Dear Editor,
Over the last 24 hours remarks made by People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Prime Ministerial Candidate Ms. Elisabeth Harper against A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Presidential Candidate David Granger have been widely reported in the media. Ms. Harper was reported as saying; “Mr. Granger is reported as belatedly declaring his disappointment with how we responded to illegal activities by Venezuela against operators of concessions offshore Guyana….”
How could Ms. Harper be so woefully misinformed? For the immediate past Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to say that Granger was belatedly declaring his disappointment on the government handling of the Venezuelan navy’s seizure of the oil exploration vessel Teknik Perdana, is a clear sign that Elisabeth Harper was not paying attention. There has been no change in David Granger’s position on the country’s defence and our foreign policy. As far back as the October 12th 2013 (Stabroek News-SN ‘Venezuelan action warrants strong response’ and again on October 19th 2013 –SN ‘Guyana Venezuela meeting solved nothing-Granger’) the APNU+AFC Presidential Candidate as Leader of the Opposition had cause to critique the PPP/C administration’s handling of this matter.
On October 19th 2013 Stabroek News reported: “With the future of oil search activities in the offshore Roraima block still uncertain after last week’s seizure by Caracas of a ship in Guyana’s waters, Opposition Leader David Granger yesterday declared that the government’s engagement with Venezuela this week solved nothing.
“`The meeting solved nothing,’ Granger told a news conference yesterday, one day after Delegations from Guyana and Venezuela held talks on Thursday in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad to discuss the Venezuelan navy’s seizure of the oil exploration vessel Teknik Perdana and decided to have their technical experts meet in four months to discuss maritime delimitation.
“Granger yesterday called on President Donald Ramotar to convene a Border and National Security committee in the wake of the incident, saying that it should immediately consider the implications of, and Guyana’s response to, the “unprecedented seizure” of the unarmed survey vessel.”
Further in the same news article Granger registered his disappointment with the PPP/C Administration’s response:
“… the outcome of the meeting was found wanting by Granger, who yesterday said he was astonished at the failure to `address the dangerous use, or threat of the use of armed force by Venezuela against Guyana, which is a contravention of Article 2 (4) of the Charter of the United Nations.’”
“He also chided Guyana’s response to the challenge made by Venezuela to Guyana’s territory, and said that the role of the National Assembly, the Government of Guyana and the capacity of the Foreign Affairs Ministry need to be enhanced to be able to properly respond to such challenges.
“This situation could have been avoided altogether if the government heeded to recommendations made over a decade ago, he argued.
“He pointed out that in 2001, the Border and National Security Committee, which he co-chaired, compiled a report which made several recommendations, including for consultations at the highest level to discuss and resolve issues pertaining to border and national security. Such discussions were to take place between the President and the Leader of the Opposition since, `this level of engagement represents the core of the bi-partisan approach.’”
Since that time 18 months have elapsed and the Guyanese people have not been assured that the matter have been dealt with in a decisive manner (even while Ms. Harper was Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Ms. Harper’s should direct her remarks to the PPP/C, President Donald Ramotar and the serving Minster of Foreign Affairs. One thing is clear the PPP/C’s Prime Ministerial Candidate was either ‘set-up’ by her own camp or worst woefully misinformed on matters that should have had her undivided attention.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Archer
Director of Communications
A Partnership for National Unity