The PNCR is calling on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to instruct Ambassador Bayney Karran to withdraw what it termed his “prejudicial” remarks on the Linden crisis.
The main opposition party also expressed astonishment at the “deliberate disinformation” uttered by Ambassador Karran, Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation of American States (OAS), the party stated in a press release yesterday..
The PNCR, responding to reports of Ambassador Karran’s interpretation of the political situation in his presentation to the OAS, stated that the ambassador “had been either badly misdirected or misinformed or deliberately chose to mislead the Council.”
Guyana’s Ambassador to the OAS, who is also Ambassador to the USA, had told the OAS Permanent Council last Wednesday that the Government of Guyana was concerned at the “precarious political situation in the country which has arisen since the November 2011 elections and stated that it warrants close attention by OAS member states”.
Karran is quoted as having referred to the promotion of “ethnic hatred” and conflict during the Linden crisis and as having described the political situation in the country since the November 2011 elections as “precarious,” according to a statement from the foreign affairs ministry.
The Linden issue was raised at last Wednesday’s meeting of the OAS Permanent Council in Washington at the request of the permanent mission of Guyana. Ambassador Karran outlined the events, giving a background of the electricity tariffs in Linden and the escalation of protests since July 18 when three protestors were killed and about 20 injured.
OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza subsequently said that dialogue is the best way to deal with the problem. Insulza said that the OAS is very concerned about the situation. “We think that dialogue is the best way to deal with this matter,” he said while adding that the most important thing is that the OAS is ready to support the efforts of the Guyanese people and the commission of inquiry. It is very important that judgment is not rushed into, he said.
The PNCR said that it regarded Ambassador Karran’s presentation as a “device deliberately designed to deflect attention from the Government’s irresponsible handling of public security by casting blame on the so-called “precarious” political situation in the country.”
The PNCR said further that Ambassador Karran and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in particular would be better advised by the explicit condemnation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the killing of three persons during the “repression” by security forces of a protest in Linden.
The IACHR, since August 3, had called on the Government of Guyana “to use force in strict conformity with its international obligations and the applicable international principles.”
The Council reminded the Government of its obligation to “adopt mechanisms to prevent excessive use of force on the part of public agents in marches and protest demonstrations.”
The IACHR had called on the Guyana Government “to urgently adopt all necessary measures for the due protection of the protesters within the framework of respect of inter-American human rights standards.”
Meanwhile, the PNCR is calling on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to instruct Ambassador Karran “to withdraw his prejudicial remarks.”
The ambassador should be directed, instead, to issue a clear statement of the Government’s resolve to adhere to the IACHR standards to prevent a recurrence of the gross violation of human rights of the residents of Linden, the release concluded.
