Guyana is first
Editorial
Guyana is First is a traditional civic group of concerned citizens which according to its profile sheet began meeting on a regular basis in April this year. Last week Monday it made its public debut with a forum on "The Genesis of Territorial Issues and the Evolution of Frontiers Policy". It was a well organised, well attended and successful occasion and a good example of the kind of role civic groups dedicated to the well being of the nation can play. The forum brought together senior people from the various political parties and a wide range of persons from civil society. Two of the outstanding presenters were Mr Cedric Joseph, an acknowledged expert on our border problems whose book "Anglo-American Diplomacy and the re-opening of the Guyana-Venezuela boundary controversy, l96l - l966", available in local bookstores, is essential reading for all Guyanese and should be available in school libraries, who spoke on the history of our boundaries and former Foreign Minister Rashleigh Jackson who spoke on the topic "Diplomatic Initiatives" and put forward some very useful ideas on how our diplomatic corps should be mobilising to deal with the threats from two of our neighbours. Regrettably, because of a late start, their presentations were cut short. These were cases in which the moderators could well have exercised a liberal discretion. Foreign Minister Clement Rohee opened the forum with a conciliatory speech in which he stressed that dealing with threats to our territorial integrity was not a matter for a government only but must be an all-inclusive national effort involving all sectors of society. "The initiative for this forum reflects an appreciation of this reality and is a positive step forward in this regard" he said. He also said he looked forward to receiving the ideas, recommendations and conclusions that emerged from the forum that could contribute to the evolution of our border policy. Mr Rohee remained for the entire morning session. Many points were raised including that Brazil is a natural ally on this issue, having as she does a common border with many Latin American countries and a vested interest in settled boundaries. Mr Rohee noted: "Brazil and indeed the international community, particularly those countries of Africa and Europe that have artificially determined but now quite settled borders, would be thoroughly opposed to any country that seeks, as Venezuela has been attempting to do, to unilaterally abrogate a freely determined boundary particularly one that has been in existence and internationally accepted for a hundred years as ours has been. Our friends, and others, in the international community need only be reminded of the international chaos that would ensue, if Guyana were silly enough to entertain Venezuela's claim or to concede the principle that denies the right of unilateral abrogation of settled boundaries". The role played by Britain in l962 in agreeing to discuss with the Venezuelan government through diplomatic channels arrangements for a tripartite study of the documentary material when the matter was raised by the Venezuelans in the United Nations in l962 at a time when Independence was believed to be imminent for Guyana, and which concession effectively laid the basis for the Geneva agreement in l966 was also referred to. It is dealt with in detail in Mr Joseph's book. This exercise, involving a frank and many sided discussion on our borders was of value to those who attended and was conducted in an amicable spirit. Mr Jackson made the important point that whatever political reservations one might have about the signing of the Geneva agreement in l966 that was no longer relevant and Mr Ralph Ramkarran, a senior member of the People's Progressive Party and one of the speakers supported this. What was vital now was for the nation to unite on this issue and the forum was a step in this direction. It showed once again the important role civil society can and should play on national issues which should not be left to the politicians. Issues tend to be tackled more fruitfully when they are not politicised in the party political sense, as the role played by civil society in the Constitution Reform Commission, the settling of the public service wages dispute and the recent private sector- presidential summit has clearly shown. Guyana is First must be congratulated on this effort and it must be hoped it is not their last.
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