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THE EDITOR: Is Nicolás Maduro’s intent to annex the Essequibo despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s ruling of non-interference a symptom of man’s nature to have dominion over others, irrespective?
From the earliest times Cain killed Abel out of jealousy and for the caveman “survival of the fittest” was his mantra. As we became more “civilised,” kings like Henry VIII neutralised all threats to his crown and Elizabeth I was able to counter Phillip II of Spain’s attempt to reduce England to a vassal state. Nor should we forget the all-conquering Romans, the Ottoman ravaging Europe and the Middle East, only to be stopped by the Crusaders, and of course Attila the Hun plundering the Mongolian plains.
With the discovery of the New World, the capitalist conquerors like Spain and England decimated the existing tribes in search of gold and for land to build settlements, engaging in the worst form of human subjugation in slavery, with the “heroic” American pioneers following suit in their conquest of the West.
On the other side of the world the Nazis killed six million Jews as Hitler strove for world domination and David Livingstone, like the pioneers in the New World, would bring “civilisation” to the “Area of Darkness” in Africa, complete with the white Tarzan as "lord of the jungle" over the native blacks, with apartheid in its wake in South Africa.
Also, can we ever forget Pearl Harbour and its sequel in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as one nation tried to subjugate the other?
In the present we have Indigenous peoples in Latin America fighting to preserve their ancestral land against loggers and other forms of capitalism, and Russia with its hegemonic intent against Ukraine, as much as China with Hong Kong and Taiwan in the offing. Currently simmering is the Israel/Hamas situation, all for domination and survival!
Even as the chronology of events may be slightly askew and some relevant issues are missing, what is evident here is man’s historical tendency to dominate others, often for power and control, which throws light on Maduro’s imminent threat to Essequibo.
It is noteworthy though that some perpetrators throughout history have come to see the error of their ways, subsequently addressing their wrongs, like independence for the colonised, even adult suffrage for all and the end of apartheid-type systems, freedom and possible reparations for the formerly enslaved, and institutional support for economies struggling because of their subjugation by their colonial masters, inter alia, of which organisations such as the UN et al, and the Geneva Convention, the ICJ and the Nuremberg trials are ample manifestations.
But of late there seems to a paradigm shift away from the moral compass implicit in the above to a blatant disregard for standards, which attest to our basic humanity, like the unequal war between Russia and Ukraine, China’s annexation of Hong Kong, and the blood and death of the Israeli/Hamas war.
Which is why, especially as we are virtually at arm’s length of the conflict, we wonder at where the Essequibo situation can lead. Guyana seems to have been in control from the 1899 arbitration to which both countries agreed, but now Venezuela is ignoring the ruling of the ICJ of non-interference, going further to grant permits to Venezuelans for the exploration of the rich resources of the region and boldfacedly instructing current Guyanese investors to leave.
Is it the old survival of the fittest syndrome of the caveman or are these the exigencies of power and control for dominion of the weak, for Guyana is a military fledgling compared to Venezuela? And is this bullying tactic exacerbated by Venezuela full in the knowledge that the superpowers like Russia, China and Iran are waiting on the wings to join in the fray, even as the US seems to be on the side of Guyana?
I would be terrified if a nuclear submarine suddenly surfaces next to our boat as we fish in the Gulf.
How about you?

DR ERROL NARINE BENJAMIN

via e-mail
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