First, I thoroughly enjoyed the song.  Second, for what it is worth, I think that there is nothing wrong with talking. Look how long the Iran talks lasted. All avenues should be explored, not just a judicial one. If Jagdeo NOW has a. Idea to deal with this issue, he should put it out in the public and Granger can decide if he sees merit in it. This issue is not just for the elites, it is for all Guyanese.

Originally Posted by Jalil:

Jagdeo offers no comment on Venezuelan troop build up

but urges President to meet Maduro

By Staff on September 25, 2015

Speaking to the media at Freedom House on Friday, the Opposition Leader said he fully supports the government in its pursuit to protect the integrity of the country’s borders but believes, at same time, the administration must keep a channel open for dialogue that will maintain trade flows and functional cooperation.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is urging President David Granger to ensure he makes himself available for the United Nations (UN) facilitated talks with his counterpart Nicolas Maduro in New York this weekend.

Mr. Jagdeo believes this meeting is particularly important if the two neighbors are to resolve the current border controversy that has flared up in recent days.

 

Speaking to the media at Freedom House on Friday, the Opposition Leader said he fully supports the government in its pursuit to protect the integrity of the country’s borders but believes, at same time, the administration must keep a channel open for dialogue that will maintain trade flows and functional cooperation.

 

“We are neighboring countries and that will never change… I believe only through dialogue you can resolve problems,” Mr. Jagdeo said, as he called on the President to ensure that the meeting happens in a bid to lower tensions between the two countries and resume cooperation.

 

The Opposition Leader said the President should also use the opportunity to renegotiate a new rice for oil agreement with the Venezuelans under the PetroCaribe agreement.

 

“There is no room belligerence, pugnacious or arrogant foreign policy,” Jagdeo warned as he stressed that the only strength Guyana has, as a small developing nation, is diplomacy and dialogue.

 

Jagdeo was adamant that should the government not renegotiate a new deal with the Venezuelans for the export of rice, local farmers stand to suffer tremendously.

 

When asked to comment specifically on the military buildup in Eastern Venezuelan, close to the border that the country shares with Guyana, Jagdeo declined.

 

“As a former Commander-in-Chief and now Opposition Leader I am reluctant to give a public comment on the matter until I have heard from the government,” he said.

 

He is awaiting a briefing from the government on the situation having already committed the party’s full support for the government on border related matters.

 

“The government has not contacted us and I don’t want to say anything that would put our government in a difficult position, so I will wait until we have heard from the government about the gravity of the situation and what they are doing.”

 

He urged the government not to allow Venezuela to argue that Guyana is a belligerent nation in its response to the perceived threat of force from that country.

 

The Opposition Leader said that the two countries must be careful not to turn a border issue into economic sanctions.

 

In this regard, Mr Jadgeo claimed that Guyana threw the first stone of economic sanctions when it prevented Venezuela’s state owned CONVIASA airline from flying from the CJIA over the non-payment of bond fees.

 

He said what is important is that the entire Commonwealth and CARICOM are in solidarity with Guyana and urged President Granger to lobby large countries including Canada, India and the United Kingdom, all of who are part of the Commonwealth.

 

Already the Venezuelan Head of State has publicly stated his interest in meeting with President Granger on the sidelines of the ongoing 70th UN General Assembly. President Granger has indicated that he is prepared to meet with the Venezuelan President at the UN facilitated talks which are set to take place on Sunday.

 (Kurt Campbell for News Source)

 

 

Speaking to News Source

at the Guyana UN Mission Office

in Manhattan,

 

President Granger said

"Mr. Jagdeo knows very well

that this controversy

has persisted for over 50 years

and Venezuela has been told

everything it needs to be told

by the Guyana government.

 

So I don't see that we should

make any further appeasement

 

and I don't think we are behaving

in any incorrect manner."

 

 

The Auditors are

doing their Job...

Charges to come soon.....

 

 

 

Knucklehead, 

How many times you intend to post this? 

Jagdeo is making a suggestion to the President as the leader of the opposition. Guyana cannot defeat Venezuela is any type of aggression. So while we pursue a diplomatic and legal solution, there is no harm in talking to the aggressor. This is how the US, at least under Obama, has opted to deal with Iran. Negotiation, discussions, open or secret, are ways that we can also address problems. At this stage the issue is not about Jagdeo, as you eagerly seem to want to make it, given your bias towards him.

One of the things that Burnham did was to meet with the opposition when  Venezuela invaded Ankoko. The PPP has to be an ally with the government at this time....we need a united population. Granger also has to reach out to the opposition and the entire population to unify the country against this type of aggression.

Having said this, I believe Jagdeo should have conveyed his message quietly to Granger to avoid appearance of a divided population....you and Granger cussing out the man is not going to make this problem go away....so stop your foolishness.

Next time you see a mad man on the streets go and negotiate with them.

Seriously what is there to talk about. Maduro says that Essequibo belongs to Guyana and that its a plot by the "imperialists" to prevent its annexation.  Guyana says correctly that Essequibo belongs to Guyana and that this is not going to  change.

Should Guyana concede Essequibo to Venezuela?

The notion that Guyana should renegotiate a new rice deal with Venezuela is nonsense.  Oil prices are low and not expected to increase in the near term.  We can buy it from T&T.

Let the silly season pass in Venezuela and then Guyana can deal with who ever is left standing.  Until  then Maduro will continue to rage like a lunatic.

Granger and Maduro can say "Hi" at the UN, but Venezuela must concede something before, instead of remaining belligerent with their claims.

Please remember its Maduro who started this nonsense!

De Rat ass lickers

still believe Jagdeo is President.

Dem feel

De Doctor Times Five,

Champion of the Dirt....

is a Expert on Venezuela

because he Drain

the Petro Caribe Fund

and Destroy

the Rice & Sugar Industry in Guyana.

Plus Maduro can't backtrack on his statement of claiming part of Guyana, or he rass dead politically. 

Unfortunately, as leader he has the power of using the military, if that is his foolish choice and people might die on both sides.

Their people are struggling for food, their opposition leader is in jail and the people are waiting for a spark to start a revolt against him.

Many believe he is using the Guyana border issue, to mask what is happening with the economy in Venezuela.      

 Granger, Maduro, Ban Ki Moon meeting likely tonight – President insists time for appeasement is over

Granger, Maduro, Ban Ki Moon meeting likely tonight – President insists time for appeasement is over

September 26, 2015

 

A MEETING between President David Granger, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the United Nations Secretary General could go ahead this evening at the United Nations headquarters in New York. President Granger has insisted that he will not meet Maduro alone, and he put it even blunter yesterday that the time for “appeasement” is over.

President Nicolas Maduro

 

The only talking Mr Granger says he will have in the presence of Maduro is with the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, who has responsibility to ensure that the matter is settled. “We’ve recommended a juridical (legal) course; and…I am going to ask Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to identify a course that can help Guyana to get out from under this cloud and start to attend to the development of those five regions that Venezuela has been claiming,” President Granger said in an interview at the office of Guyana’s Permanent Mission at the United Nations. President Granger is adamant that over five decades of talks to find a solution to Venezuela’s claim is sufficient; there is now need to find a “permanent solution.” That solution, the President insists, lies in a definite decision from the United Nations International Court of Justice in The Hague. That resort to the court is to settle Venezuela’s claim that the arbitral award of 1899 which defined the two countries’ border is null and void. According to an agreement signed just before Guyana’s independence, Venezuela and the United Kingdom agreed to place the resolution of the matter directly with the UN Secretary General. Over the years, he has appointed a so-called Good Officer, to try and find a solution, but that has not worked. President Granger yesterday repeated earlier statements that the Good Officer process has now been “exhausted” and that the Secretary General needs to send the matter to the court for final settlement. Mr Ban recently sent a team to Guyana and Georgetown’s position was laid out carefully. The team was sent to Guyana following a commitment the UN Secretary General gave at the July meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government. Mr Ban has, however, not been able to send the same team to Caracas before the UN General Assembly this week, and so, that too could have an impact on whether a meeting will come off at all. If the meeting between Granger, Maduro and the UN Secretary General does not happen, the President is likely to meet only with Mr Ban.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon

 

President Granger does not accept the position of

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

that he should meet with Maduro

without the presence of the UN Secretary General.

 

 

“Mr Jagdeo knows very well that

this controversy has persisted for over 50 years

and Venezuela has been told everything

that it needs to be told by the Guyana government,

so I don’t see that we should

make any further appeasement;

I don’t think we are behaving

in any incorrect manner. “

 

Mr Jagdeo had his opportunity to resolve the conflict

and we’re still in difficulty.

 

I don’t know that his recommendation

will contribute to a successful outcome

for the Guyanese people.”

 

During a meeting with President of the

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),

Mr Luis Alberto Moreno, on Friday,

Mr Granger said the current aggression

by Venezuela on the country’s western frontier

has had negative impact on the economy,

hindering development.

 

He made specific reference to the case

two years ago when Venezuela

seized a U.S.-chartered oil survey ship.

 

The Teknik Perdana

was carrying out a seabed survey

for Texas-based Anadarko

when Venezuela’s navy boarded it in Guyanese waters

and escorted it to Margarita island.

 

 

By Neil Marks in New York

Coast Guard in tactical manoeuvres

 

 

GDF mobilised to ‘define aggression’ on borders

-Chief of Staff tells troops

Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Mark Philips yesterday told Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ranks that their current task is to “define aggression” on the country’s frontiers in the face of Venezuela’s recent deployment of troops on its border with Guyana.

Phillips was at the time addressing a Battle Muster, at Base Camp Stephenson, Timehri, where almost 300 impassioned soldiers were assembled.

“War!” the zealous soldiers shouted, when Phillips asked them what they were ready for.

However, he quickly corrected them by stating that they were “ready to define aggression” on the country’s borders to maintain the sovereignty of Guyana.

He said the undertaking entails observing the military activities on the borders and reporting to the government officials who would make decisions on the next move.

He also said the monitoring of the Cuyuni River is a part of this exercise since it belongs to Guyana.

“We have a settled border. In the year 1899 that border was settled. As far as I am concerned and as far as you are concerned it is a settled border. Isn’t that so?” he said.

“Yes, sir!” were the shouts that reverberated throughout the base.

The muster was among military activities that have been organised to convey to the population the army’s readiness to defend Guyana and its ability to in mobilise on short notice.

“From time to time, we have exercises that not only mobilise and assess our troops but ensure that we maintain a high level of competence,” he said. “We are a peace-loving people. We are a peace-loving Guyana Defence Force,” he added.

A parachute display and the battle muster were conducted yesterday. The static line parachute jump was led yesterday by Captain Paul Singh at a low altitude of 1,000 ft., which simulated a jump in a hostile area. Major Miguel Benjamin flew the mixture of 14 senior jumpers and trainees, who ranged in rank from captains to majors.

Phillips said he is working with government on building the air corps over the next five years through a structural plan that is being worked on.

“Look at the task of the air corps and the threat to Guyana. Those analyses will guide our development of the air corps. Not what a neighbour is buying but [it] is what we want the air corps to do, in terms of its mission and task,” he explained.

The government has allocated $9.1 billion in this year’s budget for the army, compared to $8 billion spent last year.

‘Ready to fight’

Among the ranks assembled at the base yesterday was Lance Corporal Latoya George, who has been serving for five years.

“I think the issue is challenging but we are ready to fight. If the war comes, we are ready. We are all prepared,” George said, while urging the public to be calm.

“Don’t be afraid. We got this!” she added.

“We got this,” other female ranks echoed in support, with beaming confidence.

Lance Corporal Jeremy Fordyce, who has been enlisted for seven years, said the troops are here to defend the country and have been training.

“I would like to tell the Guyanese that we from the GDF are ready. Don’t be afraid. We have everything secured. Guyana belongs to us and we will provide security,” he added.

The military will continue the display of its strength and capabilities today with marches by the soldiers from Base Camp Ayanganna and Base Camp Stephenson moving from Plaisance and Providence, respectively, to converge along Sandy Babb Street. The Chief of Staff will give a feature address to the troops afterward at Base Camp Ayanganna. There will also be concurrent marches in Linden and Anna Regina.

There will also be a tactical vessel manoeuvre from the Coast Guard headquarters to the Demerara Harbour Bridge at 7.30 am.

The Government of Guyana has voiced its concern about the “unannounced and unexplained” build-up of military forces close to Guyana’s border and waters and has said it is closely monitoring the development. It has urged Guyanese citizens close to the border with Venezuela to be alert to this development and to remain within the boundaries of Guyana.

Venezuela has admitted to having troops at the border but its Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez has said that it was part of a military exercise in preparation for any eventuality. “We are really preparing ourselves…even with all the fronts we face today,” Padrino Lopez was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Carib,

no one is talking about giving Essequibo up. Diplomacy does not come to an end because of aggressive statements from both sides. Quiet diplomacy works. I can think of the US Iran negotiations and the Nixon/Kissenger China deal in the 1970s.

It would not be unusual, as crazy as Maduro is, to have a session, maybe a secret one, where the two men can discuss the issue, though nothing may come of it. 

I see you on a rampage again....knucklehead

Jagdeo schooled President Granger in diplomacy.  The Guyanese government instead of gathering their troops together with a view of defending the country, went to the USA with their begging bowl and came back empty.

I hope there is a diplomatic solution to this solution because the GDF is no match for Venezuela. The GDF claim to fame is their real or perceived terrorization of Guyanese. That picture above doesn't ring of confidence.

The solution of this problem will come from the barrel of the gun. There is need to draft 30,000 soldiers and send them to the border. If you raise the army tax from 3% to 5%  enough will be collected to pay for this venture.  

Guyanese coming back home smuggled a lot of stuff into the country.  Search them at the airport and let them pay custom's duties. 

Except that Guyana's military and paramilitary are rice eaters. Even during the bullying days of the '70s and '80s, these people didn't seem capable of doing more than harassing Guyanese who didn't support the government. 

You all shut your mouths.  Granger has a military solution to this problem.

After this scheduled meeting tonite with Granger and Maduro, we should know where we stand. In the meantime, let the Venezuelans enjoy their little mass games across the way. 

Sheik, do you think Guyana's military on its own can fend off Venezuela? With that stretch of land hardly populated, would anyone really know if and when the Venezuelans cross the border? With Guyanese for a very long time always thinking of their future outside of Guyana's 10 regions, how many on the border do you think would even care for the fat talking in Georgetown?

They can hire some of Stormy's Amerindian pals to trek through the thick and dense jungle to see if the Venezeulans are on our territory.

absolutely not. But I also think that the venezuelan  Govt. cannot sustain an invasion force either. However, you've raised an interesting point, and it would be interesting to know what the people in these border regions really think about the current situation.

Without external help, Guyana has no chance

http://www.globalfirepower.com...country_id=venezuela  in a military move from Venezuela.

I don't know if you're joking or not, but they're the best people to rely on should an incursion occur. I did think about storm though, but only briefly, since he might geh lost in de bush. GNI can't afford that.

this is so funny. camouflage in wide open space. this lil incident goan expose Granger's GDF.

I've read this article two weeks ago, but remember, we should not engage in any confrontation with these people. We're outgunned and outnumbered. But that does not mean we cannot fight a defensive war should it come down to that. The further they push into our territory, the thinner their supplies lines become. We may not be able to beat them, but we can harass them.
Now to your question. Who do you have in mind that may come to the aid of Guyana? If you want my honest opinion, I don't see anyone. The closest people if I'm to take a bet is Brazil with weaponry but not troops.
You must excuse me If my replies are not in a timely fashion. It's the UN week and I'm at work, the whole place is crawling with heads of states and security personnel.

Even with the possibility of their supplies being thinned out, theirs will still be more than ours especially in line of the claim that they country is bankrupt.

In regard to external help, I still think diplomacy is the best approach. Outside of that, a signal by the ABC states would be helpful. Fat talking by Granger is inadvisable especially in light of the GDF rice eaters image and a bankrupt country.

READ THE HEADING...'Chief of Staff tells troops'.

It makes an ass of those who assume.

Do you see this as one photograph in a larger open area assembly, of troops being displayed.

Do you take 'selection photographs' when photographing a large group of people, or large assembly ?

You people come up with all kinds of shit to knock-down a government, when a new method of governance is tried, because the other racist method did not work. Get a life....    

The great apologian

Make believe is better than reality.

What is there to talk about if their claim is on the rumor of a collusion of the Russians and the Brits? How come they do not include up to the mouth of the Orinoco river, some 4000 square miles in the disputed lands.

We agreed to conceding that much territories. They agreed to the rest. Actually. I am using "we" and "they" in rather broad terms because the claim was being made by colonial powers about who owns territories they decided to occupy by virtue of planting their flags.

This matter was settled for over a hundred years until the Venezuelans decided to reclaim it. It is a matter for the Brits and the Americans to settle before the world court. We do not and should not entertain any talks with this fellow. He would only take to claiming affronts and send his troops on that account.

When Regan got Gorbachev to fold it was the US anti0nuke defenses and military buildup that paved the way.

When the Iranians decided to play ball with Obama it is because of the crippling economic and financial sanctions.

[Soon Putin will come to his senses after the gold and oil price steep drop and the banking sanctions, given the inflation and shortages and currency deflation experienced by his citizens.]

Throughout history adversaries talk, yes, but with the threat of something.

President David Granger is pursuing the right course by using his strength. Cease talking to the Venezuelans, with whom decades of diplomacy has come full circle to a threat by a President Maduro who is driven by local politics (which ain't friendly).

Here are Granger's strengths:

1. Guyana's excellent defense of Essequibo county against a spurious claim by Venezuela (Judicial).
2. Venezeula's status as a rogue state by the US (Political).

He must use the Judicial approach knowing that the Political one is ever present.

Why would I get lost? I am a scientist and a survivalist. I can locate myself any place on the planet. Survival in Guyana may be hard for me now since I would be suspect to lots of the tropical infections having not been in black water for 20 years. But lacking that I can not only find my way out I can survive in it if my immunities hold.

And he has to be vocal to ensure that the issue is front burner.  Guyana is of NO importance to any one, so that quiet docile approach which Jagdeo suggests achieves nothing. 

Granger being vocal has forced potential allies to affirm their support.  This is the biggest deterrent to prevent an invasion. 

What do those who prefer quiet "dialogue" think that will achieve.  By all means Granger should meet with Maduro at the UN, if nothing else to show that he isn't being unreasonable. It is clear that Maduro is mad, and desperate, so those who think that he can be convinced to rational behavior through quiet dialogue are equally insane. 

I agree. Because this isn't cutting it.

Dem boys got confused, they were supposed to be in the long grass behind but said, "nahhhh, if we did that we won't be seen in the pic" 

Dah picha is really funny.

Tola boy, get a grip. 

We dont need grandstanding on the part of Guyana....and we dont want to be embarrassed by Venezuela.

Diplomacy is the way out of this mess for us....quit knocking the previous government too...this was not a problem under the PPP.

Granger needs to take off his military hat and put on his diplomatic cap.