Two more business groups in Guyana have issued statements condemning the use of a map that depicted Guyana’s New River Triangle as part of Suriname, at a Paramaribo conference last week.
The Guyana Oil & Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) and the Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) are among the groups expressing concern. They followed the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) which said Monday that silence in the face of this threat to Guyana’s sovereignty is inexcusable.
On Monday, the Government of Guyana officially condemned the use of the map, stating that the country has always exercised sovereignty over the New River Triangle.
The map was presented at the International Business Conference, hosted by the Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce, whose Chair is Dr. Vishnu Doerga.
GOGEC called on Doerga to apologize after he commented to Stabroek News that the Conference organizers respect the beliefs of Surinamese people who have been taught that the New River Triangle is theirs. “We just respect whichever country we’re in,” Doerga stated.
SGCC said Sunday that the map was not part of its materials, but was included in a powerpoint presentation by an invited conference speaker.
GOGEC said, “We find it deeply concerning that Dr. Doerga suggested an equivalence between Guyana’s sovereign claim to the territory and Suriname’s educational narrative, thereby failing to uphold Guyana’s internationally recognized territorial integrity unequivocally.”
In addition to apologizing, GOGEC said Doerga should provide clear affirmation of Guyana’s sovereignty over the New River Triangle, ensuring his statements do not contribute to ambiguity about the issue. GOGEC said any suggestion that the New River Triangle’s status is subject to differing “beliefs” is misleading.
The GMSA, which acknowledged being a partner in the Paramaribo event, dissociated itself from the dissemination of the map “and any attempt to justify it.”
“Such actions threaten Guyana’s territorial integrity and undermine regional stability and international law,” the manufacturers’ group said.
It also expressed concern that this incident mirrors ongoing territorial challenges Guyana is facing from Venezuela.
The GMSA urged all partners to take proactive measures and ensure such inaccuracies do not recur in future engagements.
The two groups held that the New River Triangle is an integral component of Guyana’s sovereignty, a status solidified by the 1936 tri-junction point agreement. Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud reminded in a recent Facebook post that the Brazilian, British, and Dutch Boundary Commissioners duly signed that agreement 89 years ago, which was followed by Guyana’s maintenance of uninterrupted occupation and administration of this region. Persaud said every Guyanese, especially leaders, should know Guyana’s territorial limits with conviction.
