Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) walked out of the National Assembly today after their leader, Aubrey Norton, delivered a controversial presentation on a solidarity motion tabled by government to garner support against Venezuela’s fraudulent elections on May 25 to claim the Essequibo region.
The solidarity motion was presented by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd.
Following a detailed presentation by Todd, outlining Guyana’s calculated recourse to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Venezuela’s unrelenting defiance, Norton took to the floor to make his contribution. It was not long after that the House erupted into uproar as several government MPs expressed strong displeasure with Norton’s statements.
The opposition leader explicitly stated that the motion could not receive the opposition’s support, citing that it was weak and devoid of opposition input, among other criticisms.
Many government members labeled Norton’s remarks as almost unpatriotic, as he spent the majority of his 30-minute presentation attacking the government, especially at a time when unity was needed to jointly condemn Venezuela’s actions on May 25.
Norton went as far as calling the government a “hopeless bunch” for being too dependent on the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“When I listened to the minister I thought Guyana was being run by the International Court of Justice, everything that he said is what the Court of Justice will do but he said nothing of what the government will do,” Norton said, as he noted that the limitation of the motion lies in the lack of clear government action.
“On this issue, unilateralism will not succeed,” he added. Norton also contended that the motion fails to condemn Venezuela strongly and lacks any outlined strategy for moving forward. He repeatedly stated that the motion does not outline concrete actions against Venezuela, asserting that Venezuela is an adversary that must be confronted together.
Norton also condemned Venezuela’s actions and acknowledged the ongoing Guyana-Venezuela border controversy. He expressed support for the ICJ process and for Guyana succeeding in that legal forum.
He noted that while the opposition supports the 1899 Arbitral Award which conclusively settled the border between Guyana and Venezuela, that is the extent of their support.
Norton declared, “We are therefore not obligated to support this motion since it is you, the government, that breached our trust and operated arbitrarily.”
The Opposition Leader went further, stating that the greatest enemy facing Guyana was the government itself. “The greatest enemy this country has is the government of Guyana,” Norton said. The government’s side of the House again registered disappointment with such reckless statements. But this did not deter Norton. He also accused the government of being unpatriotic and unworthy of the opposition’s support. Overall, he claimed that the government’s call for patriotism was hollow and urged the government to withdraw the motion, stating that the opposition will not support it in its current form.
