Govt should encourage bilateral talks with Venezuela

Dear Editor,

If you want to fight fire with fire, then you better have a bigger flame. In recent days we have seen the Venezuela border controversy slowly beginning to morph into a potential crisis. We all know how it began and we also watched closely how the Government dealt with the issue step by step.

I don’t want to sound like an alarmist, but since military activities have become part of the issue, it is safe to say anything is possible. We are currently in a “battle ready” situation.

It could be noted that presently in another part of the world, NATO has almost tripled their forces on the Russian border with Europe, and Russia is doing the same. Many already believe that that situation will lead to the next Great War.

We are now sucked into an international trend that has already claimed countless lives in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Ukraine and others.

It is the new strategy for a form of global dominance that seeks to remove and take over countries who either are not in line with the “world order” or to simply take natural resources. The powers that be, have everything to gain from our border controversy with Venezuela and we have nothing to gain but disaster. So why exactly are we so eager to match Venezuela with force or a show of force, when anyone who have read “the art of war” or understand any military strategy whatsoever, would know that you never aggravate the greater force with a show of “head on collision” when you very well know it would be a suicide mission?

We do not have anything close to match or restrain Venezuela militarily unless we are either secretly being backed by a greater power. And who would that be? Why are we not being more willing to have bilateral talks with Maduro ? It this the only sensible way forward for Guyana. What other outcome do we expect from this situation?

Guyana is threading on thin ice here, we are being baited into a situation that we will have no control over and it’s either that our current Government is in over its head or it knows exactly what it’s doing.

It is also concerning to see our military marching through the street beating the “war drum” in some kind of effort to stir a patriotic stance that will only bring carnage to our citizens.

We have seen this played out before, the history books are filled with examples and there is always one thing that’s constant and that is help will not come until there is enough bloodshed to warrant support from the higher powers.

We must defend our borders but we must do so wisely but I am not confident that this Government is taking the right approach. International Relations dictates that bilateral talks is always the better option and it is up to the President to be creative enough to make good use of those talks and not simply say that “Venezuela already knows where we stand”.

The feeling of sudden and unpredictable changes is in the air for Guyana and it is not bringing happiness. Greedy eyes are looking at our country and our Government is shaping up to be the perfect puppet.

Malcolm Watkins