OPINION: Burnham had no control over British Guiana’s affairs on signing Geneva Agreement- Gary Best

Last Updated on Sunday, 31 December 2023, 13:08 by Denis Chabrol

by Retired Rear Admiral Dr Gary Best

Nothing Bharrat Jagdeo said, as General Secretary of the PPP/c, at his last press  conference, for 2023 had anything remotely relevant to the extant question I raised  in the Opinion piece of 24th December 2023, published by Demerara Waves, which was, did President Ali exceed Parliamentary authority by discussing a  territorial dispute with Venezuela and making it a part of the Argyle Declaration,  in the form of ‘implications for the territory in dispute’.

Importantly, nothing in my opinion piece challenged the 1899 Arbitral Award. In fact, the opinion piece, and  others I have published, fully support that award. Of course, this is classic Jagdeo  attempting to mislead, and his fantasy at storytelling.

Instead of answering the question posed in the published opinion, he evaded it and rambled on and on about the 1899 Arbitral Award – which has nothing to do with the question posed as to whether President Ali exceeded Parliamentary authority given to him by the people of Guyana. His long and rambling comments about Venezuela not having any facts to support its claim of fraud during the 1899  Arbitral Award is nothing new. In fact, it is exactly what the opinion piece emphatically stated. More importantly, for sixty years and counting, that has been Guyana’s position.

Of course, the real issue and concern to which General Secretary Jagdeo is quite aware is the sanctity given to parliamentary resolutions, in this case, a Joint Parliamentary Resolution on the Cooperative Republic of Guyana’s position rejecting any “… proposal to return to any form of dialogue with Venezuela on the controversy outside of the process before the Court”, meaning the ICJ. Even worse, any discussions on a territorial dispute/territory in dispute – a position that President Ali was bound to adhere to. Unless, as some PPPites contend, the President is above the Parliament. To that view, let me remind those of such ridiculous thoughts that under Article 51 of the Guyana Constitution, Parliament comprises the President AND the National Assembly. He is not above the Parliament, neither is he above the law, or anyone else for that matter. May I also remind Jagdeo that in support of the Joint Parliamentary Resolution, I recommended in an opinion piece published by Demerara Waves, dated 14th December 2023, that the only matter President Ali should discuss with President.

Maduro at Argyle was his walking back all actions taken to annex sovereign Essequibo. Of course, that call was not heeded.

Instead of answering whether President Ali exceeded parliamentary authority by discussing with Maduro a territorial dispute with Guyana, Jagdeo asked the following question, “[w]ould Gary Best ask or pose the same question to Burnham  that he did to President Ali – under whose authority he (Burnham) signed the Geneva Agreement? That is, that is the question he should ask. Whether he  (Burnham) consulted with the people of our country?” In posing this question to me, Jagdeo expresses the PPP inherent and historical view that then Forbes Burnham, a la PNC, should not have signed the Geneva Agreement, and that the PPP, a la Cheddi Jagan, had a ‘Cabinet decision” (in 1964 when Guyana was British Guiana) that it (the PPP) would not have signed such an agreement or to the effect that such a document should not be signed.

A question that arises instant is which of these two political parties had Guyana’s territorial interest at heart. The answer has been, and still clearly is, the PNCR.  However, to the question posed, I offer this answer, unlike Jagdeo who was afraid to offer an answer to what is now being considered, by many, as a fundamental breach by President Ali.

Firstly, the Geneva Agreement of February 1966 is an agreement between Venezuela and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the frontier with British Guiana “to resolve the controversy over the frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana.” It was signed by Michael Stewart, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for the United Kingdom and by Ignacio Iribarren Borges, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, the principal signatories, and by then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham as the representative of British Guiana. Secondly, as Prime Minister of a colony, matters of foreign affairs, defence and finance are usually under the control of the colonial power. In this case, the United Kingdom.  Then Prime Minister Burnham had no control over the affairs of the colony of British Guiana. This nuanced difference is critical to a full understanding of the extant issue.

That accounts for “under whose authority he (Burnham) signed the Geneva Agreement”, and ‘whether he (Burnham) consulted with the people of our country”, which is in contrast to President Ali who is the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, as opposed to then Prime Minister Burnham who was the Prime Minister of the colony of British Guiana. These two positions are incomparable. However, Prime Minister Burnham in keeping with his unparalleled

interest in protecting the territorial integrity of our great nation, ensured that the clauses in the Geneva Agreement would protect Guyana from any territorial dispute being raised by Venezuela by guaranteeing no reference to any territorial dispute within the Geneva Agreement.

As a successor state, Guyana, since independence, under the PNC, became an official party to the Geneva Agreement and upheld all of its provisions. Never challenging it, never suggesting the giving of any territory to Venezuela. In fact, the Geneva Agreement checkmated Venezuela in such a manner that the matter is now before the ICJ and was always destined for the ICJ for a final determination on the validity of the award. This was a mater chess move by Forbes Burnham. Imagine where Guyana would have been had Cheddi Jagan succeeded as Prime Minister in 1964 and not signing such a well-constructed Geneva Agreement.

Indeed, an answer to the question is still outstanding! I doubt Jagdeo has an appropriate one to it. As I opined in the published piece on 24th December 2023, the saving grace for Guyana, in the context of the sanctity and protection of our territorial integrity, and the sometimes confused and ill-advised PPP handling of this matter of great national importance, lies in the provision of Article 2 of the Guyana Constitution. Therein, it describes our borders and entrenched them so deeply that only a referendum can change them. Curiously, the PPP government has so far avoided any mention of this bulwark article in the Guyana’s constitution.  If it did seriously consider it, perhaps President Ali would have conferred with the citizens of Guyana before stepping beyond his parliamentary mandate.

Retired Rear Admiral Dr Gary Best is a former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force. A Caribbean-trained lawyer, he is a member of the Central Executive Committee of the People’s National Congress Reform.