Rohee corrects inaccuracy about Venezuela's claim in the Economist
Foreign Minister, Clement Rohee, has corrected an inaccuracy which appeared in an article in the Economist magazine on October 9, 1999. The letter carrying his correction appears in the December 18 edition of the weekly. The October 9, article headlined 'Venezuela Stirring' asserts that Venezuela has "never formally accepted the verdict" of the Arbitral Award handed down on October 3, 1899, even though Guyana became independent from Britain in 1966. In his letter, Rohee corrected the assertion in the article that Venezuela had never formally accepted the 1899 Arbitral Award. He pointed out that "under the Treaty of Washington (1897) which established the tribunal, both Venezuela and Guyana agreed to consider the result of the proceedings of the tribunal as a full, perfect and final settlement of all the questions referred to the arbitrators." Moreover, Rohee continued, "in giving practical application to the award, a Venezuelan-British boundary commission met during 1901-05 and formally demarcated the boundary on the ground, placing markers where appropriate. "The results of their efforts were accepted by both Venezuela and Guyana and constitute the boundary line which defines Guyana's western boundary with Venezuela." Rohee also said in his letter that "it was not until 1962, while negotiations were underway for Guyana's independence, that Venezuela formally raised the issue of its boundary with Guyana at the United Nations. Since then it has sought unilaterally to declare the arbitral award null and void." In the National Assembly tomorrow, Rohee will be moving a motion seeking the support of the parliament for the continued rejection of Venezuela's claim and the reiteration of the government's commitment to the Good Officer process of the United Nations.
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