Religious leaders stand with gov’t to promote unity, peace

The Government of Guyana is working with religious leaders to promote the message of unity and peace as well as demonstrate the strength of Guyanese in protecting the nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

This was reaffirmed during an engagement with the leaders hosted by Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira on Wednesday, concerning the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy.

Minister Teixeira assured religious leaders that allies stand with Guyana as the government maintains a peaceful stance.

“We also have to recognise we are not alone as a nation. We have the support of the United Nations, of the Commonwealth, of the Organisation of American States, of CARICOM. So, we are not alone in the world at all…we have to make sure that we are not in any way creating fear amongst our people, we are in a righteous cause, this is our territory, it was settled in 1899 and we have always chosen a peaceful course, a peaceful process,” Minister Teixeira said.

Minister Edghill highlighted the four fundamental pillars government is guided by in addressing the controversy, for which the religious leaders indicated their full support.

“The government’s position is that we are pursuing a path of peace, number two, we are using all the diplomatic channels to bring about resolution to this matter, number three, we anticipate that there will be a provisional ruling from the ICJ before next Friday. The hearings were already conducted, we are engaging with all of our allies in the face of eventuality,” Minister Edghill stated.

The minister emphasised the importance of maintaining a unified front as government and opposition stand together against the threat to the country’s sovereignty.

“The President and the leader of the opposition met, we have established that there is no politics of division where this matter is concerned, we went to parliament with a joint motion which was debated and has now become a resolution which was unanimously passed in the parliament, government, and opposition. All the actions that will be taken will be government and opposition,” the minister underscored.

The leaders were apprised of the current state of affairs at the International Court of Justice in relation to Venezuela’s planned referendum and upcoming national activities to be executed, aimed at promoting to the world the united front that exists locally in the face of Venezuela’s aggressive claim to two-thirds of Guyana’s territory.

On December 3, the date of Venezuela’s planned referendum, Guyana will engage in a day of prayer and fasting led by religious leaders and groups, commencing with an activity where citizens are encouraged to join hands to form a human chain to exhibit the unified strength of our people.