitral Award of 1899, which seeks to dispossess us of our Guyana Essequibo?
2. Do you support the Geneva Agreement of 1966 as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana, in relation to the dispute over the territory of the Guyana Essequibo?
3. Do you agree with Venezuela’s historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial dispute over the Essequibo Guiana?
4. Do you agree to oppose, by all means, in accordance with the law, Guyana’s pretension to unilaterally dispose of a sea pending delimitation, in an illegal manner and in violation of international law?
5. Do you agree with the creation of the state of Guyana Essequibo and the development of an accelerated plan for the integral attention of the current and future population of that territory, which includes, among others, the granting of Venezuelan citizenship and identity cards, in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and International Law, consequently incorporating said state in the map of the Venezuelan territory?
Both the Guyanese government and opposition have voiced their objections, asserting that the questions in the upcoming referendum violate established treaties and disregard international legal principles. Support for this stance has been garnered from organizations like CARICOM and the Organization of American States, emphasizing that international law unequivocally prohibits one country from seizing, annexing, or conquering the territory of another.
