The Private Sector Commission (PSC) yesterday lamented acting Foreign Affairs Minister Priya Manickchand’s attack on outgoing US ambassador Brent Hardt and called on the Donald Ramotar administration to use diplomatic channels in the future.
It called also on the Foreign Service community and its representatives in Guyana to accord the same respect towards the Government and the people of Guyana.
Manickchand was jeered and booed during her remarks at a reception hosted at the ambassador’s residence on Wednesday evening to observe the United States’ 238th independence anniversary. Her statements came in wake of the ambassador’s recent criticism of the excuses given by the administration and the president himself for not holding local government elections.
The PSC, in a statement yesterday, said it believes that the manner in which the Government of Guyana reprimanded ambassador Hardt for representing US foreign policy goals in Guyana “is not consistent with the norms expected in international diplomacy and of two countries that enjoy a friendly relationship.”
It also called on the Guyana Government to “use all the diplomatic channels available to them in the future to register their displeasure in the conduct of any Foreign Service Officer and to resolve any differences in those countries’ foreign policy objectives being executed in Guyana.”
The PSC further added that it is of the belief that Guyana’s interest should always be represented with the highest standards of diplomacy and compliance to international protocols.
