Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez issuing a statement to the press with part of the Venezuelan delegation, including UN ambassador Samuel Moncada. Photo: X/@Mippcivzla.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez announced that Venezuela arrived at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to defeat Guyana’s claim over Essequibo, which she referred to as an act of “judicial colonialism.” At a press conference from The Hague this Tuesday, November 14, Rodríguez described Guyana’s attempt to cancel Venezuela’s consultative referendum on Essequibo as an “atrocity.”
“We have come to defeat Guyana’s claim of judicial colonialism by instrumentalizing this Court to stop the unstoppable: that on December 3, Venezuelans vote in our consultative referendum,” said Delcy Rodríguez.
She noted that the government of Guyana has absolutely no legal basis with which to interfere or annul the Venezuelan popular consultation, or referendum, scheduled nationwide for December 3.
#EnVideo📹| Vicepresidenta Ejecutiva de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, @delcyrodriguezv, desde La Haya, Países Bajos, expresó que la audiencia estuvo llena de manipulaciones y mentiras de parte del gobierno de Guyana que no deja de sorprendernos.#14Nov pic.twitter.com/YXkFOTcx3E
— VTV CANAL 8 (@VTVcanal8) November 14, 2023
This Tuesday, public hearings began with the arguments of the government of Guyana as to why the referendum should be suspended. In this regard, Rodríguez noted that Guyana’s arguments included untruths and manipulations.
“Guyana never ceases to amaze us,” Rodríguez said. “We are very amazed, because not only are they heirs of a territory that the United Kingdom stole from Venezuela, but they also inherited that country’s imperialist arrogance.”
Rodríguez highlighted the irony of Guyana resorting to the ICJ to attempt to prevent a referendum from being held in Venezuela, claiming that the popular consultation constitutes a “threat” to Guyana while, in Guyana, the military is holding joint military exercises with the US Southern Command. Given this, perhaps it is Guyana that threatens the peace and stability of the region with joint military exercises, not Venezuela, she pointed out.
Delcy Rodríguez warned that if the ICJ proceeds in favor of Guyana, “ it would be dealing a terrible blow to international legality, to the charter of the United Nations, and to the right of people to participate.”
Venezuela’s Vice President Arrives in The Hague to Defend Essequibo
The Venezuelan delegation, led by Vice President Rodríguez, will appear this Wednesday to defend the holding of the consultative referendum on the Essequibo territory.
Venezuela condemned Guyana’s request before the ICJ as an act of judicial colonialism. In addition, the vice president confirmed that the Guyanese government has not been transparent.
“They abandoned the Geneva agreement, because they are refusing a practical and satisfactory solution for both parties,” noted Rodríguez. “They want to validate a precarious possession that they have of a territory that they have had no title or right for, but instead inherited through fraud.”
Finally, she reiterated the historical Venezuelan position of non-recognition of the fraudulent Paris arbitration of 1899.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
