 get involved joe singh urges total vigilance from citizens on border controversy get involved joe singh urges total vigilance from citizens on border controversy get involved joe singh urges total vigilance from citizens on border controversy webmaster tue 2062018 34 retired majorgeneral joe singh said guyanese near and far should be vigilant in defence of guyana s territorial integrity noting that vigilance is not reserved only for the guyana defence force gdf and the guyana police force gpf this is not reserved only for the military and the police we all have to be vigilant we all have to recognise read and listen and that includes our diaspora who have access to information which may be very helpful to us and our diplomats he said at the time the former army chiefofstaff was delivering remarks alongside ambassador to suriname keith george and ambassador cedric joseph at the university of guyana s second conversation on law and society titled guyana s borders boundaries barriers or bridges at theatre guild thursday evening the retired majorgeneral recalled that in the past the military and the police had developed linkages with the porkknockers loggers and even fishermen who had frequented the country s borders most of our information on which we then developed our intelligence was provided by ordinary citizens who had a very patriotic fervour saying literally not a blade of grass he posited additionally the former army chiefofstaff said as guyana moves to the international court of justice icj to resolve the territorial controversy with venezuela major emphasis should be placed on educating the populace it is no secret that venezuelans have been falsely indoctrinated into believing that essequibo forms of part of their country we have produced a lot of stuff which perhaps need to be republished i remember very little books produced by the ministry of foreign affairs speeches by sir shridath ramphal research on ankoko island so we need to revive and resuscitate that form of education singh told his audience meanwhile in a statement on friday ambassador emeritus drodeen ishmael alluded to the fact that venezuela s demand has grown progressively over the years it requested before the arbitral tribunal all the territory west of the essequibo river with the exception of an area marked by a line stretching from the mouth of the moruca river to the junction of the mazaruni and the essequibo the claim also included the essequibo watershed south of the junction of the essequibo and the rupununi rivers today the claim has extended to all territory west of the essequibo river including the islands in the river it has also been expanded to include guyana s maritime region rich with oil deposits dr ishmael explained he said it is no secret that venezuela seized guyana s half of the border ankoko island and its armed gunboats brazenly venture into guyana s section of the cuyuni river ideal venue  but in all of its actions venezuela has failed to adequately defend its position that the 1899 arbitral award is null and void according to him the international court of justice icj is an ideal venue for venezuela to make its argument united nations secretarygeneral unsg antonio guterres has referred the guyana venezuela territorial controversy to the icj but the spanishspeaking nation has rejected the decision holding fast to its position that the good offices process should be allowed to continue having commenced since 1990 ambassador ishmael said venezuela s position on the unsg decision comes as no surprise when the unsg announced his proposal in december 2016 the venezuelan government at first expressed its satisfaction but within a month it backtracked and insisted on the continuation of the good offices process which had failed to produce any tangible forward momentum for the past quarter of a century guyana since 2014 had informed the unsg of its decision to abandon the good offices process and urged the involvement of the icj a proposal now opposed by venezuela therefore that country s recent statement on january 31 has not come as a surprise to anyone he explained it was pointed out that the 1966 geneva agreement conferred upon the secretarygeneral the power and responsibility to choose a means of peaceful settlement from among those contemplated in article 33 of the charter of the united nations the geneva agreement signed by the venezuela british and guyana governments also provides that if the means so chosen does not lead to a solution of the controversy the secretarygeneral will choose another means of settlement in this respect the last means in article 33 is judicial settlement stating that the member states of the united nations are no doubt hoping for a judicial solution he said it is possible that their quiet diplomacy can help to propel venezuela to work along with guyana towards this direction artilce adapted from  https guyanachroniclecom 20180203 getinvolved venezuela border dispute 