The President told us that Guyana had invoked a provision under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to have the maritime boundary dispute with Suriname settled once and for all by an Arbitral Tribunal.

The President was at pains to explain that though this decision had long been considered and was in the planning, it came only after every conceivable diplomatic effort had been made to find agreement with Suriname to jointly utilize the hugely valuable oil resources buried under the seas of our maritime borders with Suriname.

These negotiations with Suriname had begun with the Hoyte administration some 15 years ago and had continued since then, directly and with CARICOM intervention, always to be frustrated by Suriname.

Already, the Suriname government had blocked the way to the World Court as a means of settling this dispute by entering a reservation against such an approach, but no reservation had been entered by Suriname against putting the matter before an International Tribunal for a full and final settlement by Guyana invoking the provisions under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In order, however, to avoid Suriname blocking Guyana from invoking the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, our government had to maintain a high level of secrecy during its preparation to take this action. The element of surprise was essential.

The decision to go before an Arbitral Tribunal is of enormous import for our country's future. It is widely accepted that the oil resources offshore our boundaries with Suriname are considerable. Suriname's aggressive military action against the CGX oilrig was extremely harmful and wholly unacceptable, but going to war with Suriname was hardly a solution.

Guyana, instead, displayed extraordinary patience in pursuing a diplomatic solution. Suriname, now, has only itself to blame for rejecting this course.

By going before the Tribunal, Guyana is able to apply for a provisional arrangement for Guyana to proceed to exploit the disputed area economically, even while a final determination remains to be arrived at by the Tribunal. This application can be determined quickly, within a month, while the Arbitral Tribunal's decision can take as much as three years.

The President and Foreign Minister, Rudy Insanally, made every effort to have the leader of the PNC, Robert Corbin, fully briefed on the government's proposed action, only to be rudely rebuffed.

Guyana's legal team is being led by Sir Shridath Ramphal, former Foreign Minister in the government of President Forbes Burnham, and has the support of CGX, which is advised by former PNC Foreign Minister, Rashley Jackson. Yet, in an extraordinary display of political immaturity, the People's National Congress REFORM found it necessary to resort to a partisan political attack on the government

In all its years in opposition and in spite of challenges to the very legality of the PNC government in office, the PPP never failed to give bi-partisan support on the matter of our borders. It's time that the current leadership of the PNC grows up.