Citizens speak out on border controversy, calling on Venezuela to back off

By Svetlana Marshall

Citizens across the country continue to reject Venezuela’s claims to Guyana’s Essequibo Region, with many of them reminding that the border dispute was settled more than 120 years ago.

Between the early holiday shopping period, several persons shared their views on the rising of the tensions on the controversy with News Source today.

Here in Georgetown, a pensioner, Barbara Joyce, said Guyana’s position is simple and Venezuela has no right to the Essequibo Region.

“Venezuela has no claim to this country. Maduro is just a covetous man. Venezuela is twice Guyana’s size. What more space he needs? Guyanese need it and Essequibo doesn’t belong to Venezuela,” Joyce told News Source.

Weighing in on the controversy, another city resident, Segred Stephen said citizens must come together to remind a bullying neighbour that the matter was settled.

“I don’t think that is right. It is our country and we can’t give them, not a blade of grass,” Stephen said.

And according to senior citizen, Maurice John, Venezuela should back down.

He said for more than three decades, Venezuela accepted the Arbitral Award, but later resurrected its claims.

“Guyana is Guyana. We don’t have nothing for them. Let Venezuela pack and leave. We nah get nothing for them. That agreement that deh mek deh, that man, posthumously declared that after. When he dead is then they come and talk about claim you know, then they opened that letter, he seh suh, so on record, that r**s not there. So, they can keep that,” Jhun said.

And maintaining that the neighbouring country has no rights to the Essequibo Region, Simone Roberts said while the controversy has existed for more than a century, she believes Venezuela’s renewed aggression is an effort to prevent Guyana from exploring and taking advantage of it oil wealth.

“The government and everybody know what was happening, and the first thing since they start drawing oil from this country, they are suppose to start securing we military to deal with it. Because it is something that is always happening,” Roberts said.

Meanwhile, a former member of the Coast Guard, Shawn Henry, who described Venezuela as “barefaced” told News Source that he is prepared to defend Guyana’s territorial integrity.

“I think it is a very serious issue because growing up as a little child, I learned that Essequibo belongs to Guyana, and geographically, looking at the map, it shows that it is a territory of Guyana after signing onto the agreement in 1899 and between 1902 and 1906, they ratified that. So, I think Venezuela is very bareface. They are just trying to claim the territory because of [Guyana’s] mineral wealth. But as an ex-soldier serving time in the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, went around the water ways of Guyana, I strongly believe that every citizen of this country, especially who serve in the military should stand up and defend the territorial integrity of our country.”

In many of the bordering communities, residents have expressed some fear over the build up of Venezuelan troops on their side of the border and upcoming Venezuelan referendum on the Essequibo region. For Dean Williams, he believes there is nothing to fear.

“I think it is we own and it will remain we own. History never record they own it so. Actually, a Venezuelan told me that next year’s election, Maduro is going to lose it so, he is just panicking about something. Things ain’t getting better for them, so it is just a distraction,” Williams said.

The border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela is currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Guyana has maintained that the Arbitral Award is valid, and has taken the matter to the International Court of Justice for a final juridical settlement of the controversy.