Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde is calling for world leaders to meet as a matter of urgency to resolve the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine. The shadow Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs said, “war is not the answer.”
On October 8, Israel declared war on Palestine in response to Hamas, the Palestinian government, attack on the country on October 7, resulting in the death of 1400 people. Since then, Israel has launched its offensive and both sides are vowing not to stop until the other is annihilated.
Forde said, “while it is not lost on me each side may feel there is justification in their action, we cannot lose sight of the importance of pushing for a solution between the warring factions and the importance of worldwide comity.”
Underscoring the point, the senior counsel reminded that the People’s National Congress party-which he is a member of- has always called for peace based on the establishment of the two-states solution. “In the wisdom and vision of Prime Minister Forbes Burnham, Guyana registered its support, along with other countries, at the United Nations for the two-states solution.”
In 1967 and 1974 the United Nations passed resolutions for the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine’s existence by way of the two-states solution. The resolutions support the right of both Israel and Palestine existing side by side within secured and recognised borders. That call is even more pressing now, the member of parliament said.
Pivoting to the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy, the senior counsel said while the situation is different from the Israel/Palestine conflict, two commonalities stand out: “the issues of laying claim to land and military might.” These are issues Guyanese cannot lose sight of and whilst we are fortunate, to the extent, we are pursuing the land settlement in the court, we are reminded every day this is not Venezuela’s desire, he shared.
Last month Venezuela Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil informed the United Nations National Assembly the country will vote in a referendum on the territorial controversy. Venezuela is falsely claiming two-thirds of Guyana, despite the 1899 Arbitral Award that settled the land dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela, a decision that is binding on both sides. Guyana has taken its case to the International Court of Jurist (ICJ) in 2018 and back in April the Court ruled it could hear the border controversy between the two countries.
Going further, Forde said the Israel/Palestine Conflict is noteworthy for Guyanese even within our borders. According to him, President Irfaan Ali’s politics and policies do not facilitate peaceful coexistence among all groups in society and “we must hope and pray Ali’s divisive politics does not escalate to the level where common peace is threatened.”
“I want President Ali to address his mind to the conflicts he is stoking between and among the Guyanese people; the destruction of people’s homes and businesses; the inhumane treatment of fellow Guyanese his government call ‘squatters,’ to justify denying these persons their human rights that saw the brutish confiscation of lands rather than peaceful approaches to settling conflicts and making appropriate compensation to the affected; and his discriminatory management and distribution of Guyana’s resources.” To this end the shadow minister warned “the president is creating two or more societies, but certainly not one, and this is very dangerous”
Returning to the Israel/Palestine Conflict, the member of parliament said he has taken note Jews within the United States Jews and members of Congress are calling for an end to the violence. “These are good indicators because such calls could help to intensify the importance of the two sides, with the backing of the world, meeting to resolve their differences in the process of establishing the two-states solution.”
The bloodshed, loss of lives, including that of innocent children and destruction of communities, some of which are of historical significance, do both sides and the world no good, he asserted. “We must be able to find a way to peacefully coexist and the UN’s resolutions to settle the conflict between these two countries must be put to work in 2023,” the senior counsel concluded.
