GUYANA has refuted a claim by Suriname blaming Georgetown for the breakdown in talks between the two countries on their maritime boundary dispute.
President Bharrat Jagdeo told the media yesterday that Guyana had to set the record straight at the recent Heads of Government meeting in St. Kitts/Nevis, after Surinam's President Ronald Venetiaan sought to blame Guyana for lack of progress on the boundary dispute at the bilateral level.
The President said it was Suriname's stymieing of bilateral negotiations that led to Guyana asserting its rights to pursue the matter within the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
However, he pointed out that, based on his discussions with President Venetiaan in St. Kitts/Nevis, he is optimistic that Suriname would honour its obligations under the Convention.
Asked when the arbitral process would begin, the President said, it "should be a matter of months rather that years before the case comes up before the Tribunal." He said the entire arbitral process should take about three years, but it caters for provisional measures to allow for exploitation of resources.
Responding to super salaries being paid to members of the legal team representing Guyana's case, the President said the salaries are not being paid from the national treasury. However, he explained that as the process advances budgetary allocations will be made to cater for the costs of the legal process.
He noted that with regards to getting value for the super salaries being paid he said in most cases he is satisfied with the work being done.
The evicted company, CGX Energy Inc., which was involved in offshore drilling at the Guyana/Suriname border, is assisting with covering present legal costs.
The Government of Guyana officially notified the Surinamese government on February 24 of this year of its decision to request the intervention of the United Nations (UN) International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, based in Hamburg, Germany, to give a binding decision on the existing maritime dispute between the two CARICOM neighbours.
During bilateral discussions, the two sides could not have arrived at a common position because of several factors, including differing interpretations of their mandate and common language for the communiqué.
Guyana's legal team for these proceedings comprise former Foreign Affairs Minister Sir Shridath Ramphal, Mr. Paul Reichler of the Washington law firm of Foley Hoag, Dr. Payam Akhavan of Yale Law School, and Professor Thomas Frank, who served as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice in Hague.