Opposition governor of Zulia state, Manuel Rosales, speaking on the Essequibo dispute and the consultative referendum at the 'Venezuela Defends the Essequibo' event this Tuesday, November 28. Photo: X/@ViceVenezuela.
The opposition governor of Zulia state in Venezuela, Manuel Rosales, has condemned the unusual silence of the international community regarding Guyana’s claims and attempts to appropriate the disputed Essequibo territory.
Rosales stated that Guyana has violated “the area under claim through concessions in waters that will never belong to it,” during the ‘Venezuela Defends the Essequibo’ event held in Maracaibo this Tuesday, November 28, in which the vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, was also present.
Rosales further specified that to this day, Venezuela has yet to hear on this issue from the international community, which has held an unusual silence in the face of the actions committed by Guyana in its attempts to seize a territory that is Venezuelan.
#EnVideo📹| Gobernador del estado Zulia, Manuel Rosales, calificó como insólitas las acciones ejecutadas por el gobierno de Guyana, al vulnerar esta zona otorgando concesiones en aguas que están en disputa legal.#VenezuelaEsEsequibo pic.twitter.com/QOwpxPOUQ6
— VTV CANAL 8 (@VTVcanal8) November 28, 2023
The opposition governor made a point to condemn the fact that just a few days ago, the government of Guyana entered the disputed area without any notice or alert being announced in any international bodies like the UN or the OAS.
“This type of provocation is a bad sign,” Rosales noted. “The only thing it provoked was the mobilisation of conscience of Venezuelan people, to come out in defense of that piece of land that belongs to us, and we will not allow it to be taken from us.”
He continued by noting that the international community’s silence on Guyana’s attempt to appropriate the Essequibo territory is a terrible sign regarding respect for the sovereignty of nations.
Essequibo Dispute: Evidence Surfaces of ExxonMobil Payments to Guyana
From the Baralt Theater in the city of Maracaibo, the opposition governor ratified that the 1966 Geneva Agreement is the instrument that has allowed for “the eyesore of the Paris Arbitration Award” to be overturned.
Rosales recalled that the Essequibo has been a part of Venezuelan territory since the time of the Captaincy General of Venezuela in the colonial era, and invited Venezuelans to participate in the consultative referendum on Essequibo to be held this Sunday, December 3.
“We want people to participate and give their opinion,” Rosales said, “because the decisions of the citizens must always be a fundamental value in any democracy.”
#EnVideo📹| Vicepdta. Ejecutiva @delcyrodriguezv: "Cuando se da el Laudo, Guyana no existía, era una colonia de la corona británica": acotó que los venezolanos tienen la estirpe de Bolívar, siempre con la verdad y gloria de la historia heredada.#VenezuelaEsEsequibo pic.twitter.com/fE7D00LofL
— VTV CANAL 8 (@VTVcanal8) November 28, 2023
The referendum calls on all of us
At the event, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez made a speech stating that the popular consultation on Essequibo “calls on all of us.”
Rodríguez emphasized that Venezuela is not risking anything by conducting this referendum, which is why she stressed that this is a national issue, clarifying that they are not calling for a vote by the colors of some flannel, but by the colors of Venezuela.
“We are called by Venezuela, by our tricolor,” said the Venezuelan vice president, “to participate, on December 3, in this consultative referendum.”
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
