Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee told the US Embassy’s Political Chief on January 28 last year that the Ministry of Home Affairs had set limits on the number of foreign missionaries allowed into Guyana, according to a cable dispatched to Washington on February 16, last year.
The move had come in the wake of a well-publicised detention by the police of Mormon missionaries for overstaying their time here.
In a cable released by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Charge d’Affaires Karen Williams reported that Rohee had said the limit of 15 was negotiated between the Mormons and GoG “and that would remain the yardstick in determining how many missionaries were allowed into Guyana.”
According to Williams, Rohee said that “The only exception to the rule is Catholics because `they have been in Guyana for so long’”.
Rohee, according to Williams’ cable, said that he would meet with all missionary groups to discuss their plans and intended numbers, implying that missionary groups that kept their numbers steady would not face problems.
Said Williams: “Rohee’s decision on numerical limits for missionaries is purely based on what Rohee thinks is proper for Guyana and not based on Guyanese law.”
