– Minister Rodrigues-Birkett maintains vessel was in Guyana’s waters
United Nations Good Officer mediating talks between Guyana and Venezuela, Norman Girvan is to suggest a series of steps the two countries can take to help resolve their long-standing border issue.
In a statement on Monday, the UN said that on October 17, the personal representative of the United Nations secretary general on the border issue between Guyana and Venezuela had very productive separate meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Guyana and Venezuela, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Elías Jaua respectively. The ministers, according to the UN, emphasised the excellent bilateral relations that currently exist between the two states.
In recalling the progress made under the Good Offices process in the recent past, the ministers welcomed Girvan’s initiative to suggest a series of further steps to address the border issue, the UN statement said, adding that these steps could include a schedule of meetings to move the process forward over the coming months.
Guyana did not back down from its position that the recent seizure of the U.S. vessel, which was conducting seismic surveys, occurred well within its territorial waters, when it met with Venezuela in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago to discuss the matter last Thursday.
Guyana has strongly maintained that the action by the Bolivarian Republic was a breach of international law.
Speaking with Guyana Times International during an exclusive interview following her return from the twin island republic on Friday afternoon, Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said she was very frank throughout the seven-hour meeting as she recorded Guyana’s condemnation and concern about the action of the Venezuelan Navy.
Strong evidence
Birkett disclosed that her delegation also made it clear that the seizure took place within this country’s Exclusive Economic Zone and presented strong evidence and coordinates to depict the exact location of the Teknik Perdana when it was intercepted by the Venezuelan authorities.
“The discussion was very frank as you would expect it to be on a matter like this. It was made easier though because we have good relations with Venezuela and we were able to outline each other’s position in a cordial manner,” she reported.
“I maintained our position because we (Guyana) subscribe to the international laws and jurisprudence as far as maritime delimitation is concerned. And using equidistance, we have drawn a line as to where this maritime border should be,” Birkett emphasised.
The foreign affairs minister also explained that both Venezuela and Guyana started their determination of the maritime border or demarcation from the correct point, but both lines ended in a different direction, and that is where the challenge in resolving the matter definitively begun.
Birkett confirmed that her Venezuelan counterpart also maintained his country’s position at the Trinidad meeting and justified its action. She admitted that it was recognised that since both parties held firm to their respective positions, there was need for a third party to explore mechanisms to solve the rift in accordance with international law.
Minister Rodrigues-Birkett told Guyana Times International that it was recognised that the meetings between Guyana and Venezuela over the past decade or more have resulted in better relations between the two countries.
“The good thing in this entire matter is that we have both sat down and agreed to look at mechanisms to deal with the maritime delimitation,” she said, adding that border issues are “complex” and “never easy matters” to resolve.
Mandate
The minister said the mandate of the current UN good officer would have to be redefined and further expanded, and appeared open to exploring all mechanisms that would result in a speedy resolution on this issue.
She expressed satisfaction with the manner in which Guyana responded to the seizure of the U.S. vessel as she noted that the ministry and government officially registered its protest via the established international and diplomatic processes with Venezuela, after which a release was issued the next morning following the incident.
Standing firm
Guyana Times International was also able to confirm that the ministry is already in the processing of appointing members of a technical team to meet with Venezuela within the next four months to re-examine the issue and possible solutions. The ministry, according to sources will not be negotiating or changing its position.
