Just last month the visit here by Venezuela's Foreign Minister Luis Alfonso Davila led to the proclamation of the opening of a `Demerara Window' of goodwill in relations with Guyana.

That spirit of good neighbourliness has unfortunately been adulterated by Caracas' continuing proclivity to embarrassing Guyana at international fora and nakedly pressing its spurious claim to the Essequibo region. The latest exhibition of this was the unveiling of a map at last week's Association of Caribbean States (ACS) meeting in Margarita Island, Venezuela which depicted the Essequibo as a zone of reclamation which it is not. The internationally recognized boundaries of this country are well known to both Venezuela and the ACS.

Venezuela could not be oblivious to the acute concerns that Guyana would have had over a stunt like the one it pulled with the map at the ACS meeting. Nevertheless, it proceeded with it and the inevitable happened. Guyana's delegation protested and as President Jagdeo said at a press conference here on Friday, Venezuela "graciously" withdrew the map.

By that time, however, Venezuela had already made the point it wanted to make while at the same time playing up its claim to the Essequibo region in the full view of Guyana's CARICOM partners - including Suriname with which Guyana has had a protracted border dispute - and South American and Latin American countries.

Not only Guyana would have felt the unease over the map, it also would have discomfited the ACS Secretariat which should have been alert to the possibility that Caracas might have attempted something like this and which therefore should have taken pre-emptive measures.

What made Caracas' unneighbourly map even more distasteful was that Guyana was preparing to sign the Caracas Energy Accord on the same Margarita Island upon the conclusion of the two-day ACS meeting. It therefore behoved Venezuela to comport itself in a manner that betrayed no impression that Guyana was signing on for oil to which a political price tag was attached. It is one of the concerns in Georgetown over this deal and certainly as a result of the famous remarks of former foreign minister Rangel that oil has been used as a political weapon from time immemorial.

With the way things turned out, the casual observer would not fail to discern a strong whiff of political grandstanding by Caracas over the oil deal. We are grateful for Venezuela's oil but it must not be delivered with arm twisting. It just won't be worth it.

The aggressive pursuit by Venezuela of its claim at international meetings must be addressed by this government. One of the most outrageous of these performances was by President Chavez himself not so long ago at the summit of South American Heads in Brasilia where upon his arrival an offensive map depicting Essequibo as an area of contention was unfurled and he proceeded unabashedly to present his country's case in front of the international media. It was an issue that was clearly irrelevant to the meeting of the heads.

Guyana must ensure that it transmits as strongly as possible to Venezuela that any progress in relations could be set back if it continues with this campaign. There is a place for both countries to air their views on the border controversy and it is not at these meetings.

Second, Guyana must ensure that prior to the start of bilateral or multilateral gatherings that it impresses upon the hosts and organizers that all maps must convey internationally recognized boundaries. Anything else must be excluded. Suriname has shown in the past that it, too, is capable of this gamesmanship and we must put our foot down.

Third, these actions must be formally reported to the Commonwealth monitoring group and other organizations such as CARICOM as evidence of Caracas' vicious and calculated crusade to dissuade investors from the Essequibo, thereby robbing Guyana of the opportunity of economic development of its resources.

If Caracas insists on continuing this practice, perhaps Guyanese living in influential places like London, Toronto, Ottawa, New York and Washington could be mobilized to protest at international gatherings and at the UN where Venezuela is present over its continuing campaign of harassment.

Friendly relations between Guyana and Venezuela is a myth in the face of Caracas' continuing confrontational attitude over the Essequibo. President Chavez and Mr Davila should do nothing to close the `Demerara Window' that has been opened up.