Burnham-Era Border Research Must Guide Guyana’s Case Ahead of ICJ Hearings

Dear Editor,

So, in another few weeks the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will begin several days of oral hearings on the merits of Guyana’s case against Venezuela on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award. Over the past few years particularly since we have this abundance of money, Government has been spending its resources, time and money, that the appropriate research in government files would have provided most, if not all, of the data required, in defence of this spurious claim by Venezuela.   

Before I make my main submission, let me make clear that I am in no way questioning the legal competence of those being utilised in this very important exercise. However, as our independence approaches, sixty years ago Venezuela renewed this ridiculous claim to two-thirds of Guyana. 

Say what you like about Forbes Burnham, one of his strengths was his ability to identify individuals of competence and loyalty to serve the people of the State of Guyana. As a result, there was established the Venezuela-Guyana mixed boundary commission headed by Sir Donald Jackson, and included legal luminaries, such as Mohamed Shahabuddeem and Shirley Field-Ridley. 

I am aware of the extensive research and documentation done by that commission. Those reports ought to be in the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Legal Affairs, unless, of course after 1992 some cultural barbarians wantonly burnt priceless documents and records.

I witnessed some of this at the back of NCN on Homestretch where Ave Brewster was able to salvage some from the inferno. I write this letter with a prayer that those documents and others have been preserved and therefore avoid us the tedium of doing work that was already done by competent super patriots. 

Yours truly,
Elder Hamilton Green