ICJ Rejects Measures Requested by Guyana on Referendum

On Friday, Venezuelan Communication Minister Alfred Nazareth that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had rejected the measures requested by Guyana in relation to the suspension of the consultative referendum on the Essequibo.

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Approved previously by the Venezuelan National Assembly, the Essequibo referendum will be held on December 3 and will contain the following questions:

1) Do you agree to reject by all means in accordance with the law, the line fraudulently interposed by the 1899 Paris Arbitration Award, which seeks to deprive us of our Guayana Esequiba?

2) Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana regarding the controversy over the territory of Guayana Esequiba?

3) Do you agree with Venezuela's historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial controversy over Guayana Esequiba?

4) Do you agree to oppose, by all legal means, Guyana's claim to unilaterally dispose of a sea pending delimitation, illegally and in violation of international law?

5) Do you agree with the creation of the Guayana Esequiba state and the development of an accelerated comprehensive care plan for that territory's current and future population, a plan which includes, among others, the granting of citizenship and Venezuelan identity card, in accordance with the Agreement Geneva and International Law, consequently incorporating such state on the map of Venezuelan territory?

President Nicolas Maduro: "Our country is characterized by its brave women and men. We will not let anyone take away what belongs to us, nor will we betray our principles. We will defend Essequibo!"

Previously, on Nov. 15, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez presented her country's arguments before the ICJ in defense of holding the consultative referendum on the Essequibo.

On that occasion, she denounced the request presented by Guyana before the ICJ as carrying an interventionist intention from the neighboring country, which seeks to prevent the holding of a citizen consultation process that the Venezuelan Constitution provides for.

With solid historical and legal arguments, Rodriguez ratified the validity of the 1966 Geneva Agreement and questioned the intention of the Guyanese authorities to proclaim the 1899 Arbitration Award as valid.

She also noted that Guyana is part of a plan of aggression against the Bolivarian nation behind which are the interests of hegemonic powers and large oil companies.

In statements to the press made at the end of the ICJ hearing in The Hague, Rodriguez highlighted that the Bolviarian legal and diplomatic team had demonstrated that Guyana is not the victim but the aggressor country, which instrumentalized the Court in an attempt for repealing the sovereign legal norms that govern in Venezuela.