Tuesday, December 05, 2023

WW3 BEGINS WITH A PETRO WAR

Guyana says will seek UN help if Venezuela moves on disputed region of Essequibo
PUTIN SHOULD HAVE HAD A REFERENDUM TO INVADE UKRAINE
Tensions rose between Venezuela and Guyana Tuesday as Caracas proposed a bill to declare a Venezuelan province in a disputed oil-rich region and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude there.


Issued on: 06/12/2023 -
A government supporter holds a sign that reads: “The Essequibo is ours, vote YES 5 times” in Caracas, Venezuela November 15, 2023.
 © Leonardo Fernandez Viloria, Reuters

By:  NEWS WIRES

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro proposed at a government meeting that a bill be sent to the National Assembly for the creation of a "Guyana Esequiba" province in the region Guyana has administered for over a century.

He also said oil, gas and mining licenses must be issued immediately.

Venezuela held a controversial non-binding referendum on the region's fate Sunday that yielded an overwhelming 95-percent "yes" vote for Caracas' designs on Essequibo, or Esequiba as it is known in Venezuela.

Maduro gave an ultimatum to oil companies working under concessions given by Guyana to withdraw their operations within three months.

He also said a town bordering the disputed area, Tumeremo, would become headquarters of Venezuelan efforts to defend its interests there, saying authorities would conduct a census and begin issuing identity cards without giving details of how that would occur.

Earlier Tuesday, Guyana said it would approach the UN Security Council for help if Venezuela makes any moves following the referendum, which Guyana had sought to stop with an urgent application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

Guyana's Attorney General Anil Nandlall told AFP "any action or any attempt to take any action pursuant to the referendum will necessitate a resort to the UN Security Council as an injured party."

He said Guyana would invoke Articles 41 and 42 of the UN Charter which can authorize sanctions or military action to maintain or restore international peace and security.

"In terms of military, it (the UNSC) can authorise the use of armed forces by member states to assist in the enforcement" of ICJ orders, Nandlall said.
'Existential' threat

Guyana has administered Essequibo for over a century. The region makes up more than two-thirds of its territory and is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens.

Litigation is pending before the ICJ over where the borders should lie.

Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, insists the frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

But Venezuela -- which does not accept the ICJ's jurisdiction in the matter -- claims the Essequibo River to the region's east forms a natural border and had historically been recognised as such.

The dispute has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered oil in Essequibo in 2015.

Caracas called Sunday's referendum after Georgetown started auctioning off oil blocks in Essequibo in August.

Guyana had asked the ICJ to block the vote, which it considered an existential threat.

On Friday, the court urged Caracas to take no action that might affect the disputed territory, but did not grant Georgetown's request for urgent intervention.

Instead, it ruled that Venezuela "shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute."

On Sunday, Guyana's President Irfaan Ali warned that if Venezuela ignored the court order, "it will be a great injustice to the people of Venezuela because ultimately that path would lead to the suffering of the people of Venezuela."

Voters were asked to respond to five questions in the referendum, including whether Venezuela should reject the 1899 arbitration decision as well as the ICJ's jurisdiction.

They were also asked whether Venezuelan citizenship should be granted to the people -- currently Guyanese -- of a new "Guyana Esequiba State."

(AFP)

Venezuela, Guyana tensions rise over disputed oil-rich region

Georgetown (Guyana) (AFP) – Tensions rose between Venezuela and Guyana Tuesday as Caracas proposed a bill to declare a Venezuelan province in a disputed oil-rich region and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude there.


Issued on: 06/12/2023 - 
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro displays a map showing an oil-rich region it disputes with Guyana 
© ZURIMAR CAMPOS / Venezuelan Presidency/AFP

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro proposed at a government meeting that a bill be sent to the National Assembly for the creation of a "Guyana Esequiba" province in the region Guyana has administered for over a century.

He also said oil, gas and mining licenses must be issued immediately.

Venezuela held a controversial non-binding referendum on the region's fate Sunday that yielded an overwhelming 95-percent "yes" vote for Caracas' designs on Essequibo, or Esequiba as it is known in Venezuela.

Maduro gave an ultimatum to oil companies working under concessions given by Guyana to withdraw their operations within three months.

He also said a town bordering the disputed area, Tumeremo, would become headquarters of Venezuelan efforts to defend its interests there, saying authorities would conduct a census and begin issuing identity cards without giving details of how that would occur.

Earlier Tuesday, Guyana said it would approach the UN Security Council for help if Venezuela makes any moves following the referendum, which Guyana had sought to stop with an urgent application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

Guyana's Attorney General Anil Nandlall told AFP "any action or any attempt to take any action pursuant to the referendum will necessitate a resort to the UN Security Council as an injured party."

He said Guyana would invoke Articles 41 and 42 of the UN Charter which can authorize sanctions or military action to maintain or restore international peace and security.

"In terms of military, it (the UNSC) can authorize the use of armed forces by member states to assist in the enforcement" of ICJ orders, Nandlall said.
'Existential' threat

Guyana has administered Essequibo for over a century. The region makes up more than two-thirds of its territory and is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens.

Guyana has adminstered Essequibo for over a century and the region makes up more than two-thirds of its territory
 © Martín SILVA / AFP

Litigation is pending before the ICJ over where the borders should lie.

Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, insists the frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

But Venezuela -- which does not accept the ICJ's jurisdiction in the matter -- claims the Essequibo River to the region's east forms a natural border and had historically been recognized as such.

The dispute has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered oil in Essequibo in 2015.

Caracas called Sunday's referendum after Georgetown started auctioning off oil blocks in Essequibo in August.

Guyana had asked the ICJ to block the vote, which it considered an existential threat.

On Friday, the court urged Caracas to take no action that might affect the disputed territory, but did not grant Georgetown's request for urgent intervention.

Instead, it ruled that Venezuela "shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute."

On Sunday, Guyana's President Irfaan Ali warned that if Venezuela ignored the court order, "it will be a great injustice to the people of Venezuela because ultimately that path would lead to the suffering of the people of Venezuela."

Voters were asked to respond to five questions in the referendum, including whether Venezuela should reject the 1899 arbitration decision as well as the ICJ's jurisdiction.

They were also asked whether Venezuelan citizenship should be granted to the people -- currently Guyanese -- of a new "Guyana Esequiba State."

© 2023 AFP


Guyana says will approach UN if Venezuela moves on disputed region

Georgetown (Guyana) (AFP) – Guyana said Tuesday it will approach the UN Security Council for help if Venezuela makes any moves on a disputed oil-rich region following a referendum Caracas says bolstered its claim to it.


Issued on: 05/12/2023 
Guyana has adminstered Essequibo for over a century and the region makes up more than two-thirds of its territory
 © Martín SILVA / AFP


Officials in Caracas said Sunday's referendum yielded a 95-percent "yes" response on whether to lay claim to the Essequibo region and grant Venezuelan citizenship to its inhabitants.

On Tuesday, Guyana's Attorney General Anil Nandlall told AFP that "any action or any attempt to take any action pursuant to the referendum will necessitate a resort to the UN Security Council as an injured party."

He said Guyana would invoke Articles 41 and 42 of the UN Charter which can authorize sanctions or military action to maintain or restore international peace and security.

"In terms of military, it (the UNSC) can authorize the use of armed forces by member states to assist in the enforcement" of any orders from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Nandlall said.

Guyana has administered Essequibo for over a century and the region makes up more than two-thirds of its territory.

Litigation is pending before the ICJ over where the borders should lie.

Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, insists the frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

Essequibo is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens.

But Venezuela -- which does not recognize the ICJ's jurisdiction in the matter -- claims the Essequibo River to the region's east forms a natural border and had historically been recognized as such.

The dispute has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered oil in Essequibo in 2015.

Caracas called Sunday's referendum after Georgetown started auctioning off oil blocks in Essequibo in August.

On Monday, President Nicolas Maduro claimed popular backing for Venezuela's claim on Essequibo following the referendum, whose outcome he said was a "powerful, vital boost."

Guyana had asked the ICJ to block the vote.

On Friday, the court urged Caracas to take no action that might affect the disputed territory, but did not grant Georgetown's request for urgent intervention.

It ruled that Venezuela "shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute."

On Sunday, Guyana's President Irfaan Ali warned that if Venezuela ignored the court order, "it will be a great injustice to the people of Venezuela because ultimately that path would lead to the suffering of the people of Venezuela."

© 2023 AFP


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