The highest ranking Democrat in the US House and Brooklyn Congressman, Hakeem Jeffries on Thursday met with President Irfaan Ali and his delegation in Washington and stressed the need for an inclusive society here and for the government and the opposition to work together.
Jeffries’ message mirrored that of former US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch before she departed this country.
Up to yesterday, the Ali administration, which has had frosty relations with Jeffries had not uttered a word about the Thursday meeting. It was Jeffries who outlined the nature of the talks and also disclosed that he is shortly to meet with the opposition.
Yesterday morning, Jeffries posted the following statement on his Facebook page:
“On Thursday, I hosted a meeting with Guyanese President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and a delegation of government officials from the Republic of Guyana. Several leading congressional members with expertise in foreign affairs, finance, security and other critical issues to the Western Hemisphere and the Caribbean-American community in Brooklyn and across the United States also participated.
“During the meeting we discussed several critical issues, including regional and energy security, the climate crisis and the importance of an inclusive society in Guyana that involved full economic participation and civic engagement by Guyanese-Africans and Guyanese-Indians. We also discussed electoral reform, strengthening democratic institutions and the need to bolster access to banking and financial services in the Caribbean region.
“In the next few weeks, a delegation of House Members, myself included, will meet with leaders of the Guyanese opposition party to continue our dialogue about the opportunities and challenges confronting the Republic of Guyana and other nations within the African diaspora in the Western Hemisphere.
“We will continue to encourage the government and the opposition to work together to ensure that all Guyanese citizens, regardless of race or ethnicity, benefit from the economic growth underway in the South American nation”.
The only response thus far to Jeffries’ statement came from Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud who disclosed that it was the Guyana Government which sought a meeting with the influential congressman. Last year Jeffries had ignored an invitation to meet with President Ali.
On his Facebook page, Persaud said: “We are happy that the Congressman and Democratic Leader in the House responded to the government’s request to meet which enabled a constructive discourse on regional issues and the trajectory of Guyana’s socioeconomic development. Further that the Congressman has acknowledged President Ali’s invitation to visit Guyana is most welcomed. Guyana-US relations are at an historic juncture and the role of our diaspora will be important going forward given the vision of the President and the transformational agenda being pursued for the benefit of all Guyanese”.
The Office of the President has been silent on the Jeffries meeting even though it reported on and carrried photos of Ali meeting on Thursday with a variety of US political leaders including Congresswoman Maria Salazar and Congressman Michael McCaul, New York, Congressman Gregory Meeks and United States Senator and representative from Florida, Marco Rubio.
The Office of the President also reported on Ali’s dinner with the Congressional Caribbean Caucus at Capitol Hill on Thursday and remarks at the Inter-American Dialogue.
Jeffries has drawn the ire of the government for his association with strong critics of the PPP/C government in the US.
Addressing Seventh-day Adventist members at a church in New York on an occasion called Guyana Day in June of 2022, Jeffries described the Guyanese community in the US as hard working, entrepreneurial, family-oriented, community-centred and spiritually sound.
In the four-minute address, he however said those living in Guyana are doing so “under very difficult circumstances with a Government who has not consistently treated everyone consistent with the principle of equal protection under the law”.
“And we are not going to tolerate racism here, we are not going to tolerate racism down in Guyana either and we going to continue to do everything necessary to get things moving in a fairer more equitable direction,” he said to loud applause.
In August of 2021 the PPP/C Government had issued a statement saying that it was disappointed at comments made by the Congressman at what it said was a series of events in New York that were organized by the Guyanese Organizations Against Racism (GOAR).
The statement was referring to an event titled “Anti-PPP Racism March & Rally” that was held last year August in Brooklyn, New York.
“We note the numerous malicious and false claims made by several Members of Parliament, Regional representatives and other persons associated with the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) political party. We wish to place on record that we reject all the statements delivered at today’s (August 15th 2021) march and rally. The APNU continues to propagate racial division and tension in Guyana and in the Diaspora through the dissemination of inaccurate information about the Government of Guyana and by extension, the People’s Progressive Party. These attacks are mere desperation by the APNU who, one year later, refuses to accept the results of the 2020 General Elections needless to say, after a lengthy court battle”, the statement had said.
The statement was in response to remarks by Jeffries and said it found them to be appalling.
“We are disappointed that the Congressman has allowed himself to be negatively influenced by individuals who are … instigating … division amongst our people.
“We call on the Congressman to desist from joining with these individuals in creating chaos in our communities at home and in the Diaspora. We invite the Congressman Jeffries to have discussions with us on matters of mutual interest”, the statement had further said.
Ali and Jeffries met briefly in July this year on the sidelines of the CARICOM summit in Trinidad.
Jeffries’ message on Thursday gels with what Lynch had said consistently during her term here and which was reiterated in an exclusive exit interview with Stabroek News last month.
She said that the United States believes that both the government and the opposition want what is best for Guyana and as such they should begin discussions among themselves and include all stakeholders on creating that path for success.
“The people of both the government and the opposition want the same; I think they both want the same for the people of Guyana. They both want to see success. They both want people to thrive. I think they want to see a government that provides opportunities for its people, put policies in place that ensure that people can improve their quality of life, I think both want to see a thriving private sector that will create interesting and diverse jobs for the people of Guyana,” Lynch told Stabroek News in the interview.
She added that civil society plays a key role in the inclusivity process.
“And I think it’s important also not to leave out civil society. I think it’s very important that civil society, that its role is taken seriously, in terms of holding these politicians accountable, so that people – the citizens of Guyana can succeed,” Lynch added.
To the two main political parties here – the PPP/C that is in government and the APNU+AFC that is in opposition – the Ambassador offered direct words of encouragement.
“My words of encouragement are: – talk, communicate, debate, and listen. You know it’s through conversations that we all grow and we all learn from each other, and political parties, government officials are no different than citizens. It’s important to communicate, to talk in order to be successful and grow,” she emphasized.
