Dr Ralph Gonsalves was right

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,

Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves has said that the “ballgame”… the nature of Caricom’s relations with Venezuela would change should that country ever exercise the military option in pursuit of its claim to Guyana’s territory.

He said that Caricom maintains that the territorial integrity of Guyana must remain intact in keeping with the 1899 Arbitral Award and has publicly expressed its position on numerous occasions. He said Caricom had expressed its grave concern to the initial decree issued by President Maduro and that it was withdrawn and replaced with one that was not threatening.

Prime Minister Gonsalves was responding to a question I posed to him during the question period following his Eric Williams Memorial Lecture at Florida International University on Friday night.

Gonsalves said that Caricom supports the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the controversy, noting that UNSG Ban Ki-Moon met recently with Presidents Granger and Maduro in this regard.

He said Caricom supports a legal approach to resolving the controversy. Noting that there had been movement of Venezuelan troops along the border with Guyana not so long ago, Gonsalves said that in his view Maduro would not exercise the military option although there were forces in Venezuela that would want to use that option. It is not an easy situation for Guyana, he said, but he is of the strong belief that the controversy will be settled peacefully.

I have written this letter to share with your readers a view expressed about Caricom’s support for Guyana on the Venezuelan issue by one of its leaders.

There was much said about Guyana in Dr Gonsalves’ lecture about the role the country played under Forbes Burnham especially, as part of Caricom to pave the way for the process towards normalisation of US/Cuba relations.

 

Regards

Wesley Kirton

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