The Bar Association of Guyana has added its voice to the matter of the Guyana/Venezuelan border controversy, specifically Venezuela’s proposed referendum with a view to annexing Essequibo.
In a release yesterday, the Bar Association expressed its wish to enjoin the national concern regarding the proposal by the Government of Vene-zuela to conduct a Consultative Referendum to have the Venezuelan public consider several questions related to the legal validity and binding effect of the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899.
The Bar Association noted that these questions raise issues about Guyana’s sovereignty over the territory between the Essequibo River and the internationally recognized western boundaries of Guyana; the purported creation of a new Venezuelan State encompassing the Essequibo region; as well as other legal and political matters.
