Dear Editor,
I have to admit that my eyebrows could not be raised any higher by the initial brief reporting on Saturday afternoon by the Stabroek News of the planned visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Guyana, that “The two-day trip would be seen as an expression of confidence in the PPP/C government and a signal of deeper cooperation between the two countries.”
My first response was, who wrote this news story? Who would believe that it would really be a priority for the US Government, two months before their own elections, to visit Guyana to congratulate the newly elected government on a successful conclusion of our elections?
I am glad that the Stabroek News Sunday edition followed up with careful, extensive and critical coverage of this important news item, and also drew heavily from the swift and excellent statement issued by the Guyana Human Rights Association, titled ‘Guyana Must Stay Out of Venezuelan Politics.’
A few questions for readers, and all right thinking Guyanese, to ponder:
Why do you think ‘little’ Guyana would be a priority for the US Secretary of State to visit, two months before the US elections? Do you really think this is just about congratulating the Guyana Government on a free and fair election?
This same Secretary of State spoke at the US Republican Convention, recording his address while visiting Jerusalem. According to media reports, “No sitting secretary of state had previously addressed a national political convention in at least 75 years.” What then do we make of this visit to Guyana now, in relation to such partisan politicisation?
Florida is a very important state for the US elections, with a significant proportion of Venezuelans and Cubans hostile to the Castro and Maduro regimes. What might this visit have to do with this fact?
Why did the Government of Guyana, in August, break tradition and support Mr. Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US backed candidate, for the head of the Inter-American Development Bank (he is not from Latin America and the Caribbean, and media reports describe Mr. Claver-Carone as a deeply controversial figure who is deeply opposed to the governments of Cuba and Venezuela.)
Why, just a fortnight after the installation of the new Government of Guyana, did the US thank Guyana for endorsing the statement put out by the Lima Group that recognised Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó, who as the GHRA statement points out supports “the illegal claim on Guyana’s territory”? Has the Government of Guyana ever publicly distanced itself from this statement, and if not, why not?
What does this have to do with ExxonMobil and Payara, about which we are hearing very little? As far as we know, the Payara review is still being headed by Alison Redford, who has little direct experience on the issues to be addressed in relation to the Payara project and whose ethics have moreover been rightly questioned by the Canadian public. And why is our government, which is in the news daily about all of the corruption it is uncovering locally, silent about its continued engagement of the services of someone who was disgraced as the former premier of Alberta? Are there different rules for foreigners?
What is the Government of Guyana’s position on Venezuela – we are certainly entitled to know this in advance of the Secretary of State’s visit and should demand same
What does all this mean for regional integration in the Caribbean, which has had a sterling record when it comes to foreign policy co-ordination? Consider the fact that the US Secretary of State visited Jamaica in January 2020, joined by a few other Caribbean Prime Ministers, a bilateral visit that was criticized by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley. What do Caribbean leaders make of this visit, to the country where the CARICOM Secretariat is headquartered? We should demand their response.
Guyana is a sovereign state. Is this what sovereignty looks like?
Guyanese. We remain divided at our peril. What is good for lil boys is dead fuh crapaud. They say when the elephants play, the grass gets trampled. But these local big elephants are pawns, and if they do not come together on this most crucial issue, they will make Guyanese the trampled grass in a much bigger geopolitical game.
Let us remember the Caribbean women and others who have long been calling for the Latin American and Caribbean region to be declared a non-militarized zone of peace.
I urge Stabroek News and all newspapers to carry the GHRA statement in full.
Yours faithfully,
Alissa Trotz
