By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — President Irfaan Ali, addressing ranks of Guyana’s Joint Services ahead of the country’s 60th Independence Anniversary on May 26, said the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are guaranteed not by history but by the discipline and service of those in uniform.
Speaking to soldiers, coast guard personnel, and members of the Air Corps, the President framed Independence not as a one-time event but as a continuing national obligation.
“Independence was not a ceremony. It was a covenant,” the President said. “A covenant that our freedom will be defended, our borders respected, and our people kept safe from internal strife and disorder.”
The President argued that sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peace cannot be assumed to endure on the basis of historical achievement alone, but require active protection by those who stand guard over the country.
In remarks that did not name any specific country but appeared to reference Guyana’s long-standing border controversy with Venezuela, the President said the country’s territorial integrity had been threatened before and would not be threatened again.
“Where there is wealth, there is always a hungry eye,” he said. “Our territorial integrity has been threatened before. It will never be threatened again — not only with words, but with the threat of encroachments and pressures.”
He told the gathering that the soldiers patrolling Guyana’s rivers, the Coast Guard monitoring its maritime approaches, and the Air Corps watching its skies are the reason the country’s map remains intact.
“They are the reason our map is not negotiable,” the President said. “Every time they hold ground, they say this land belongs to no other flag. That this is not just defence. This is a daily report of independence.”
The President urged the Joint Services to remain vigilant as Guyana continues to grow economically and attract international attention because of its land, rivers, and natural resources. Guyana’s emergence as a significant oil producer in recent years has substantially raised the country’s strategic profile in the region.
President Ali also said that support for the Joint Services does not mean ignoring mistakes when they occur, and that ranks must be held accountable where necessary — but that members of the services should not, in his view, be abandoned by the nations they serve.
The President’s remarks come as Guyana approaches its 60th Independence Anniversary on May 26 and against the backdrop of the country’s ongoing border controversy with Venezuela. The dispute concerns the Essequibo region — approximately two-thirds of Guyana’s territory — over which Venezuela has maintained a claim. The case is currently before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, with Guyana having recently completed oral hearings in the matter.
The Joint Services of Guyana comprise the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Prison Service, the Guyana Fire Service, and elements of the broader national security architecture, and have a particular role in protecting the country’s borders, coastline, and airspace.
