Guyana Urges Venezuela to Show Maturity and Responsibility as Referendum on Essequibo Ownership Approaches

(CMC) – Guyana on Sunday urged the Venezuelan government to “show maturity and responsibility” as Caracas moves ahead with a planned “consultative referendum” regarding the ownership of the mineral rich Essequibo region in Guyana.

In an early morning broadcast, President Irfaan Ali said that Caracas should avoid becoming an international outcast” and not to go ahead with the referendum.

“I am not going to get into the internal politics of Venezuela and their policy-making but I want to advise Venezuela that this is an opportunity for them to show maturity and an opportunity to show responsibility.

“We call upon them once more to join us, to join us in demonstrating maturity and responsibility and to allow the rule of law to determine the outcome of this controversy,” Ali said.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Venezuela must not take any action to seize the mineral and forest-rich county of Essequibo in Guyana based on its upcoming referendum.

Both Georgetown and Caracas had made presentations to the ICJ during two days of hearing earlier this month into the case relating to the 1899 Arbitral Award after Guyana, in its request, had said that the Venezuela government, through its National Electoral Council, had published a list of five questions that it intends to put before the people of Venezuela in a “Consultative Referendum” on Sunday.

In its ruling, the ICJ issued a number of provisional measures that “unanimously pending a final decision in the case, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action, which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby the Cooperative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over that area”.

The ICJ said also that “unanimously both parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve.

“The court emphasizes that the question of the validity of the 1899 Award and the related question of the definitive settlement of the land boundary dispute between Guyana and Venezuela are matters for the court to decide at the merits stage.

“The court recalls that Guyana has requested to indicate measures aimed at ensuring the non aggravation of the dispute with Venezuela, when indicating provisional measures for the purpose of reserving specific rights.”

Venezuela said it had taken “note” of the ruling by the ICJ with regards to what Caracas termed “the unusual and interventionist provisional measures requested by the Cooperative Republic of Guyana against the consultative referendum scheduled for December 3, 2023”.

But Caracas said it would continue with plans to hold the referendum called by the Electoral Branch at the request of the Parliament on Sunday regarding the ownership of the mineral and forest-rich county of Essequibo.

“Nothing and no one will prevent the Venezuelan people from expressing themselves freely on December 3 on their own, internal and extremely important issue, such as territorial integrity.