MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Guyana declines UN good offices since they have only 'helped Venezuela'
Greenidge’s remarks came less than a week after Venezuela officially asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a new Good Officer. 
The minister argued that Venezuelan president Maduro has used the opportunity to continue to violate Guyana’s territorial integrity. Guyana is no longer interested in the UN Good Offices Process as a means to settle its century-old border dispute with Venezuela, Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge said on Monday in a news briefing live-streamed online.
“We have indicated very clearly to the secretary-general of the United Nations that the Good Officer’s Process to which we have adhered faithfully does not seem to offer any prospect of moving forward,” Greenidge said.
“The feeling is that as it has evolved, it has served as a cover – not deliberately on the part of the UN of course – but it has served for a cover under which Guyana’s sovereignty has been threatened,” the minister said.
Greenidge’s remarks came less than a week after Venezuela officially asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a new Good Officer.
The appointment of a new Good Officer has to be made by consensus and Greenidge declined to say whether Guyana would cooperate in the choice.
The border controversy, Guyana insists, must be settled by the International Court of Justice.
“I don’t know what else you can do in terms of mediation when you think in terms of what has been happening over the years and the only option that is left would be for a judicial resolution of this matter,” the foreign minister said.
Greenidge said Georgetown has decided to take up an offer by Ban to send an emissary on a fact-finding mission to Guyana and Venezuela.
The foreign minister said that the 25-year-long conciliation process has not helped to resolve the controversy over the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award establishing the land boundary between the two neighboring countries.
Rather, Greenidge argued, Venezuela has used the opportunity to continue to violate Guyana’s territorial integrity.
The dispute took on new urgency May 20, when a subsidiary of U.S.-based ExxonMobil announced the discovery of a significant oil deposit in the coastal waters of the contested Essequibo region.
A week later, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro issued a decree asserting his country’s sovereignty over the waters off the coast of Essequibo, a resource-rich area of 167,839 sq. kilometers under Guyana sovereignty but claimed by Caracas.
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Read all commentsMr Greenridge is quite correct. The ONLY place to solve this dispute is at the International Court of Justice as it is the ONLY part of the UN that has any power to settle it.
Jul 15th, 2015 - 06:04 am 0But Venezuela won't go there because they know that they haven't got a leg to stand on.
If the government of Guyana had any sense they'd follow in Belize's footsteps and invite the British military to use Guyana as a training area. This would benefit them twofold. They'd have British troops on the ground in case of any Venezuelan aggression and secondly the Guyanan Defence Forces would be trained by some of the best soldiers in the world.
It worked in Belize to the point where Guatamala eventually agreed to go to and abide by ICJ judgements. Of course it did take decades to get them there and only after several failed attempts to invade Belize and being given a bloody nose by 1st the British forces and later by the very well trained Belize Defence Force.
Guyana has a new government. It's time for them to become more assertive and tell Venezuela to feck off.
@1. I agree. The trouble with the major part of the UN is that it doesn't recognise that it is ONLY a talking shop. Venezuela seems to be similar to argieland in believing that the UN is some sort of world government. At least Maduro hasn't taken to running to New York every five minutes. Witness Kirchner going there to try to press a brown envelope into the British Prime Minister's hands. UNGA resolutions are NON-BINDING. It's a bit like argieland reeling off a whole list of organisations that it has bought. We can see that the UK doesn't even bother to attend C-24 meetings anymore.
Jul 15th, 2015 - 11:57 am 0Whether Britain should station troops in Guyana is a moot point. The original deployment of British forces in Belize was when Britain stationed the RAF there in 1975 and again in 1977 specifically to deter Guatemala. The training aspect of British Forces Belize did not occur until 1981/82. One of the most effective British actions took place in 1975 when it was announced that an aircraft carrier and 8,000 troops were being sent to conduct amphibious exercises.
Could Britain do that now? For the time being it has no aircraft carriers. The closest it could manage would be HMS Ocean, possibly with Apache attack helicopters and Chinooks for troop transport. Any need for fast jets would have to be met by land bases with aircraft being flown out with in-flight refuelling. Shouldn't take too long for a couple of RAF squadrons to destroy Venezuela's 60 combat aircraft. Tornados and Typhoons following right behind cruise missiles targetting air bases. A couple of RN destroyers or frigates should be enough to end the Venezuelan navy. British forces would need the Challenger 2 MBTs and Warriors. Perhaps some Scimitars, Spartans and Samaritans. 10,000 troops?
Perhaps watching British forces arriving might be enough to tell Maduro how silly he is! Especially if he can remember what British forces did to argieland.
It seems like Guyana is Maduro's Malvinas.
Jul 15th, 2015 - 11:58 am 0I do hope that Guyana manage to get out from under this madman bent on destroying everything he touches.
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