Venezuela advertises dispute on Guyana
Bridgetown, Barbados, Cana--Venezuela has resorted to advertisements in the regional media to emphasise its commitment to a peaceful resolution of its century-old border dispute with neighbouring Guyana. The latest of such advertisement by Venezuela's diplomatic missions in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) appeared in Tuesday's edition of the Barbados Nation newspaper. The advertisement is based on a communique issued by the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry in Caracas last month on the occasion (October 3) of the centennial anniversary of an International Tribunal Award that Venezuela claims to be null and void and, consequently, reaffirms its claim to some two thirds of Guyana's 83,000 square miles. However, while claiming "nullity" and a "grave injustice" in the arbitral award that ruled to be a full and final settlement the demarcation of existing boundaries between the two nations, Venezuela has stated its commitment to a resolution within the framework of the February 1966 Geneva Agreement. Tuesday's advertisement, which was intended to correct some errors in an earlier published translation from Spanish to English of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry's communique of last month, states: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms the commitment of the Government of Venezuela to faithfully comply with the Agreement signed on February 17, !966 and, therefore, to seek, together with the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, satisfactory solutions for the practical settlement of the pending controversy within the framework of that Agreement. "In this regard," the advertisement further states, "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses satisfaction with the Good Offices of the Secretary General of the United Nations, through its personal representative, Mr Alister McIntyre, and ratifies the Venezuelan determination to do all that is within its power to guarantee its success. "Finally," adds the published official statement by Caracas, "it considers this moment opportune to highlight the auspicious climate of understanding existing between the government and people of Venezuela and Guyana, as expressed by Presidents Hugo Chavez Frias and Bharrat Jagdeo." Since the earlier release of Venezuela's communique, McIntyre has been succeeded by the Barbadian lawyer and diplomat, Oliver Jackman, as the new personal representative of the UN Secretary General to mediate in the territorial dispute. The Guyana Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stated, and again following the latest published communique by Venezuela, that while Guyana remains committed to "good and peaceful relations" with its Spanish-speaking neighbour, it "totally and firmly rejects" any claim to its territory or that the 1899 arbitral award was null and void.
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