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https://oilnow.gy/featured/guyana-warns-against-international-crime-of-aggression-as-venezuela-intensifies-efforts-to-grab-territory/
The Government of Guyana has issued a strong statement expressing its firm rejection of the recent move by the National Electoral Council of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to include questions in a national referendum, scheduled for December 3, 2023, that aim to assert Venezuela’s claim to over two-thirds of Guyana’s national territory.
In a detailed response, Guyana’s government singled out the fifth question on the referendum as particularly concerning. This question, it said, “brazenly seeks the approval of the Venezuelan people for the creation of a new Venezuelan State consisting of Guyana’s Essequibo Region, which would be incorporated into the national territory of Venezuela, and the granting of Venezuelan citizenship to the population.”
The Guyanese government referenced the Geneva Agreement and principles of international law in addressing the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award, a matter currently before the International Court of Justice. The court has already ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the case and Guyana has encouraged Venezuela to participate.
https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2023/10/25/govt-opposition-unite-against-venezuelas-threats/
President Irfaan Ali and Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton on Tuesday met at the Office of the President to discuss the existential threat by Venezuela to Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and reaffirming each other’s commitment to defend this country’s interest.
[...] In July 1931, Venezuela concluded a boundary agreement with Brazil that expressly confirmed the tri-junction point of the boundaries of British Guiana, Venezuela and Brazil as described in the 1899 Award. For more than sixty years, Venezuela gave full effect to that Award, and never raised a concern as to its validity and binding legal effects.
[...] Only on Monday the Guyana Government deplored the move by Venezuela to seek a referendum to annex the Essequibo as it continues to further its unlawful claims to the mineral-rich region of this country. Venezuela media reported on Monday that the country’s electoral commission will ask its citizens to answer five questions at a referendum billed for December 3, 2023 as part of the Bolivarian Republic’s claims to the Essequibo.
The five questions are:
1. Do you agree to reject by all means in accordance with the law the line fraudulently imposed by the Paris Arbitration Award of 1899 that seeks to deprive us of our Guayana Esequiba?
2. Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana regarding the controversy over the territory of Guayana Esequiba?
3. Do you agree with Venezuela’s historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial controversy over Guayana Esequiba?
4. Do you agree to oppose by all means in accordance with the law Guyana’s claim to unilaterally dispose of a sea pending delimitation illegally and in violation of international law?
5. Do you agree with the creation of the Guayana Esequiba state and the development of an accelerated plan for the comprehensive care of the current and future population of that territory that includes, among others, the granting of citizenship and Venezuelan identity card in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and international law, consequently incorporating said state on the map of Venezuelan territory?
https://bnn.network/world/venezuela/venezuelas-essequibo-referendum-sparks-domestic-and-international-criticism/
Among the strongest critics is Rocío San Miguel, who lambasted the content of the referendum questions as an extended mockery to Venezuelans. According to her, the referendum is a manifestation of internal politics rather than a genuine attempt at foreign policy and territorial sovereignty defense. She warned of a potential backlash against Venezuelans who choose not to participate, with the threat of being labeled as ‘traitors to the homeland.’
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