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The Borders of Guyana with Venezuela and Suriname
| List
of Articles |
The outline
of Guyana, which is accepted by the international community,
is shown in the sketch map on the right. The present frontier
with Venezuela follows that awarded by the Paris Tribunal
in 1899. During 1901-1905, the boundary was marked on the
ground by a joint Venezuelan-British Mixed Commission which
signed a joint report ratifying the demarcated boundary. |
| The boundary
with Suriname has never been formally settled between Britain
and the Netherlands. The present boundary between Guyana and
Suriname is based on a draft treaty which was agreed between
Britain and the Netherlands during 1939. Under the draft treaty
the boundary was established on the left bank of the Corentyne
and Cutari rivers. |
In 1944,
Severo Mallet-Prevost who served as junior counsel on the
team that presented the Venezuelan case before the Arbitral
Tribunal, dictated a memorandum to Judge Otto Schoenrich,
with instructions that the memorandum be published after
his death. Judge Schoenrich published the memorandum in
the American Journal of International Law in 1949. According
to Mallet-Prevost, the Arbitral Award was the result of
a deal between Britain and Russia and therefore was null
and void. The memorandum is the basis for Venezuela's contention
that the border issue should be reopened.
In 1962,
the Netherlands proposed an alternate boundary in response
to a 1961 dispatch regarding the agreed draft of 1939. Under
the Dutch proposal, the boundary followed the thalweg, instead
of the left bank of the Corentyne, and the westerly New
River, instead of the Cutari, as in the 1939 draft. However,
Britain responsed that it was too late to reopen the issue. |
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| Four articles
were published in Sunday Stabroek
beginning in October 1998 dealing with Guyana's border issues.
Three of the articles, under a series titled The Shape
of Guyana, provide an overview of the background to
the border issue with Venezuela and are posted with the permission
of Stabroek News. The fourth
article, by Cedric Joseph, examines the border issues with
Venezuela and Suriname, and is posted with the author's permission
. Recently,
a documentary history of the Guyana-Venezuela border dispute,
by Dr. Odeen Ishmael, was posted on the World Wide Web.
A link is provided to this lengthy document below.
A series
of articles on Guyana-Venezuela relations were published
in Guyana Review,
a national monthly news magazine, following President Janet
Jagan's July 21-23, 1998 visit to Venezuela. Links to two
of the articles are provided below.
A link
to a letter posted on the People's National Congress web
site, by a former Foreign Minister of Guyana, provides additional
insight on recent developments in the Guyana-Venezuela border
issue. |
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| The
Shape of Guyana Series |
| Part
I |
Venezuela's
claim to Essequibo: the occupation
of Essequibo by the Dutch and the 1839 Schomburgk Line
between British Guiana and Venezuela. |
| Part
II |
The
road to arbitration: the Venezuelan
appeal and pressure from the United States forces Britain
to the arbitration table over the boundary issue. |
| Part
III |
The
Paris Tribunal: the decision of
the Paris Tribunal on the border between Guyana [British
Guiana] and Venezuela. |
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| Cedric
Joseph |
A
persistent threat to Guyana's territorial integrity: a
succinct statement of the border issues with Venezuela
and Suriname, and an interpretation of events since
1960. |
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| Odeen
Ishmael |
The
Trail Of Diplomacy: A Documentary History of the Guyana-Venezuela
Border Issue: a fourteen-page document
consisting of nine parts, plus an Introduction and four
Appendices. (Opens
in a new window; close the window to return to this
page.) |
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| Guyana
Review |
A
Venezuelan primer: historical perspective
and recent developments in Guyana-Venezuela relations. |
| |
Venezuela
– again?: a view of the recent
(July 21-23, 1998) visit of President Janet Jagan to
Venezuela. (Each
link opens in a new window; close the window to return
to this page.) |
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| Rashleigh
Jackson |
Guyana/Venezuela
Border Dispute: A letter to President
Janet Jagan by a former Foreign Minister of Guyana (August,
1998). (Opens
in a new window; close the window to return to this
page.) |
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