Dear Editor,
Sanctions were the topic of conversation everywhere and the question or suggestion was who should be next. Politicians on both sides should travel and listen to the public’s views on corruption; their findings would be of interest. Conversations at mandirs centered on the American sanctions. Conversations at social gatherings and wakes focused almost exclusively on sanctions rather than memories of the deceased and the event celebrated. Phone calls from all over the USA and from Canada, UK, Trinidad, and Suriname queried about the sanctions. In all of these engagements, every Guyanese supported Washington’s action against the corrupt and feel there should be a wider net.
Guyanese in the diaspora complain about corruption and widespread use of illicit drugs in their former homeland. They praised the government for the progress or development made in recent years but worry about the decline in morality and ethics and the rise of debauchery even among government officials. A bribe or handout was necessitated for almost every service, an act they are not accustomed to in America, Canada or UK.
History tends to repeat itself and any student of American foreign policy and geo-politics would know the consequences of American sanctions; the message is clear.
The Americans are dead set, as they should, against corruption, money laundering, drug trafficking, and abuse of power. That has been a major foreign policy plank of the Biden administration and his chief diplomat, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. They hosted conferences on good governance. They will not turn a blind eye on corruption and abuse of power in the Third World.
Sincerely,
Vishnu Bisram