Harmon confirms President to lead talks with opposition

MINISTER of State Joseph Harmon has confirmed that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter did telephone President David Granger, and that the two had spoken of the need to have meetings between the government and the opposition.

“Yes, the matter was raised, and the President acknowledged that he did receive a telephone call from President Carter,” Minister Harmon said.
“He was mindful and interested in meeting with the leader of the opposition to ensure matters which are in the national interest are discussed,” he told members of the media on Friday during his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing.

The confirmation follows a meeting on Thursday at State House between President Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, at the end of which the latter was quoted as saying that the two had come to a compromise of sorts.

That compromise was that in light of the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP)’s objection to Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo leading the government’s team on talks, that President Granger had decided that he will do so himself in the nation’s interest.
During Thursday’s State House meeting, President Granger was accompanied by Minister Harmon and Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams, and the opposition leader by other PPP top executives.

Minister Harmon told the media on Friday that during the proposed meeting between the opposition leader and the President, there will be three areas of discussion, and that those areas are matters of national security, the oil-and- gas sector and the environment. He disclosed, too, that Jagdeo requested that there be structured meetings, something the President was only too happy to oblige.

Jagdeo had told the media on Thursday that he’d received a call from President Carter last week after the latter had gotten word that the PPP had refused the offer to engage in amiable talks with the government.

Said he: “The impression I got from President Carter is that in his conversation with the President, the President stated that he was inclined to have talks with us, but we in the PPP were not so inclined because we don’t like Nagamootoo.”
“And so I pointed out to President Carter that it was not Nagamootoo that was the issue; it was our concern that he would not be able to commit the APNU or the PNC to anything at the meeting.”

However, despite saying this now, in a statement issued back in 2015, the PPP had this to say regarding Nagamootoo: “Knowing the dim view the PPP holds of Moses Nagamootoo, the APNU+AFC by insisting that he is their ‘best man’ who will head its team must know that that initiative will go nowhere. Thus, by pushing Nagamootoo centrestage, it is now pellucidly clear that the coalition’s objective is not to have any talks at all, but to put the PPP/C on the defensive and to project the party as refusing to engage in talks with the government.”

NO AXE TO GRIND
Prime Minister Nagamootoo, who is a former PPP executive member, has always maintained that he has no axe to grind with the PPP, and is ready to enter talks on national unity.

As Minister Harmon told reporters Friday, despite the ramblings and insults hurled at the prime minister, he is the one who holds the portfolio for governance and parliamentary affairs.

“The prime minister is the prime minister, and he is responsible for parliamentary affairs and governance issues,” he said, adding:
“And the fact of the matter is; the President wanted the process to go forward, if in fact the opposition was making a major deal out of the Prime Minister leading the government’s team.”

“And the President said, ‘Okay; I will lead it so that we can move the process forward.’” He said, too, that his government does not want “any hindrances or obstacles” created as the basis for meetings between the government and opposition not being held.
The minister added that the opposition has always tried to disrespect the Prime Minister. “Our Prime Minister has treated that with dignity and aplomb in the way he executes the duties of his office,” Minister Harmon said.

“They have said some very terrible things about the Prime Minister, and our Prime Minister is doing an excellent job; he has carried out assignments with efficiency.”
Meanwhile, when it was put to him that the former U.S. President may have been referring to talks on governance and not the three areas as mentioned, Minister Harmon reminded reporters that “Guyana is an independent nation, and that the President and leader of the opposition are leaders of this country.”

“We determine what the agenda is; there may be suggestions by interested parties, but the agenda are items which the two leaders agree on. This will form the basis of the initial engagement and further engagements,” stated the Minister of State.
Harmon reminded his audience that the President has always expressed an interest in meeting and having dialogue with the opposition, but that the opposition has been selective in how it deals with matters.

“There has been a picking and choosing by them, but as far as the government is concerned, the President has always made it clear that he is interested in dialogue; all of the resources of this country are necessary for us to move this country forward,” he declared.

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