In the wake of a statement by the British High Com-missioner here that Guyana is in breach of the Commonwealth Charter by virtue of its suspension of Parliament among other things and could therefore come up for critical review, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here says it has established with the Commonwealth Secretary General that there has been no discussion about the situation in Guyana.
Clearly stung by the blunt warning of outgoing British High Commissio-ner Andrew Ayre on Monday, the Ministry yesterday issued a statement saying that Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett had contacted Common-wealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma and he had said that there had been no discussion on Guyana.
The ministry’s statement said “Further to pronouncements by the British High Commissioner, H.E Andrew Ayre, that Guyana has breached the Common-wealth Charter and can be reviewed as was done in the case of Fiji, it became necessary for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honorable Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett to speak to the Commonwealth Secretary General, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, to clarify whether the Common-wealth has made such a determination as the Government of Guyana received no communication to this effect.
The Secretary General confirmed that there has been no discussion about the situation in Guyana with the British Government or its High Commissioner in Georgetown or by any other Commonwealth body for that matter. As such, there has been no conclusion by the Common-wealth that Guyana is in breach of the Common-wealth Charter. The statement made by the outgoing British High Commissioner is therefore most misleading.”
Observers however point out that Ayre’s statement on the violation of the Commonwealth Charter reflects the view of the British government and he had not said that this position had been arrived at by the Commonwealth.
The observers noted that given Britain’s weight in the political affairs of the grouping of former British colonies it would just be a matter of time before the issue surfaces within the grouping.
On Monday, Ayre warned that Guyana is on a “dangerous path” and the country could be referred to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group which deals with serious violators of democracy principles.
He also said that 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,” 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 Govern-ment 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.
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.
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.
