President hopes Venezuelan government has “maturity” to accept UN decision

Speaking at State House, the President said it was mutually agreed by Guyana and Venezuela to have the United Nations Secretary General decide on the way forward and therefore he believes that the decision "should be accepted by both sides. 

President hopes Venezuelan government has “maturity” to accept UN decision

On the morning after the United Nations indicated that it has decided to refer the Guyana/Venezuela territorial controversy case to the World Court, President Granger told reporters that he is hopeful that Venezuela’s government has the maturity to accept the UN decision.

Speaking at State House, the President said it was mutually agreed by Guyana and Venezuela to have the United Nations Secretary General decide on the way forward and therefore he believes that the decision “should be accepted by both sides.

Guyana has been pushing for a move to the World Court for the matter to be dealt with in finality. The President has welcomed the decision by the UN Secretary General.

He said “this is now day one, we obviously have to look for the best advice and the best legal support and its very important. We have waited a long time for this and now that the matter has reached this stage, we will embark on a prudent course to ensure we get the best representation before the ICJ”.

The President said once there, he is confident that the decision will be in Guyana’s favour and one that “our children will be thankful for”.

Asked if he is worried about any reaction from Venezuela that might not be in the positive light, President Granger reminded that Venezuela is now facing its own internal problems, forcing many persons to cross the border into Guyana in search of help and relief.

“We hope that this does not trigger any further negative behaviour by Venezuelans. I don’t expect that there will be any objection. This has taken 51 years”.

Guyana, he said, is anxious for the matter to go to the Court for final settlement, noting that Guyana will be ready for that stage when it begins.

OnTuesday, the UN Secretary General summoned the Guyana Ambassador to the US to receive the official correspondence with the decision.  President Granger was informed of the decision while he chaired the cabinet meeting yesterday.  He also addressed the Nation last evening on the issue saying that it was a good day for Guyana.

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