The United Kingdom yesterday warned that Guyana is on a “dangerous path” and the country could be referred to a Commonwealth body which deals with serious violators of democracy principles while London’s aid to Guyana could be affected if the suspension of Parliament by President Donald Ramotar is not lifted.
“Guyana is moving into a category of concern for the Commonwealth. That is quite clear from discussions that take place in London,” British High Commissioner to Guyana Andrew Ayre told reporters at a news conference at the Cara Lodge yesterday. Asked about possible sanctions, London’s top envoy here said that Guyana is on a “dangerous path” and the suspension of Parliament on November 10 last year and the fact that it has not been resumed since then, is a “clear breach” of the Commonwealth Charter and Guyana’s Constitution.
“These things matter. The UK and other governments don’t sign the Commonwealth Charter and don’t sign things like the Sri Lanka [Common-wealth Heads of Government Meeting] CHOGM declaration and then just put them to bed,” Ayre said even as he called on Guyana to fulfill its international obligations. He recalled that Ramotar had signed the declaration coming out of the CHOGM in Sri Lanka in 2013, and several provisions in the document speak to the importance of democracy.
It has been two months since Ramotar prorogued the National Assembly to avoid a motion of no-confidence and despite saying he would do so early this year, the president, who is currently on a state visit to India, has not named a date for elections.
Ayre yesterday pointed out that there remains no path towards the resumption of Parliament. “Given that the stated reason for the prorogation was to have constructive talks with the majority Opposition, and given that those talks are not going to happen, the United Kingdom is increasingly concerned as to what the basis for the suspension of Parliament is and how long it will last for,” he asserted.
In the UK’s strongest statements on the matter yet, Ayre urged the Ramotar administration to “get on with it” and called on the government to resume Parliament without further delay or lay out a timeline for the resumption of Parliamentary democracy.
He said that the British government has made its views clear both in private meetings with the government and in public statements. “The reality is here you have a Guyanese problem. It ultimately needs a Guyanese solution. The UK is not in a position and nor does it want to enforce or impose some solution on Guyana,” Ayre said while adding that they stand ready to assist all parties in bringing this impasse to an end.
“Let’s be clear, the government and the president are the ones that can end the impasse so let’s get on with it,” he declared. He added that government has not responded to the UK’s approaches.
Asked by Stabroek News if Guyana is at risk of being referred to the Common-wealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) over the suspension of Parliament, Ayre responded that “yes it is.”
The CMAG was set up by Commonwealth Heads of Government in New Zealand in 1995 to “deal with persistent and serious violators of the Common-wealth’s shared principles. These principles relate to democracy, human rights and equality. CMAG’s task is to assess the nature of infringements and recommend measures for collective Common-wealth action aimed at speedy restoration of democracy and constitutional rule.
“Guyana could be subjected to a critical review because of breaches of the Commonwealth Charter,” Ayre said while adding that all Commonwealth member states can be subjected to that sort of review. He emphasised that Guyana is not on the verge of being suspended from the Commonwealth and he hopes that it does not come to that.
“Hypothetically, it’s for the government of Guyana to consider whether its membership of the Commonwealth is something that is important to it. I know that it is but it’s very important to fulfil the requirements of the Charter,” he said while adding that it is very clear about the requirements on member states.
Meantime, asked by Stabroek News if bilateral aid from the UK to Guyana could be affected, Ayre indicated that it could be. “Without a parliament there is no parliamentary oversight of development assistance or anything else. Clearly the appetite to send money to a country that has no parliamentary oversight is much reduced,” he said.
Pressed further on the matter, he questioned how it could be justified to British taxpayers.
“Without a parliament, no laws can be passed, no scrutiny can be had. Against the background of our doubts about the process that’s taking place here, there’s a reluctance to send development funds. Of course there is. How could we justify that to our own taxpayers,” Ayre asserted.
Earlier, he had emphasised that parliamentary democracy is not just required by Guyana’s constitution, it is also required under the Commonwealth Charter. “A functioning democracy matters not just to fulfil the obligations of Constitutions, Charters or Declarations.
It matters because development depends on it,” he asserted.
The UK’s top diplomat here said that over the past 20-30 years, most of those countries that have transitioned from developing to developed status have had several things in common: a vibrant functioning democracy at both national and local levels; improvements in the business environment to encourage inward and outward investment; tackling corruption which robs developing countries of much needed financial means; and investments in the human capital of citizens to ensure that they are able to deliver the sort of progress the British Government would like to see here.
He hailed Ramotar’s vision of turning Guyana into a developed country in his lifetime.
However, he said, no Parliament means that no bills can be passed including the anti-money laundering bill that is badly needed if the specialised units the UK is setting up with Guyanese colleagues are to successfully prosecute those involved in serious organised crime. “It means that no budget can be passed, so local investment will eventually grind to a halt.
And external investor confidence takes a further knock as insecurity around Guyana’s future prospects decreases the appetite of investors to take the risk of investing whilst pushing up the costs of so doing,” he said.
“So it is not just a domestic matter. The UK has invested significant sums in helping to promote a more developed Guyana, through, for example, bilateral development assistance, both local and regional, hundreds of millions of Euros through the EU development programmes, hundreds of millions of pounds to assist countries such as Guyana meet the important objectives outlined in the Millennium Development goals.
The UK also has significant business interests here which benefit not just UK companies but Guyanese people too. All of this is at risk as is the notable progress made by Guyana in recent years,” Ayre said.
He said that the British government would “absolutely support” elections, both national and local, in Guyana and looks forward to playing a full part in delivering a peaceful, fair and free election. “I’d like to see an election date called, the end of this current impasse, local elections thereafter. The UK would like to see all of those things,” Ayre stressed even as he urged government to move to elections or to move to a resumption of parliament. “Parliament is key to a democracy, without a parliament there’s a question of your democratic credentials,” he pointed out.
“I dismiss this zero sum, winner takes all, political approach to things. It doesn’t help anyone. You can’t always have one side winning and one side losing, one side black and one side white. It just doesn’t work so there is a need to move on from that in order to get Guyana to develop in the way that it should,” Ayre further said.
The UK has been in the forefront of calling for the lifting of the suspension of parliament. Ayre had spoken about the matter previously and last week, Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood reiterated the UK’s call for the Ramotar administration to lift the suspension of the law-making body.
