Dear Editor,
This is a call for the government of Guyana to immediately suspend all diplomatic and economic ties with Israel in light of its current and ongoing violence against the people of Palestine. Please note- this is not to ignore or endorse hostility towards Israeli civilians; targeting civilians must always be condemned and avoided, no matter how righteous the cause. However, Israel’s reaction to the recent Hamas attack displays an overwhelming lust for blood, a willingness to collectively punish a civilian population, and blatant violations of numerous international human rights laws and conventions.
In addition to indiscriminately slaughtering hundreds of innocent Palestinians, bombing homes, schools, and hospitals, the Zionist Israeli government has also cut off all food, water, fuel, and medicine to the over two million long-suffering residents of Gaza. Additionally, there are reports that Israeli forces have used chemical weapons such as white phosphorus- considered an incendiary weapon under Protocol III of the Convention on the Prohibition of Use of Certain Conventional Weapons.
Worldwide, peace and justice loving people have been speaking out against these genocidal actions and note is taken of the recent PPP statement calling for an end to this violence. However, there is much more that the Guyanese government can and should do to show true solidarity with the people of Palestine. First would be to suspend diplomatic ties with the state of Israel. This would send a clear signal to Israel that its horrific violations of international human rights law are unacceptable and will not be condoned. In this David vs Goliath struggle in the Middle East, Israel enjoys overwhelming support from numerous Western/European nations, many of whom have long histories of domination, land grabbing, exploitation, and genocide themselves, here in our Caribbean region. However, Guyana is becoming increasingly powerful and visible on the world stage; that power should be used in the service of justice, locally and globally, not for personal enrichment or aggrandizement.
Economic ties with Israeli companies should also be suspended. Business cannot continue as usual while millions of innocent civilians are being massacred, displaced, and collectively punished. Some Guyanese may know that the Ministry of Agriculture signed a MOU with an Israeli company last year to develop a hydroponic project, and that the Chairman and some staff of Demerara Distillers Ltd. – one of Guyana’s leading private companies- visited Israel earlier this year to meet with senior officials from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and finalize a project for the establishment of a dairy farm in Guyana. Israel also has a stake in Guyana’s oil industry- Ratio Guyana Limited, a company whose parent company is Israel-based, is a joint-venture partner of ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) in Guyana’s offshore Kaieteur Block.
By tying bundle with the Israeli government and these Israeli companies, Guyana has entered into partnership with a nation guilty of massive human rights violations- violations that have been accruing for decades. Of course, similar allegations can be made against other countries that Guyana also has economic ties with- China, the United States of America, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Dominican Republic, etc, and similar arguments made for the severing of those connections as well. One knows that’s a lot to hope for. But as justice-loving individuals, we must not hesitate to ask those who lead and represent our nation to do better, to demonstrate real moral leadership and true solidarity with the Palestinian people, not just pay lip service.
Come on, GOG- put your money where your mouth is. Suspend diplomatic and economic ties with Zionist Israel now, and call on other nations to do the same.
Yours truly,
Sherlina Nageer
