The case for Guyana/Venezuela unity
Editorial
Guyana Chronicle
February 20, 2004
PERHAPS because of its complexity, politics seems always to have epitomized the principle of self-preservation.
Political leaders usually mentor a following with rhetoric that echoes sentiments of unselfishness.
But once spun, the other side of the coin inevitably reveals a fistful of self-interest strategies characterizing relations between and among nations.
Yet, on the advice of analysts and aides, officials continually argue against policies that emphasize self-interest at the expense of bilateral or multilateral relations.
It is to the good of the Guyanese and Venezuelan people, and to Caribbean/Latin American relations, that President Bharrat Jagdeo and President Hugo Chavez yesterday reiterated their commitment to policies geared toward what President Chavez said here yesterday was, "true unity between Guyana and Venezuela."
In fact, unity was a recurring theme in speeches the two leaders delivered at forums devised for President Chavez's State visit to Guyana.
"We've come to make a proposal to everyone about unity - true unity between Venezuela and Guyana ... real integration between our people," the Venezuelan leader stressed at a civic reception for him and his delegation in the Promenade Gardens.
President Jagdeo agreed. Said the Guyanese leader in his welcome speech at a luncheon for the visiting Venezuelans at State House: "Faced as we are by the challenges of globalization, our countries have no other option, I believe, but to come together in unity and in strength for our economic survival."
The message by both Presidents couldn't be clearer. At a time when individual countries and regions and blocs of nations are preparing for globalization, the diversion of scarce resources to fester trans-border hostility is no longer a credible option.
For Guyana and Venezuela, each with its own natural resource wealth yet still battling poverty and want, "promoting greater friendship and understanding between our two countries and peoples," as President Jagdeo put it," or "true unity between Venezuela and Guyana ... real integration between our peoples," in President Chavez's words, is the only way to go.
If, as the saying goes, "one hand can't clap," then the two countries need to address their differences by peaceful means, in the same way that they work closely together to forge development in other areas.
A case for Guyana/Venezuela unity, as President Jagdeo pointed out, is that, "although democracy is now the accepted norm of governance in our region, it is not immune from attack by those who would wish to deny the popular will. Both within and beyond our societies, there are criminal elements that constantly seek to undermine the legal and constitutional order of the state. These insidious attacks are often sustained by illicit gains from trans-boundary crime in arms and drug trafficking. This scourge of the 21st. century recognizes no borders and spreads like wildfire. As neighbouring countries seeking to preserve our security and stability, Guyana and Venezuela must work together to protect themselves from this contagion."
The agreements that the two Presidents signed at the conclusion of their rounds of discussions harbor well for Guyana and Venezuela meeting the many challenges that lie ahead and the ultimate realization of the goals they've set for their two peoples.