GEORGETOWN -Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has firmly said that the Russian combat vessels scheduled to make possible stops in Venezuela are not “a direct threat” to Guyana, however, the government will remain vigilant.

“We’ve been made aware of it; the President has spoken to several people in the region. The view shared by some of our partners is that it’s not something that we should worry about; that it doesn’t represent a direct threat to Guyana or Guyana’s interests.

“Nevertheless, we’re vigilant, and we’re keeping this issue firmly in our policy radar,” the Vice-President said during a press conference at the Office of the President (OP).

According to Reuters, Russia plans sending combat vessels into the Caribbean region this summer as part of a number of naval exercises that will likely include port calls in Cuba and possible stops in Venezuela, a senior US official said.

Last month, Dr. Jagdeo affirmed that Guyana remains vigilant about the development on Ankoko Island by Venezuelan authorities.

He made it clear that the government is not turning a blind eye to the actions being taken by Venezuela, which can be described as threatening.

“We have made it clear, and the requisite bodies have been written to, consistent with the Argyle Agreement and the provisional measures announced by the ICJ [International Court of Justice]. We have notified all the relevant partners, both multilateral and bilateral, about the continued attempts by Venezuela to build up a presence at our border in a threatening posture,” the Vice-President had said.

The border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela was settled by the 1899 Arbitral Agreement.

However, during the early 1960s, Venezuela’s claims to the Essequibo region were resurged, and the country threatened physical invasion. In the last nine years, Venezuela has advanced its claim, ever since it was announced that there’d been a major discovery of oil offshore Guyana. Venezuela is claiming about two-thirds of Guyana’s territory, all of which happen to be located in the resource-rich Essequibo region.

Guyana has maintained that its territorial boundary is 83,000 square miles, in addition to the internationally known maritime allocation. When the UN Good Offices process failed, the then UN Secretary-General referred the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The ICJ would have pronounced that both parties desist from actions that will exacerbate the territorial controversy.

Even so, Venezuela’s parliament purportedly declared Guyana’s Essequibo as a State of Venezuela.

While Guyana is maintaining that the ICJ is the competent authority to rule on the matter, and to find a peaceful resolution, it is ensuring that it builds international support and strengthens its military capacity. (Guyana Chronicle)…[+]

PARAMARIBO – Burglars recently stole a refrigerator that contained beverages out of the AOV office of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing (Sozavo) which is located in the Gemenelandsweg. Officials have already notified the police of the burglary. This is not the first time that the office that handles old age pensions was burglarized. In the past the burglars only stole the beverages out of the refrigerator. The workers decided to replace the locks on the doors. This time the burglars broke into the office before taking the entire refrigerator and its contents. The investigation is ongoing. The perpetrators are still at large…[+]

MYANMAR – At least 50 people were killed by Myanmar soldiers in a raid on a village in Rakhine State last week, say local residents and opposition forces.  Eyewitnesses told the BBC the village was subjected to two-and-half days of terror as soldiers blindfolded and beat them up, poured burning petrol on their skin and forced some of them to drink their urine.

They were looking for supporters of the Arakan Army (AA), which has become one of the most effective ethnic fighting forces in Myanmar. Fifty-one people aged between 15 and 70 were “violently tortured and killed”, the National Unity Government (NUG), representing the ousted civilian government, said in a statement. The AA estimated the death toll to be more than 70 people.

The ruling military council, or junta, has denied the accusations, which would amount to one of the worst atrocities committed in the three year-old Myanmar civil war. “They asked the men if the AA was in this village,” one woman told the BBC. “Whatever answer they gave, whether they said AA was there or it wasn’t, or they didn’t know, the soldiers hit them.”

In just six months, the AA has swept through most of Rakhine State, forcing the military to keep retreating. It ended a ceasefire with the army last year and joined ethnic insurgents in other parts of the country in a combined operation aimed at overthrowing the junta which seized power in February 2021. “I saw with my own eyes my husband being taken away in a military vehicle. My son was separated from both of us, and I don’t know where he is. Now I don’t know if my son and husband are alive or dead,” the woman told the BBC. (BBC)…[+]