Ret’d Guyanese diplomat releases final book on Venezuela controversy

September 1, 2015 | By chris | Filed Under News, Source

Diplomat and historian, Dr. Odeen Ishmael, has released the final book in his three-part documentary charting the history of the Guyana-Venezuela border issue as well as his own diplomatic involvement in the process.

“The Trail of Diplomacy – Volume Three”, published by Xlibris, brings to light numerous historical documents, previously not widely available, and reveals the diplomatic actions by Venezuela and Guyana from 1982 to May 2015.

This volume continues where Volume Two left off. It deals with the involvement of the office of the Secretary General of the United Nations ever since the termination of the Protocol of Port of Spain in 1982 in an effort to settle the controversy.

While this process did not make any progress as was anticipated, the two countries, despite some intermittent setbacks, maintained a generally cordial relationship that saw an advance in trade relations and political cooperation, according to Ishmael.

“The Trail of Diplomacy — Volume Three” also examines the political and economic relations between Guyana and Venezuela since 1982 and the diplomatic activities they undertook to win international support for their respective positions. The volume concludes with the prelude to new antagonisms expressed by Venezuela over Guyana’s offshore oil exploration activities.

Ishmael’s diplomatic involvement in the issue is also highlighted.
“I have been an active participant in conducting diplomatic relations between Guyana and Venezuela,” Ishmael said. “My research into the existing border issue is also referenced by diplomats and historians in both countries and elsewhere in the conduct of this specific diplomatic activity between the two neighbours.”

Ishmael, a veteran retired Guyanese diplomat, historian and widely published author, served as Guyana’s ambassador to the United States of America and the Organization of American States —1993–2003; Venezuela-2003–2011- and Kuwait and Qatar -2011–2014).

He has written extensively on Guyanese history, education and culture, and is internationally recognized as a premier analyst and commentator on the political integration movement in South America. In 1997, his country decorated him with the Cacique’s Crown of Honour for his diplomatic work, and in 2002, in the United States, he was honored with the Martin Luther King Legacy Award for International Service.