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Several Weeks ago, COHA published an analysis of the Venezuela-Guyana boundary dispute by guest scholar Eva Golinger, who is a New York-based attorney and the author of the best-selling book The Chavez Code. In her article, Golinger presents a distinctively pro-Venezuela perspective. In an effort to create a constructive forum between two longtime friends of the organization, COHA is re-publishing the following piece by Dr. Odeen Ishmael. Mr. Ishmael served as Guyana’s ambassador to Washington and now serves as a COHA Senior Research Fellow. His piece presents a strongly pro-Guyana perspective and, as such, will serve to add balance to this issue.
By: Dr. Odeen Ishmael, Senior Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs
Ever so often, sections of the local and foreign media propagate the erroneous idea of an existing territorial “dispute” between Venezuela and Guyana over the Essequibo region. They report about the “disputed” oil-rich Essequibo territory, conveniently ignoring the fact that the territory was firmly defined as Guyana’s by the international arbitral award of October 1899. Actually, what has existed since 1962 is a spurious and illegal claim by Venezuela to Guyana’s disputed territory. In that year, Venezuela assumed the right to unilaterally pronounce that the award was “null and void” and ventured to declare ownership over roughly two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. The area included all territory west of the Essequibo River, except for a narrow strip east of a straight line stretching from the mouth of the Pomeroon River to the confluence of the Mazaruni and the Essequibo Rivers. In later years, Venezuela expanded this claim to include this strip, along with the islands in the Essequibo River.
Treaty of Washington, 1897
Up to the time of the arbitration, Venezuela claimed almost all the territory west of the Essequibo River, including an area which is now Brazilian territory. Acting for British Guiana, Great Britain counter-claimed as its sovereign territory not only the area claimed by Venezuela, but also the upper Cuyuni basin and a swath of land in the Amakura and Barima basins up the right bank of the Orinoco River. The territorial arbitration was demanded by Venezuela with the heavy backing, from 1895, of the United States government which even threatened war on the British if they refused to retract their claims. After intense negotiations, Venezuela and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Washington on February 2, 1897, by which they agreed to place the contending claims to territory by both sides to a tribunal comprising of five judges—two appointed by the British, two by the Venezuelans and the fifth, to be the president of the tribunal, chosen by the other four. The treaty also specified that the two countries agreed “to consider the result of the tribunal of arbitration as a full, perfect, and final settlement of all the questions referred to the arbitrators.” [Treaty of Washington, Article XIII, February 2, 1897]
Guyana-Venezuela: The “controversy” over the arbitral award of 1899
This is another one that shouldn't even be an issue.
By: Dr. Odeen Ishmael, Senior Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs
Ever so often, sections of the local and foreign media propagate the erroneous idea of an existing territorial “dispute” between Venezuela and Guyana over the Essequibo region. They report about the “disputed” oil-rich Essequibo territory, conveniently ignoring the fact that the territory was firmly defined as Guyana’s by the international arbitral award of October 1899. Actually, what has existed since 1962 is a spurious and illegal claim by Venezuela to Guyana’s disputed territory. In that year, Venezuela assumed the right to unilaterally pronounce that the award was “null and void” and ventured to declare ownership over roughly two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. The area included all territory west of the Essequibo River, except for a narrow strip east of a straight line stretching from the mouth of the Pomeroon River to the confluence of the Mazaruni and the Essequibo Rivers. In later years, Venezuela expanded this claim to include this strip, along with the islands in the Essequibo River.
Treaty of Washington, 1897
Up to the time of the arbitration, Venezuela claimed almost all the territory west of the Essequibo River, including an area which is now Brazilian territory. Acting for British Guiana, Great Britain counter-claimed as its sovereign territory not only the area claimed by Venezuela, but also the upper Cuyuni basin and a swath of land in the Amakura and Barima basins up the right bank of the Orinoco River. The territorial arbitration was demanded by Venezuela with the heavy backing, from 1895, of the United States government which even threatened war on the British if they refused to retract their claims. After intense negotiations, Venezuela and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Washington on February 2, 1897, by which they agreed to place the contending claims to territory by both sides to a tribunal comprising of five judges—two appointed by the British, two by the Venezuelans and the fifth, to be the president of the tribunal, chosen by the other four. The treaty also specified that the two countries agreed “to consider the result of the tribunal of arbitration as a full, perfect, and final settlement of all the questions referred to the arbitrators.” [Treaty of Washington, Article XIII, February 2, 1897]
Guyana-Venezuela: The “controversy” over the arbitral award of 1899
This is another one that shouldn't even be an issue.
