– blasts Canadians for being ‘duped’ into believing ‘wild and unsubstantiated allegations’ by ‘shady character’
HOME Affairs Minister Mr. Clement Rohee has not only lashed out but also rejected, in its entirety, the information presented by Immigration Consultant, Balwant Persaud, to the Canadian authorities leading to the granting of asylum to two Guyanese refugees by the Immigration Refugee Board of Canada. In a statement to the media yesterday, Minister Rohee said he had seen a written “pre-submission” to the Canadian authorities by Persaud, whom he described as “a known shady character” who operates in the refugee seekers’ market in Canada.

QUOTE: “However, it appears that Mr. Persaud did succeed in duping the Canadian authorities into believing his story…To claim that the State is engaged in kidnapping and cybercrime without offering a scintilla of evidence is not only reckless but is tantamount to creating public mischief – a criminal offence in Guyana.” – Minister Rohee

Rohee said Persaud’s “pre-submission” to the Canadian authorities in favour of two Guyanese refugee seekers in Canada smacks of wild and unsubstantiated allegations in respect of the Office of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In addition, Balwant Persaud accuses the Government of Guyana to be engaging in certain activities to justify his application for refugee claimants namely  Mr. & Mrs Lall, whom  Rohee made clear he “never knew nor ever met to this day”, contrary to Persaud’s claims to the Canadian authorities.

“It is noted that Mr. Persaud rolled out his story in a foreign jurisdiction making serious allegations against a serving minister of government. If these occurrences did take place in Guyana, why were they never reported to the Guyana Police Force before the refugee seekers  hustled away to Canada?” the Home Affairs Minister questioned.

“It is to be regretted that the Ministry of Home Affairs was never offered the opportunity by the Canadian authorities to respond on behalf of the Government of Guyana to the unsubstantiated ‘disclosures’ by Mr. Persaud,” Rohee said.

“However, it appears that Mr. Persaud did succeed in duping the Canadian Authorities into believing his story,” Rohee charged.

“To claim that the State is engaged in kidnapping and cybercrime without offering a scintilla of evidence is not only reckless but is tantamount to creating public mischief – a criminal offence in Guyana,” Rohee argued.

Whenever he chooses to visit Guyana again, the minister said Persaud will be expected to inform the local law enforcement agencies about these allegations against him.

“Anyone making such spurious allegations against a Minister of Home Affairs of any country must support the allegations with incontrovertible evidence,” Rohee declared.

“Moreover, to level such charges against the minister who is responsible for public order is to parrot the jaundiced view by some that a state of lawlessness obtains in Guyana – a claim that has repeatedly been exposed time and again as false and deserves to be scoffed at by all right thinking Guyanese and the international community,” he said.

Rohee said what makes Persaud’s claims even more scandalous is “the position adopted by the Canadian authorities to believe such unadulterated nonsense from a loose cannon, and a man with a tainted character” without seeking to clarify the lies and slanders in Persaud’s submission.

However, Rohee made it clear that whenever Persaud returns to Guyana, he would be expected to demonstrate a sense of responsibility by immediately reporting these matters to the police so that they could be investigated thoroughly.

In the meantime, as Minister of Home Affairs, Rohee said he rejects in its entirety, Balwant Persaud’s falsehoods presented to the Canadian authorities.
Meanwhile, Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon, at a post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday, said that this is not the first time that unproven allegations and absurd contentions have been used for the basis for granting asylum.
He pointed out that the Administration is not offered an opportunity to correct impressions and correct aversions of this issue, as it is exclusively a function of the Canadian authorities.
“So if you go there and they believe you, regardless of how sound or accurate your contentions, you get through,” the HPS explained.