After spending the night with members of the Guyana Defence Force serving at locations near the Guyana- Venezuela border, President Irfaan Ali joined the Heads of the Security Forces early this morning for the hoisting of Guyana’s national flag, the Golden Arrowhead, at a border location that is more than 2000 feet above sea level.
After the flag raising on Guyana’s territory being claimed by Venezuela, the President criss-crossed through a number of border villages. In Port Kaituma, he met with concerned residents and assured them the Government is constantly monitoring the situation and will continue to remain vigilant.
He told the Port Kaituma residents that the international community is solidly supportive of Guyana in the border controversy and Guyana’s move to the International Court of Justice.
He said “the countries that support democracy and the countries that support the rule of the law, and the countries who support honesty and dignity, the countries that support respect for territorial integrity, those countries are all with us and ready to stand by us, and stand behind us, and stand for us”.
President Ali traveled to the bordering communities on Thursday and continued his visit today to update residents of the latest with regards to the Government’s efforts to address the controversy and to listen to their concerns in wake of a build up of Venezuelan military troops near the Guyana border.
Many residents expressed some level of fear. Already, many of the communities have been dealing with an influx of Venezuelan migrants in recent years, draining and straining their resources.
The President said he has been in touch with other Heads of State, and is confident of their support.
“Over the last number of weeks, we have been having meetings (myself) with leaders from across the world, the Chief of Staff (GDF) with his colleagues from across the world, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with their colleagues from across the world, and those meetings have all been reassuring to us, and that is that the world, is standing behind us because we stand on the truth”, President Ali said.
There are reports that under pressure from the international community, Venezuela has started to pull back some of its troops from the bordering locations, as the Maduro administration is being pressured to deescalate the situation.
Last week, Guyana moved to the International Court of Justice seeking provisional measures to block a number of questions related to the border controversy and Guyana’s Essequibo region, from being part of the upcoming Venezuelan referendum. The Court is still to rule on the application.
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