I wish to refer to the article of last Sunday and Monday, April
16th and 17th, 2006, entitled "Chavarribean Part I",
and "Chavarribean Part II" by the distinguished writer,
former Senior Diplomat and Head of the Public Service of Trinidad
and Tobago, Mr Reginald Dumas, in which he makes a series of
assertions reflecting long-standing misperceptions about Venezuela's
foreign policy towards its Caribbean neighbours. I would like
to attempt to clarify what I consider are some of the central
misperceptions raised by Mr Dumas, which could contribute to
creating unjustifiable misunderstanding among the readers of
your prestigious newspaper.
Mr Dumas's
allusion to Dr Eric Williams' assertions on "the list
of Venezuela's territorial claims" deserves some elucidation
beginning with my country's alleged claims on "the Trinidad's
offshore islands." In fact, along our 2,800 kilometres
of coastline on the Caribbean Sea, we have more than 72 islands;
none of them are called Monos, Huevos or Chacachacare.
On the
other hand, in reference to Bird Island, the author should
know that it has been Venezuelan since 1777, as proven by
the royal documents that sustain the Venezuelan Declaration
of 1838, as well as by the Peace and Friendship Treaty of
1845, through which the Kingdom of Spain acknowledges Venezuelan
sovereignty on Bird Island. Likewise, it is the ruling of
the Arbitration Court of 1865, which concluded the Dutch claim.
Furthermore,
as a consequence of our sovereign rights on Bird Island, the
Government of Venezuela subscribed delimitation treaties with
France, The Netherlands, and the United States of America,
remaining pending the delimitation with our neighbours of
the Eastern Caribbean.
Concerning
the Venezuelan claim of the Essequibo territory, it should
be noted that it dates back since the very moment when the
Arbitration Court of Paris of 1899 issued its settlement,
which stripped us of a part of our territory. It would take
long to cite each of the actions and decisions taken along
our history, which uphold this claim.
Nevertheless,
I shall refer to the 1966 Geneva Agreement, and the subscription
of the Port of Spain Protocol, in this same city, and with
the valuable presence and offices of the Government of Trinidad
and Tobago of that time, which allowed to halt the claim process
for twelve years when more favourable circumstances would
allow our conversations aimed at achieving, in a peaceful
way, a satisfactory and equitable solution for both parties.
Today,
this process advances in a very favourable and friendly atmosphere
under the Good Offices of the Secretary General of the United
Nations. Incidentally, the current relationship between Venezuela
and Guyana is characterised by high, mutual respect, and I
would add that it has a lot to do with the personal friendship
between the two Presidents of the two countries, Hugo Chávez
and Bharrat Jagdeo. There is also a longstanding friendship
between the people of our two countries.
President
Hugo Chávez' foreign policy, in tune with his
vision of a multipolar world, seeks to promote greater political
understanding and a more meaningful integration among the
countries of the Hemisphere, as well as with countries in
other continents. In fact, the Government of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela has sought to advance a new model of
Latin American and Caribbean economic integration, which is,
in fact, the same conception proposed by our Liberator, Simón
Bolivar, over 200 years ago, based on freedom and equality,
which President Chávez has called the Bolivarian
Alternative for the Americas-ALBA, referring to a new beginning,
a new dawn (alba), based on solidarity and cooperation.
Industrialised
countries are more capable of absorbing higher energy prices
than the developing, smaller economies of our region. One
of ALBA's concrete manifestations is a hemispheric energy
association, the Petrocaribe initiative, with the Caribbean
region; and Petrosur or Petroamerica, eventually, with the
whole of the hemisphere. Actually, regional economic development
and hemispheric energy integration have been focal points
of Venezuela's regional cooperation. Indeed, we have shared
our energy resources with our neighbours long before the Petrocaribe
initiative.
Venezuela's
regional energy policy has extended favourable petroleum export
terms throughout the region through the San Jose Petroleum
Accord, created and jointly administered by Mexico and Venezuela
in 1980, and renewed annually, to facilitate the supply of
petroleum products on favourable terms to eleven developing
nations within the Central American and Caribbean region.
More recently, in 2001, the Caracas Energy Accord, a regionally-inclusive
bi-lateral cooperative energy agreement administered by Venezuela,
expanded the coverage of the San Jose Accord.
The Petrocaribe
Energy Cooperation Agreement emerged at a time of acutely
rising oil prices, which pose a very serious threat to the
Region's small vulnerable economies. The concept behind Petrocaribe
dates back to 2003, when the Government of Venezuela first
presented it to the member states of the Latin American Energy
Organisation (OLADE) during a meeting in Quito, Ecuador. Petrocaribe
is a political initiative based on the rational use of non-renewable
depletable energy resources, to promote integration and sustained
development of the peoples of the region, on the basis of
complementation, solidarity and joint social responsibility,
rather than competition. All this, under a framework of ample
respect for the sovereignty, diversity, and needs of each
country.
It is
important to note that the Petrocaribe agreement beneficiaries
do not receive oil at concessionary prices, as within the
framework of OPEC, Venezuela is not permitted to sell below
world market price.
The immediate
substantial benefits to be derived are: a) averting a severe
reduction of foreign exchange reserves, thereby easing the
pressure for currency devaluation, which would trigger inflation;
b) the accumulation of loan funds at concessionary rates,
otherwise unavailable from International Lending Agencies
or Capital Markets; and, c) the ability to repay portions
of the loan by way of goods and services, including commodities
such as sugar, bananas and rice. In addition, Venezuela facilitates
exploration, refining and distribution of oil, while supporting
the development of renewable energy sources. The modernisation
of the refineries in Jamaica and Cuba is being undertaken
currently.
It
is somewhat disconcerting to note that Mr. Dumas's article,
as published, omitted the important points delineated in my
penultimate paragraph above. I hope these explanations will
contribute to dispel some of the misperceptions generated
by Mr Dumas's article.
Christy
Gonzalez is
Chargée d' Affaires, Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic
of Venezuela in Trinidad and Tobago. Petroleumworld not necessarily
share these views.
Editor's
Note: This commentary was published by The Trinidad
Express, on Saturday, April 29, 2006. Petroleumworld
reprint this article in the interest of our readers.
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Petroleumworld
05 04 06
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© 2006 Christy Gonzalez . All rights reserved
