[www.inewsguyana.com] – Former Guyana Ambassador to Venezuela Dr Odeen Ishmael has revealed that plans are afoot in the Venezuela’s congress to create an Essequibo state.
According to Dr Ishmael, eight opposition members of the Venezuelan National Assembly have presented a special bill for the creation of a new Essequibo “state.”
See full article below.
By Dr. Odeen Ishmael
In a new twist to the Venezuelan renewed vociferous and heated claim to Guyana’s western Essequibo territory, eight opposition members of the Venezuelan National Assembly have presented a special bill for the creation of a new Essequibo “state.”
The legislators, Andres Velasquez, Freddy Marcano, Américo de Grazzia, Luis Barragan, Jose Manuel Gonzalez, Juan Pablo Garcia, Omar Gonzalez and Flores Leomagno, on July 15 presented their bill which proposes the creation of a state to be known as “Esequivo” (with a “v” in the spelling) to stretch from Sifontes, a municipality of Bolivar State, and including Guyana’s Essequibo territory claimed by Venezuela. The said that their proposed state would return the region to its “original name derived from its discoverer, Juan de Esquivel” and will constitute “an innovative, appropriate, timely and relevant popular representation in the framework of Venezuelan policy for the recovery of territory.” They viewed this action as legitimate, fair, and peaceful.
The eight proponents explained that the idea of the new state was conceived and developed by Sergio Urdaneta, a lawyer specializing in constitutional and administrative law, and that their proposal “is inspired by the best patriotic , sober and responsible feeling.”
In its preamble, the bill, published in the Venezuelan online periodical, Noticiero Digital.com, alleges that the Paris arbitral award of October 3, 1899 “amended” the Constitution of the country and reduced Venezuelan territory by 159,500 square kilometers. It further claims that the award was never ratified by the Venezuelan State and therefore it remained without any validity.
Strangely, the eight parliamentarians have not included in their proposal for their proposed state the chunk of 10,350 square kilometers of territory west of the Rupununi District, granted to the then British Guiana by the 1899 award, but which was later ceded by the British government to Brazil after another arbitration in 1902. This area bounded by the Takutu and the Cotinga River (in Brazil) was originally claimed by Venezuela before the arbitral tribunal.
The bill also asserts that the award “was achieved by coercion,” thus closing the proponents’ minds on the fact that it was actually the British government that was forced to agree to arbitration in 1897 by the American government which at that time heavily backed Venezuela in its territorial claim.
With regard to the structure of their proposed “Esequivo State,” the provisional capital will be the city of Tumeremo in the Sifontes municipality. The governor “is required to be Venezuelan by birth, over twenty-five years and a layman.” For this purpose, a Venezuela is considered to be to anyone born in the territory “which includes the Esequivo territory.”
The bill goes on to explain that legislative power will be vested in the new state by a legislative council comprised of between seven to fifteen members, elected for a term of four years by the voting majority.
And the territory of the proposed state will be organized into municipalities, parishes, communes, departments, cantons, and captains, and “recognizes any geographical, historical, cultural features and realities of the inhabitants of the territory.”
Apparently, the proposers of the new state feel that it good enough for a governor and the legislative council to “be elected by the population that makes up the municipality of Sifontes until the register of the remaining territory of the state is completed.”
The eight National Assembly members indicate optimistically in their bill that when passed, the legislation “shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Venezuela in Spanish, English, Macuchi and Wapishana.”
How much support the bill will garner is not yet known, but in recent days, both government and opposition members of the National Assembly have shown strong unity in backing President Nicolas Maduro in his vehement demand for Essequibo. Only recently, on July 14, the National Assembly voted unanimously to support him, with almost no criticisms from the opposition. And on the following day, they applauded his establishment of a presidential commission for border issues. In this test of patriotism for his opponents, they have passed with flying colors. They in turn will surely demand their pound of flesh, and the proponents of the “Esequivo” bill must be thinking that they will be able to garner much needed support from parliamentarians on the government side.
However, the entire concept of a new Venezuelan state encompassing Guyana’s Essequibo territory assumes, erroneously, that Guyanese citizens residing there will gleefully accept Venezuelan citizenship. Nevertheless, it presents a dangerous ploy to the Guyanese nation, for this bill comes right out of the playbook of European revanchists of the nineteen and twentieth centuries and even more recently, who laid similar types of groundwork before they acted to annex neighboring weaker territories.
You see, that´s your problem, Venezuela only responds equally to the demands of Guyana. and you just continue to demand the full Essequibo; you peaple don´t want half or a certain area, you peaple only wants everything, and that is simply impossible, It is called negotiate. not a give away. You only seems to demonstrate a crazy need to demand everything and forget reality, even Brazil has interests in the Essequibo.
I recommend to all of you to investigate the meaning of “Uti Possidetis Juris”. As well investigate: what was the Captaincy General of Venezuela ?, what the Constitution of the Republic of Venezuela of 1811 in its article 5 says. finally look who was Severo Mallet-Prevost. After that, you can comment.
Remember that without the continuously extract of goods and resources (gasoline, engines, oils, and many more) that your networks of smugglers have done, half of Guyanese would be really poor, and the people who are in essequivo would die of hunger (like many Guyanese have created much in Venezuela), so it is best that you start thinking like Venezuelan brothers because that is what we are brothers, you are not better or worse. Your rights ends where Venezuelans rights begin
Guyana ‘s government violates the terms of the Geneva Agreement , to make concessions to transnational companies to explore resources and emploten both the Essequibo as its continental shelf, without the border dispute , which does not occur in the Gulf of Venezuela have resuelton where Venezuela and Colombia have a border dispute and neither of the two countries gives oil or gas-bearing concessions knowing that there is great potential . Venezuela is respectful of international law and diplomacy make peace and solidarity even with Guyana. But you get tired of verbal aggression and abuse Granger is violating the Geneva Accord. Guyana over the Essequibo just does not have possession more exercises sovereignty, which rests with each country once resolved the dispute .
Venezuela is not falling apart , that’s a lie , if the inconvenience to investigate and compare taken , the Venezuelan economy is one of the largest in America only to Brazil, Mexico and Chile. Passes a bad time either . And if we refer to oil, the cost of each barrel of Venezuelan oil is much cheaper than it can be produced on the continental shelf of the Essequibo . Read the story and as Guyana born. Lean the Geneva Agreement where the UK, Venezuela and British Guiana recognize that there is a territorial dispute is unresolved and invoke the mechanisms of international law to resolve
Totally in agreement
Not only Murdoc is doing what they claim the Opposition is behind him But Guyana is Native Land control by other people (Race)
You are seriously twisted. You belong in a mental institution.
“…I am sure that our governments under full equality and respect and sovereignty can reach an wonderful agreement like NEIGHBORS.” Yes, like “let’s agree that I take over two-thirds of your country”. That’s more than neighbourly, it’s downright intimate.
Patrick: Or should I say Senor Patrick? Your post makes no sense. Guyana followed the diplomacy route for 25 years and nothing came of it. What triggered the latest land grab is the discovery of oil. Lets say you are right and we are “brothers and sisters” Lets say the brother is to lazy to work and notices that the sister lashed out and got a high paying job and he then claims 75% of her current salary and all her future income? Does she negotiate to only give him 60% of her current salary and 98% of all future income? Use your head man.
This is so terrible. If Venezuelans support their braindead politicians claim to Guyana where will they stop? Will they take over the world? Would that help them get toilet paper, bleach and soap? Are they trying to take over Guyana because of our surplus of toiler paper? Could this become an Unreality TV show? Could any Politician in Venezuela pass an IQ test? All these questions and more need to be answered before the ex-bus driver is declared Emperor of the planet. What a silly country Venezuela is turning into and it used to be so nice.
Patrick, where does your delusion end. Essequibo is Guyana, legally and historically. Any dispute regarding this fact exists only in the minds of Maduro and his gullible supporters. Venezuela has more land than it knows what to do with. Maduro’s obsession with the Essequibo is driven only by greed and opportunism and will prove to be his ultimate downfall, You obviously do not know the meaning of diplomacy, or like Maduro, thinks it is satisfied by lip service. Diplomacy is definitely not issuing scurrilous decrees with no basis in legality. Respecting sovereignity certainly does not begin with threats and illegal military incursions against a country’s established boundaries. The so-called diplomatic processes that Maduro wants is nothing but a smokescreen for Venezuela to continue its baseless claim and prevent Guyana from developing its resources. The UN Good Officer mission has already been exhausted, during which time Venezuela repeatedly violated Guyana’s borders. The only process Guyana is interested in a juridical settlement. To that Maduro can either put up or shut up.
I recommend to all of you to investigate the meaning of “Uti Possidetis Juris”. As well investigate: what was the Captaincy General of Venezuela ?, what the Constitution of the Republic of Venezuela of 1811 in its article 5 says. finally look who was Severo Mallet-Prevost. After that, you can comment
This is more of bellicose non-sense that t will never see reality and is only an attempt to put a blind strap on Venezuelans, so that they may not see the economic woes they are facing and what more that is to come, just so that their President Maduro can hold on to power. This matter has been settled and the international community by and through the United Nations will not tolerate their use of force or any subversive acts to get their way. the Venezuelans should take a lesson from how Saddam Hussein was kicked out of Kuwait and the heavy price Putin is paying economically for his foray into the Ukraine.
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Would you be surprised if the Jagdeo-led PPP has a hand in this? After all, Maduro made clear he was upset with Granger being elected President, and with Jagdeo determined to make a comeback to power, nothing is to be ruled out by a man whose greed knows no limit, having proven by selling out Guyana to anyone will to pay to play, he may well be willing to sell out Guyana to Venezuela in exchange to make Guyana ungovernable.
Traitor?
Mad Huro needs to divert attention to more troubling issues at his home land…where people are starving.
The new president of Guyana is only trying to pressure the Venezuelan government with the intention of taking advantage of the economic and social difficulties that the Venezuelan country is facing, as well rumors that president Maduro is a dictator, in order to receive international support to ignore the diplomats channels that his country(Guyana) under previous governments accept and support. Remember that diplomacy exists for a reason, and is not an invention of Venezuela.
Neither Venezuela nor its president caused this problem, this problem comes from the bad intentions of the British empire agains the American people. Venezuelans and Guyanese are brothers and sisters regardless of language, we are neighbors and that is a powerful reason for take care of our relationships; I am sure that our governments under full equality and respect and sovereignty can reach an wonderful agreement like NEIGHBORS.
there canot be no conflict between us, union, respect and freedom, we have that right as people and brothers and sisters.
What is really wrong with those people? They are just out of order and covetous and extremely presumptuous.
That’s bull they are not getting our land
New Govt in, venezuela instantaneously reignites a row and seems bent on destabilizing Guyana under this govt. Back in Guyana, the PPP seems not interested in being opposition but focused on new elections and boycott of every kind. Why would I believe jagdeo wants to be opposition leader anyway? Never! His plan, I believe, is to encourage his influential friends to undermine, destabilize and force new elections asap with the hope of winning and regaining his power in Guyana. As soon as he realize its not working, he will find reason to remove himself from the PPP’s list then they will show up and be the opposition in parliament. I will watch and see.
Maduro is a liar. History states that Juan de Esquivel was born in Seville, Spain & died in Jamaica in 1513. He conquered the island of Jamaica, not Essequibo, Guyana. Furthermore, Essequibo is a Dutch word.
NOTE to Venezuelans…get off your high horse and do an honest days work so your country doesn’t continue to fall apart. Not one blade of grass. Make all your color-by-number maps that you want, but it doesn’t make it so.
I am so confused by all of this , why are Venezuelans want to make Essequibo a state these bitches are out of order and greedy. Hope they would just back the hell off of this situation, and to fix there money issues from some other source.