Guyana and Venezuela prepared to re-introduce Good Officer in territorial conflict discussion

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Sunday, May 04, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Guyanese Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally says Venezuela and Guyana have discussed the possibility of re-initiating United Nations mediation in the longstanding territorial conflict between the two countries. 

During a two-day meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart, Roy Chaderton Matos in Georgetown, Insanally comments that the method to be used in re-opening discussions will be that of the Good Officer, even though it has fallen into disuse over the last decade. 

The last Good Officer was former Barbados Foreign Minister, Oliver Jackman but nothing came of his good offices. 

Sectors in Venezuela have always complained that the UN has placed British Commonwealth personalities as Good Officers instead of independent persons, since Guyana is part of the British Commonwealth and Caribbean Economic Zone (Caricom) countries. 

The territorial conflict over the Esseqibo regime has been simmering for 100 years and has taken on special relevance over the last decade with the discovery of bauxite, aluminum and other minerals. 

Chaderton Matos says the matter was indeed discussed during his visit to Georgetown and he hopes an agreement will be reached ... "I don't know when ... it's up to the negotiators but there is political will."