Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira has distanced herself from WikiLeaks disclosures which suggested that she was opposed to the appointment of Henry Greene as the Top Cop but was having difficulty getting President Bharrat Jagdeo and Head of the Presidential secretariat around to this view.
The assessment of Teixeira was contained in US cables to Washington in 2006 and written by then Charge d’Affaires Michael Thomas.
In a statement last night, Teixeira, who was the Minister of Home Affairs after Ronald Gajraj quit that office said:
“Having seen the purported Wikileaks release of cables emanating from the US Embassy here in Guyana in the period of December 2005 and July 2006 when l was Minister of Home Affairs, l wish to say that two thirds of what is reported by the then Charge d’ Affaires Michael Thomas appear to be his opinions and certainly do not reflect the content of conversations between him and l.
“Factually and historically the cables are inaccurate and replete with his own personal views and deductions.
“I could not have had any discussion on Henry Greene’s suitability as a Commissioner of Police on December 23, 2005 or any other time as this was not on my agenda. My focus was the violent criminal wave that was (wreaking) havoc on Guyanese society and killing innocent people. I was concerned about who were the political masters trying to destabilize the country in the period leading up to and including the 2006 general and regional elections.
“I have no doubt that that Americans like the British and Canadian diplomats were more concerned with Roger Khan and certainly this was the focus of many of their representation.
“However, it was the Charge’ who released the CD to me with the taped conversation between the PNC MP Basil Williams and Commissioner of Police Felix in March 2006 advising me that they had been given it by Roger Khan. This followed after the theft of weapons from the GDF compound. The Government officially asked the US Embassy in March 2006 to assist in checking whether the tape had been tampered with to which they responded 2 months later that they could not ascertain whether the tape had been tampered or not. This was also done officially through written correspondence.
“There was no discussion concerning members of the private sector and the President nor is it comprehensible how the author Thomas could have deduced that this ipso facto meant a link between the President and Roger Khan.
“Furthermore, l am known for not disclosing internal party or government matters with outsiders.
“I am very clear in my mind about the conversations l held with Charge d’ Affaires Michael Thomas. My own personal records verify my recall”, Teixeira said.
By reacting to the cables released by the whistle blowing site, WikiLeaks Teixeira has taken a different tack from Luncheon and Jagdeo who have refused to lend the cables credence. Jagdeo however on Friday at a press conference addressed one cable relating to Greene.
In one cable, Thomas, who described Teixeira as the “voice of reason” in the government said that he and the UK and Canada High Commissioners had long discussions with Teixeira regarding Greene. “Teixeira has described in some detail her struggles to get Jagdeo and Luncheon to come around to her point of view,” he said, while adding that the US Ambassador Roland Bullen as well as the UK and Canada High Commissioners made their concerns clear to Luncheon since July 12.
