Guyana voices concern at Venezuela situation at Lima Group meeting

On October 13, Guyana attended yet another meeting of the Lima Group and expressed concern about the situation in Venezuela.

Guyana did not, however, resulting statement.

This is the fifth statement issued by the group this year that Guyana has not signed. The last statement endorsed by this country was issued on January 5.

An October 13 release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that during the XX Lima Group Ministerial Meeting, Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Riyad Insanally said that Guyana remains concerned about the continuing political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela which has been compounded by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.His concern echoed that of other Foreign Ministers and repre

sign the sentatives of the regional bloc’s member countries and observing countries.

The release further explained that Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd attended the session briefly.

The Group was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 countries met in order to orchestrate a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis in Venezuela.

The joint statement issued following the meeting on October 13th listed the governments of Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru who are members of the group and Ecuador and El Salvador, observers of the Lima Group as supporters of its contents.

The group stressed that they are committed to contribute to the recovery of democracy in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and to alleviate the multidimensional crisis suffered by the Venezuelan population. It also renewed support for Juan Guaidó as President of Venezuela and the National Assembly as legitimate and democratically elected authorities. Guyana does not recognize Guaidó. They also rejected the holding of parliamentary elections by “the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro” without minimum democratic guarantees and without the participation of all political forces. “Democracy will be fully restored in Venezuela through free, fair and credible presidential and parliamentary elections, which must include an independent National Electoral Council, an impartial Supreme Court, guarantees of security for voters, an updated electoral census, full freedom of the press and access to the media, political participation of all Venezuelans and be accompanied by independent international electoral observation,” the statement reads.

The statement concluded by stating that the Lima Group will continue to seek support from other international actors to mobilize a common response from the international community that will contribute to the defence of human rights in Venezuela and to the urgent restoration of democracy and the rule of law.

While Guyana is an original signatory to the group’s declaration it has stayed clear of statements from the group which acknowledge Guaidó as President.

It has declined to sign statements issued on March 2, April 2, June 18 and August 14 but did add its support to a January 5 statement which condemned the use of force by the Nicolas Maduro regime to prevent the deputies of the National Assembly from freely accessing the session on that day. The session had been convened to democratically elect their Governing Board. “The National Assembly has the constitutional right to meet without intimidation or interference in order to elect its President and Governing Board, and therefore we do not recognize the result of an election that violates those rights and which has taken place without the full participation of the deputies who attended the session,” the statement said. (Thandeka Percival)