Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd and United States Secretary of States Michael Pompeo exchanging their copies of the signed Shiprider Agreement. (Office of the President photo)
September 19 ,2020
President Irfaan Ali believes that the maritime shiprider agreement signed yesterday with the United States and which goes into effect on Monday will not put this country at risk of Venezuelan aggression or negatively impact its border controversy case currently at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“That should not be any fear because the agreement points out specifically about the modus operandi that has to take place before the engagement and the involvement of the Government of Guyana and we are not involved in that and this agreement is to help us in our sovereignty issue; it will help us automatically if we have greater assets in the water but it also gives us that ability to protect our Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ],” Ali told reporters at State House, George-town following the signing of the agreement.
“No, I don’t see that putting us at a risk. As a matter of fact, it helps us in capacity building, it helps us in technology transfer, it helps us with assets to protect our [EEZ] against drug traffickers, narco-traffickers,” he also said.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Audrey Waddell explained at the State House ceremony that this country would have to grant approval before any operations are carried out and it follows a strict process.
“Operations will not be carried out in Guyana’s waters unless permission is granted by the Government of Guyana. Similarly, overflight requests for law enforcement activities will be granted once the reasonable notice and communication channels are provided to the appropriate Guya-nese authorities,” she said.
“The Agreement on cooperation to suppress illicit traffic by Sea and Air will provide mechanisms to streamline communications between law enforcement officials of Guyana and the U.S. to conduct cooperative operations at sea and to expedite overflight clearances for law enforcement aircraft when combatting illegal drug trafficking,” the agreement states.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who signed the agreement on behalf of his country, also dismissed suggestions that the Donald Trump administration is using the agreement as a means to oust the Nicholas Maduro government. He said that he came to Guyana following an invitation from the government and to congratulate Guyanese on ensuring a democratic election process was realized.
US$5M to help Venezuelans
At the same time, Pompeo said that his government wants the same peace and benefits of democracy for Venezuela and its people.
It was in this regard he announced that some US$5 million was allocated “to help Venezuelans in Guyana who have had to flee from Venezuela to Guyana to escape the horrors and brutality of the Maduro regime.”
“My presence here is to congratulate the Guyanese people on the enormous success they had in holding a democratic election and a peaceful transition to power, and it was quite remarkable to watch. We’re proud of what they’ve done. We think it will do great things for the people of Guyana and for the region. The government wanted me to come down, too, to talk about all the opportunities there are for the United States to invest and help build out better lives for the people of Guyana,” Pompeo said.
During the five-month elections crisis here, Pompeo had issued various statements warning against the swearing in of an illegal government. As the crisis wore on, he announced US visa sanctions on those who were undermining democracy and later called on the Granger administration to step aside after the painstaking recount of votes had shown that it had lost the general election.
“And of course, too, we want this for the people of Venezuela as well. We want them to have the very same chance to have a free, fair election, for the rule of law, for democracy, and for human rights in Venezuela. We watch people fleeing – fleeing into Guyana, fleeing into Colombia, fleeing into Peru, Ecuador, people having to flee from Maduro and his brutal regime. We very much want that to change. We want them to have the same opportunities that the people of Guyana have. That’s why we came down here today, to help make sure that the new leadership here in Guyana understood that the United States was a friendly nation with good intentions for them,” he said.
As the US fight on the narco trade intensifies, Pompeo explained that the agreement of cooperation was needed since US law enforcement cannot do it alone and a collective effort helps the entire region.
Guyana, Pompeo, said has been a strong partner of the US and has rallied around its calls for democracy and during talks with Ali and his government “the need for democracy in Venezuela and an end to the illegitimate Maduro regime – the man who’s denying that very democracy that the Guyanese people so love, denying that democracy for the people of Venezuela” was reiterated.
“You’ve been a strong partner for us on this issue. You’ve supported statements through the Organization of American States and through the Lima Group. The United States has now allocated US$5 million to help Venezuelans in Guyana who have had to flee from Venezuela to Guyana to escape the horrors and brutality of the Maduro regime. I trust that that cooperation will continue and I want to express my personal appreciation for Guyana’s hosting the Venezuelans that have crossed inside of your country,” he said.
“We know that the Maduro regime has decimated the people of Venezuela and that Maduro himself is an indicted narcotics trafficker. This means he has to leave. For the people of Venezuela to have the democracy that they need, the Cuban security forces must go and Maduro must leave. And so the efforts to do that, to put diplomatic pressure and to support the Venezuelan people who desperately want that same objective, are the aims of the Contact Group of the EU, the Lima Group, the OAS, the United States, dozens of countries that have made clear that Juan Guaido is the duly-elected leader of Venezuela. This is the objective: We want democracy and freedom and the rule of law. Just in the same way we fought for you all to achieve that for yourselves, we want to fight for that to be achieved by the people of Venezuela as well,” he added.
Radar
Ali told of the meetings with Pompeo and areas discussed saying that Venezuela should be the beneficiary of democracy also and that discussions centred on the countering of illicit trade from that country and dealing with the refugee crisis of persons fleeing the conditions there.
He was asked if through the agreement the US was going to support Guyana’s EEZ.
“In relation to our Exclusive Economic Zone, it is not only from a maritime perspective, because we would have raised also with the Secretary radar coverage of our Exclusive Economic Zone, which is critical at this time,” he said.
“We have had various difficulties and I think we welcome any help that would enhance our security that would enhance our ability to protect our borders, and importantly, enhance our capability and ability to ensure that we go after criminal elements. And this allows us to do that. It strengthens our capacity and it builds that partnership and gives us that additional capacity that is so needed,” he added.
The President said that he reiterated that Guyana remains committed to the principles that guide our involvement in the Lima Group, particularly its “concern about the ongoing and protracted humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.”
“We support and respect the need for free and fair elections in our hemisphere. With urgency, we believe the democratic values and principles should be respected in Venezuela as well,” Ali said.
Ali also related this nation’s appreciation for US support on Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and its call for a timely resolution to the controversy with Venezuela and respect for the 1899 Arbitral Award. He said that he believes that the visit, the only one by a US Secretary of State to Guyana, “ushers in a new chapter in our bilateral relations.”