The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has issued a strong condemnation of recent actions undermining Guyana’s territorial integrity, emphasizing that silence in the face of such threats is unacceptable.
The Chamber’s statement comes in response to publicized images at an international business conference in Suriname, which depicted the New River Triangle as part of Surinamese territory.
“Silence in the face of this threat to Guyana’s sovereignty is viewed as an endorsement of same, which the Chamber views as inexcusable,” the Chamber said in a statement today.
The conference was held from February 4-6 by the Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce (SGCC).
SGCC Chair, Dr. Vishnu Doerga is quoted in Stabroek News over the weekend as stating, “In Suriname, that is the map that they use similarly to the map that we use in Guyana. There is a border commission in place that is working on resolving the matter. So I think the sane thing to do is to leave it to the Border Commission to do their work. Other than that, every child in school in Guyana believes that that’s the shape of our map, similarly, every child in school in Suriname has also been taught that that’s the shape of their map. We just respect whichever country we’re in. We just respect their beliefs and both governments have put in place a border commission to resolve the matter and we respect their authority and wait until they have concluded their work,”
The GCCI called on fellow business support organisations and other agencies that acted as supporting actors to the conference to reject these actions and refrain from supporting and justifying any activity that violates Guyana’s national boundaries.
The GCCI is one of Guyana’s largest business support organisations and represents over 800 private sector companies.
