Nobody wins a war – keep peace in our region

While representatives of the nations and people of the world are actively involved at the COP 28 (Conference of Parties) in Dubai in arriving at concrete agreements to try and save an endangered planet, in other regions, military actions initiated by governments pose immediate danger to the peace and security of the world.

Even as the COP negotiations reach a critical stage, the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza and Palestine continues in full view of the world while in Ukraine, that country and neighbouring Russia march ahead in a self-destructive war. It seems that all the best efforts at COP 28 are being undone in these two regions.

But if those developments are not enough to arouse global alarm, then right here in the Caribbean in which there is unanimous agreement that it should remain a Zone of Peace, developments in the long-standing dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the mineral rich Essequibo region have injected heightened apprehension over its escalation.

Last week Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a temporary injunction on the matter. Curiously, both sides seem to have interpreted the judgement as a victory. On one hand, Venezuela and its supporters hailed the Court’s rejection of Guyana’s request for the ICJ to attempt to stop or at least invalidate the December 3 referendum organized by the Venezuelan government. The ruling made it clear that the ICJ could not do that.

More significantly, the Court ordered Venezuela not to take any actions in pursuance of its sovereignty claim over Essequibo until there is a final ruling on the sovereignty claim. So, in footballing terms it was one-all.

But, lo and behold! In spite of Venezuela’s pledge to respect the ruling of the Court, this week its President issued a series of announcements which can only be interpreted as an indication that it intends to pursue its sovereignty claims by extra-judicial means. This must be puzzling because this dispute has been hanging in the air for well over 100 years. Settlements were apparently made in 1899 and 1966 but they have not resolved this situation created by colonial Britain. So, it must be puzzling. Why the urgency now?

On the other hand, Guyana, clearly no military match for Venezuela, has gone the route of inviting the fabled “elephant in the room” by making military alliances with the United States and appealing to the Organization of American States (OAS) which has long demonstrated its hostility to the Maduro regime. Appealing to the US Southern Command military is tantamount to giving the lions free passage to the Okavango basin in Botswana during the rainy season.

The peace in the region is gravely endangered by these developments. It calls for cool, calm heads and the urgent intervention of those governments and regional bodies which have relations with both sides. We cannot allow this to catapult into a disastrous military confrontation. It demands the intervention of the Chairman of CARICOM, the Pro Tempore Chairman of CELAC, the President of Brazil, neighbour to both sides, and the United Nations, not the OAS, to put a halt to this reckless sprint to disaster. The Caribbean must remain a Zone of Peace for “Nobody wins a war”.