As Venezuela holds its Referendum Forde calls on Guyanese to stand strong

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, December 3, 2023 - Senior Counsel and Member of Parliament Roysdale Forde is calling on “all Guyanese to stand strong as Venezuelans vote in their referendum on Sunday;” a part of that country’s aggressive strategy to covet Essequibo, two-thirds of Guyana

Venezuelans have been asked by the Maduro government to  vote on five questions:

• Do you agree to reject by all means in accordance with the law, the line fraudulently interposed by the 1899 Paris Arbitration Award, which seeks to deprive us of our Guayana Esequiba?
• Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana regarding the controversy over the territory of Guayana Esequiba?
• Do you agree with Venezuela’s historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial controversy over Guayana Esequiba?
• Do you agree to oppose, by all legal means, Guyana’s claim to unilaterally dispose of a sea pending delimitation, illegally and in violation of international law?
• Do you agree with the creation of the Guayana Esequiba state and the development of an accelerated plan for comprehensive care for the current and future population of that territory, which includes, among others, the granting of citizenship and identity card? Venezuela, in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and International Law, consequently incorporating said state on the map of Venezuelan territory?

In conversation with Village Voice News, Forde, who is Shadow Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, says while Venezuelans will be asked to answer questions in their wrongful claim of Guyana’s territory and in the face of heightened aggressions by the Nicolás Maduro Government, “the emphasis in Guyana must be unity, irrespective of the outcome.

In the meantime, the Commonwealth, the Organization of American States and CARICOM  have called on Venezuela to respect ICJ’s  December 1 Ruling on Provisional Measures.

According to The Commonwealth, there should be respect for national territorial sovereignty, international law, global order, peace and security and cordial international relations in the Caribbean and the Latin American region.

The Commonwealth issued a call on all members of the United Nations to encourage the parties to respect the integrity, sanctity and binding nature of the decisions of the ICJ in the matter and the provisional measures under Article 41 of the Statute of the ICJ that have binding effect and create international legal obligations for parties.

The Commonwealth said it unequivocally condemned any action likely to breach the peace in the region. The regional body, CARICOM, in its statement said the Court’s Order prohibits Venezuela from taking such a measure, or any other measure that would change the status quo in the territory, regardless of the outcome of the Venezuelan referendum on Sunday. 

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