PM leads Caricom talks on Guyana-Venezuela dispute

THE Prime Minister's first act on resuming work was to direct Caricom to express its full support for Guyana and condemn acts of aggression by Venezuela in its ongoing border dispute with Guyana.

Dr Rowley's first order of business on Tuesday was chairing a virtual meeting of Caricom on the issue. He became Caricom chairman earlier this month.

On the Office of the Prime Minister's (OPM) Facebook page and his personal Facebook page, there was a picture of Rowley in his office, in front of a computer, chairing the virtual meeting, with a brief statement.

That statement said, "Prime Minister Dr the Hon Keith Rowley is hosting his first meeting as chairman of Caricom this morning. The regional heads are meeting virtually for the 13th Special Emergency Meeting of the Caricom Heads of Government."

It was uncertain whether Rowley was at the OPM at Whitehall or in an office in the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann's, which shares the same compound as the Prime Minister's official residence. Rowley has worked from the latter occasionally.

After the virtual meeting, Caricom issued a statement about the border dispute.

Newsday was reliably informed that "the drafting and issuance of this statement was led by Prime Minister Rowley as chair of today's Caricom special emergency meeting."

In its statement, Caricom said it is "deeply disappointed and concerned at the decree and subsequent statements by Venezuela with respect to that country’s border controversy with Guyana."

Caricom's disappointment and concern included "intimations of the creation of a strategic area of national development called 'Territory for the Development of the Atlantic Façade.'"

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the creation of this territory on January 7.

In declaring its full support for the judicial process currently under way at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to bring a peaceful and definitive end to the long-standing controversy between Guyana and Venezuela, Caricom reiterated "in the strongest possible terms its firm and unswerving support" for the maintenance and preservation of Guyana's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It said, "Caricom firmly repudiates any acts of aggression by Venezuela against Guyana."

The Guyana-Venezuela territorial dispute dates back to 1899, and arbitration by an international tribunal that drew the border between the two countries, largely in Guyana's favour. The disputed area, west of the Essequibo River, is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources.

The UN referred the dispute to the ICJ in 2018 after a mediation effort failed. Venezuela has rejected the court’s intervention, arguing instead that a 1966 agreement to resolve the controversy effectively nullified the original arbitration.

Last Friday, Rowley was admitted to West Shore Private Hospital in Cocorite. In a statement on Saturday, the OPM said, "The Prime Minister underwent an angiogram and a subsequent angioplasty which went well." A wire-mesh stent was inserted to widen a clogged artery which was restricting blood flow to the PM's heart. On Sunday a statement said Rowley had been discharged from hospital and was resting comfortably at his official residence.