PPP supports gov’t to defend Guyana’s territorial integrity & sovereignty “by any means”

The ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has backed the government to defend Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty “by any means.”

This commitment was made at the party’s 32nd Congress held over the weekend at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

In a resolution, the PPP reiterated its historical stance, highlighting the 1899 ruling of the tribunal that definitively defined the border between Guyana and Venezuela. The party emphasised that this ruling was accepted by all parties as the final, full, and permanent boundary between the two countries.

“We told the government that they must defend our country by any means—by diplomatic or any other means whatsoever,” the party’s General Secretary, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, told reporters on Sunday.

Addressing the controversy surrounding Venezuela’s claim that the 1899 award was flawed, Dr. Jagdeo said the party supports the government's position and the ongoing International Court of Justice (ICJ) process as the sole pathway to a final resolution.

“We decry Venezuela’s attempt to reverse the definitive border demarcation through obfuscation and aggressive action,” Dr. Jagdeo, who is Guyana’s Vice President, said.

“We recognise that we wanted to promote good neighbourly relationship with Venezuela, but we uncompromising on the question of this border, and the terror, the threats to our territorial integrity and sovereignty.”