Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton today said that though the Opposition was invited, it opted not to participate in the high-level meeting in Vincent between President Irfaan Ali and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, over the lack of consultation and a clear agenda.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) called the meeting with the aim of easing the tension between the two South American nations.

Though offering his support for dialogue between the two sides aimed at easing tension, Norton said the agenda for today’s meeting, should have been clearly defined. 

“If the Opposition had access to all the information, if the Opposition was involved in a proper consultative process, if the Opposition was aware, what is the agenda of the meeting, then I might have considered it. But as the Leader of the Opposition, I wouldn’t want to involve the Opposition in a meeting for the sake of saying there is involvement. One has to know what are the objectives in the meeting?” Norton said. 

Mr. Norton questioned what would have been the role of the Opposition in the meeting between the Htwo Presidents, when the Guyanese Government would have already assured the nation that there would be no dialogue on the Border Controversy. 

“If it was a case where, there was a clear role for the Leader of the Opposition, then there should have been consideration. We have been sending a technical person to the meetings in The Hague [the seat of the ICJ] but we opted not to send somebody on this occasion, because our understanding is that the Guyana/Venezuela territorial controversy will not be discussed. And, to the extent that it is not going to be discussed, we saw no need to send our technical person,” Norton explained. 

Mr. Norton said while it is always important for dialogue to take place, there is also the need for caution.

“I would not say I am optimistic and I wouldn’t even say cautiously optimistic. For me, if there is movement in the direction of peace, peaceful co-existence, the non-use of force, and we manage to deescalate tension, then I would welcome it. However, from my own experience, unless a submit is well prepared, there are prior agreements on what will be the final outcome, it is not likely that you will have success in that sense,” Norton said. 

The Opposition Leader said the APNU+AFC Opposition will remain supportive of the border case before the International Court of Justice, where it rightfully belongs.

“I have already indicated that this dialogue should be aimed at bringing peace, it should be aimed at peaceful co-existence, it should be aimed at reducing and de-escalating the tensions and so that is the context in which I supported the talks,” Norton assured.  

President Irfaan Ali and along with President Maduro, touched down at the Argyle International Airport this morning ahead of the much-touted meeting brokered by CELAC and CARICOM leaders. The meeting comes as tensions reached an all-time high between the two countries fueled by Venezuela’s acts of aggression. 

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