While Guyana awaits the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award on its border with Venezuela, the military, security services and civilians must identify and protest acts of aggression driven by Venezuela’s spurious claim to the Essequibo region and most of the country’s maritime space, retired Major General Joe Singh says.
He said “fishermen offshore, miners in the interior, lumber men in the interior, those crossing over the border to do business, pilots flying into the interior on a daily basis” must be vigilant.
At a recent Guyana Trades Union Congress forum at the Critchlow Labour College to address Venezuela’s recent intrusion into Guyana’s maritime space, Singh said he was concerned that youths below 25 years who comprise 60 per cent of the population do not know what the 1899 award means.
