President Irfaan Ali yesterday said that the video recording of High Commissioner to India, Charrandass Persaud verbally abusing a woman was the determining factor in his recall since he had believed that the matter had already been settled by the Indian government.
“The first time I saw the video is the first time I said I saw the video. That is the first time a video surfaced of anything,” Ali yesterday told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle. .
“In my conversation with Mr. Charrandass, he said that was not the full extent of the video. I also made that -full disclosure. I don’t have anything to hide. When the issue was brought to the … Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as you would have seen, they deemed it closed because of what the Indian authorities said – that there was no evidence of anything. We have to rely on the Indian Authority. They said there was no evidence. As soon as this video came which was a visual evidence, you saw the action we took,” he added.
Sources had told this newspaper that the video in which Persaud could be seen cursing a woman in New Delhi last year was the determining factor in the end of his tour of duty, as diplomatic correspondence to the Foreign Ministry here made no mention of it and had cleared him of any wrongdoing.
“The existence of a video and the statement from the foreign ministry are two separate things. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was given a report from India which cleared Mr. Persaud of any wrongdoing. And it was only yesterday [Tues-day], for the first time, that the Foreign Ministry knew that there was a video of the incident,” a source with knowledge of the case had told Stabroek News on Thursday.
The source added, “What was the Ministry to do when you have the government of India saying that Mr. Persaud had been cleared after its investigation into the matter? India is a sovereign state.”
Questions were raised on the seeming inaction by Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, on whom the onus is to report the complaints made by the woman to the President pending investigations and the results of those.
“Every Head of Mission, their office and conduct, is governed by the Vienna Convention and overall good human behaviour. Every complaint made against that representative is forwarded to the [Guyana] Foreign Ministry and it is the Foreign Minister’s responsibility to brief the President of the country on the actions of the person who is representing him,” a diplomat explained to Stabroek News.
“In this case, the questions needed to be answered are – When did the Foreign Ministry first learn from the receiving country of the complaints against the High Commissioner and what did it do. On what basis was the statement it issued saying that the case was closed made? And was it aware of the existence of the video which clearly shows the egregious actions of the High Commissioner?” the diplomat added.
‘Representation
Ali yesterday said that there is the perception that he had been misled about the incident, and insisted that he was not.
“No one misled me, absolutely no one misled me. I have made the statement, I have done what was the right thing to do. At the end of the day, the integrity of Guy-ana and the best representation of Guyana is what matters to me; in a respectful manner to all – women, children, all,” he emphasised.
The video and a criminal complaint filed against Persaud by the woman, Sonya Ghosh, 63, who is an associate professor, only surfaced on Tuesday even though the incident occurred on August 1, 2021.
On Tuesday, shortly after Stabroek News saw the video, it contacted Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Hugh Todd, who said the ministry would respond. The statement which was later issued by the ministry, said: “The matter, brought to the attention of the Ministry of External Affairs of India by High Commissioner Persaud, was fully investigated by the relevant authorities and a formal response to the High Commissioner dated September 3rd, 2022 indicates that ‘allegation of sexual abusive words to complainant has [sic] not been substantiated.’” The ministry said that it “therefore considers the matter closed.”
From a document seen by Stabroek News, it doesn’t appear that the Indian investigation took account of the video. It spoke about Ghosh feeding dogs and that three men at the location denied the complaint she made. According to the document no one is allowed to enter Persaud’s residence without his permission and that it was in “these circumstances, allegations of sexual abusive words to complainant, has also not been substantiated.”
No mention was made of the video which Ghosh had said was attached.
Then on Wednesday, following the issuance of the statement from Takuba Lodge, President Irfaan Ali announced that Persaud had agreed to return home.
In a three-minute video address to the nation, Ali did not issue a reprimand to Persaud or say explicitly that he had been recalled. The President characterised the return as if it had been by mutual agreement and for the need to always show behaviour of the highest order.
“Last night after having a chance to review the video I called High Commissioner Charrandass. During our conversation he related to me that this is an incident that occurred sometime in August last year, and the video is not a full reflection of what took place. Per a matter of fact he informed that the video was not complete in demonstrating what took place,” the president said in the statement.
Considering the profanities and crude behaviour seen on the video, the President’s referencing of Persaud’s view that the entire recording had not been shown has raised concerns.
‘Replacement’
Ali said he explained to Persaud that representatives of Guyana must on every occasion conduct themselves in the highest order and regard.
“Mr. Charrandass then communicated to me that this matter was dealt with by the relevant agencies and authorities in India and that there was no evidence of any misconduct and for a matter of fact he was cleared of any accusation of sexual harassment. He also shared with me the letter that substantiated this statement.”
It was at this point, the president said, that Persaud agreed “…with me that in keeping with the best interest of Guyana and the image of Guyana that he would return home from his posting in India.”
“I want to assure all Guyanese that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Guyana will continue to work every day to strengthen our relationship not only with India but with every other partner across the globe,” President Ali said.
“Mr. Charrandass has agreed that he takes full responsibility of his actions and will return home from his posting as I would have said. We are therefore going to take all official steps and measures to ensure a smooth transition and to continue strengthening our work with India and to work on advancing the cause of Guyana in every capital,” he added.
The President’s actions were also highlighted by the diplomat and observers who opined that while it was understood that Persaud would not be at the posting any longer, a note of recall or reprimand should have been issued. “The letter from the Foreign Service to Charrandass will state that he was recalled but the President should have made this pellucid. He did not have to nor is it required, but in the diplomatic circle, if he is being reprimanded and or recalled you state that. It is just what is done,” one source explained.
Ali was asked yesterday if government had already determined a replacement for Persaud and he replied, “Life is a strange thing. You think that the President is wishing that something was going to happen with one of his High Commissioners and have ten names in his back pocket, waiting to pull one. It is not so simplistic. Life is strange. As soon as someone falls, you are expected to have 10 replacements.”
