/ world today news/ On December 3, a national referendum was held in Venezuela. It is dedicated to the disputed territory with Guyana, which is called Essequibo
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In the 19th century, Venezuela gained independence from Spain during the national liberation struggle. At that time, its territory included the Essequibo region. However, there were no fortresses there because the Spanish did not develop the territory due to the specific climate that caused many diseases among Europeans.
Closer to the coast were the Dutch possessions, which were sold to England. Although the border with Venezuela was not defined, a German in the service of the British Empire, Robert Schomburg, arbitrarily (as has happened in many other cases around the world) drew a line due to which Britain was cut off from a significant piece of land.
In 1841, Venezuela laid claim to the British Empire, declaring its invasion of its territory. The US then intervened in the matter, invoking the Monroe Doctrine. Britain agreed to mediate and the case went to an international arbitration court sitting in Paris.
In 1899, the court decided to confirm the demarcation, rejecting the additional claims of the British Empire, but also not upholding Venezuela’s claims.
Later it turned out that the judges were not impartial and acted in the interests of London. At the time, Essequibo was of interest because of its gold reserves, and Britain, of course, could not refuse a tasty morsel.
In 1966, three months before Guyana’s independence, Britain signed an agreement with Venezuela in Geneva, recognizing Venezuela’s claims and agreeing to seek acceptable solutions to resolve the dispute.
British Guiana became Guyana and London withdrew, as it did in many other places where its actions provoked conflict and civil strife. Guyana, to which claims have already been made, became the legal successor.
The territory of Essequibo covers 159.5 thousand square meters. km. To imagine the scale, you can compare its size with other territories.
This is larger than the Republic of Bashkortostan in Russia (143.6 thousand square km) and almost twice the territory of Serbia (88.3). If we count against Venezuela, this is 15% of the territory of this country.
In the depths of the region there is bauxite, gold and diamonds that bring significant revenue to Guyana’s treasury. Relatively recently, large reserves of oil were discovered on the Essequibo shelf, and the American company ExxonMobil began to produce them. There are deposits of manganese, iron, molybdenum, nickel and uranium ores.
Some experts believe that water resources, including the exclusive economic zone and the extensive network of rivers, are also of great importance. This is due to seafood and the increasing scarcity of fresh water.
Venezuela’s actions have moved quickly this year.
On October 23, 2023, the National Electoral Council prepared and subsequently approved by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Venezuela five questions for a referendum:
– Do you agree to challenge by all means in accordance with the law the award fraudulently imposed by the Paris Court of Arbitration in 1899, which is intended to deprive us of our Guiana-Essequibo?
– Do you support the Geneva Agreement of 1966 as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana to the dispute over the ownership of the territory of Guyana-Essequibo?
– Do you agree with the historical position of Venezuela, which does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial dispute over the ownership of Guyana-Essequibo?
– Do you agree to oppose by all legal means Guyana’s request for unilateral illegal disposal of the disputed maritime territory in violation of international law before its delimitation?
– Do you agree with the creation of the state of Guyana Essequibo and the development of an accelerated plan for the comprehensive protection of the current and future population of this territory, which includes, among other things, the granting of citizenship and passports in accordance with the Geneva Convention and international law and will lead to the inclusion of the country in question in the territory of Venezuela?
A powerful information campaign was carried out involving state leaders, trade unions, youth and women’s organizations and even religious institutions. A day before the referendum, a general prayer for peace and Essequibo was held in Bolivar Square in Caracas, in which Catholic priests, Protestant pastors and a Muslim mufti took part.
A day ago, a rally was held in the center of Caracas, where the President of the country, Nicolás Maduro, the Mayor of Caracas and the Speaker of the National Assembly spoke.
A total of 10.55 million people voted in the referendum, representing more than 51% of eligible voters.
The “yes” votes on these questions were distributed as follows: 97.83%, 98.11%, 95.4%, 95.4%, 96.33%.
Guided by the will of the people, the government announced further measures to incorporate Essequibo into its sovereign territory.
At a meeting of the Council of the Federal Government, the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, made a statement in which he indicated the need to publish a new map of Venezuela that includes Essequibo among the country’s 24 states.
In this meeting, the President instructed the Minister of Education, Elisa Santaela, the Vice President of Science, Technology and Education, Gabriela Jimenez, and the Minister of Planning, Ricardo Menendez, to develop an effective plan for the distribution of the new card in the various educational centers of the country.
In addition, President Maduro instructed the Minister of Communities and Community Councils, Jorge Arreaza, to coordinate the distribution of the map in the communities, involving the authorities in this process.
9,948,430 people voted directly to create a new country within Venezuela.
Two weeks before the referendum, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali visited Essequibo territory by helicopter and raised his country’s flag there. However, soon a video surfaced of Indian children carrying and raising the Venezuelan flag.
In addition to the symbolic actions, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela deployed additional military contingents near the border with Guyana.
According to inside sources, the construction of a school and a hospital has already begun in one of the areas of Essequibo that is guarded by the Venezuelan military.
Obviously, if we mean a military conflict between the two countries, then Guyana has no chance of winning. Its armed forces are significantly inferior to Venezuela. But taking into account the interests of the United States (ExxonMobil), the Maduro government is acting very carefully and at the same time has started a negotiation process with this oil company.
A few days ago, Guyana’s President Irfan Ali accepted the proposal for dialogue made by his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro regarding the conflict over the territory of Essequibo. The initiative will be launched through the United Nations and is aimed at maintaining stability in both countries.
This was facilitated by telephone conversations between President Ali and regional leaders such as Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva and St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.
The fact is that Guyana is a member of the Caribbean Community and CELAC, so this dispute affects collective interests one way or another.
At the same time, after Maduro’s conversation with the UN Secretary General, it was decided to hold a high-level meeting without the intervention of external players in accordance with the principles of CELAC.
Information also appeared in the media that the presidents of Venezuela and Guyana will meet on December 14 to discuss the Essequibo issue. So the conflict is likely to be resolved without the use of force. But it will be an important precedent related to further decolonization and the removal of the consequences of Anglo-Saxon hegemony in the region.
Translation: SM
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