The recent statements by the United Kingdom’s outgoing High Commissioner Andrew Ayre about President Donald Ramotar’s prorogation of Parliament have been soundly criticised by government.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, during a post-Cabinet media briefing on Thursday said there seems to be something about Western foreign envoys who are about to depart this country that encourages them to comment on government’s affairs or as he described it  as “feats of folly.”.
Referring to the soon to depart UK High Commissioner, the Cabinet Secretary noted that the official who has served for three years, took the opportunity to be “unusually remembered” by government, further describing him as “terribly dishonourable” for attempting to depict  President Ramotar’s actions as a constitutional crime. He added

that the High Commissioner also attempted to portray the prorogation action as one worthy of Commonwealth sanctions, and one that could result in the withdrawal of developmental aid.
It was further noted by Dr Luncheon that the UK High Commissioner, “sinisterly and conspiratorially” revealed the European Union’s and the UK’s handiwork in the recent EU dishonouring of its agreement with the Guyana Government on budgetary support. “His attempts to damage Guyana’s credibility and its economic prospects are considered by cabinet to be unpardonable”.
It was pointed out by the Cabinet Secretary, that since such concerns are usually shared bi-laterally, the High Commissioner’s actions needed to be condemned as they are, “unacceptable in the realm of international diplomacy as any concerns of the UK government can and ought to be continued to be shared conventionally.”
Government has not been utterly silent about concerns expressed by the UK, but it noted that the resort to the media to air these are, “unacceptable in the modern world.” Dr Luncheon said it was “irksome” for western diplomats to be running around the world with the “S word” or sanctions, which seems to have assumed a very notable role in the diplomacy, in the “soft or even the hard power” of these states.
The threat to withhold developmental aid was viewed as “most dastardly” by Dr Luncheon, as “It hurts as not only have they been instrumental in organising, in contributing to developmental aid that Guyana has received over the years from external sources but the issue of prorogation being elevated to “some similarity to the Fijian experiences and being worthy of the imposition of sanctions and the withdrawal or threats of the withdrawal of developmental aid, I think the people would say that is really taking this matter totally out of proportion”.
The fact that prorogation is contained in the Guyana Constitution was reiterated by Dr. Luncheon who said that claims that government wanted to hijack political and parliamentary democracy are “totally absurd.”
Government’s sentiment is that the outgoing official be accorded the status of a “pariah” whose departure was eagerly anticipated.

(GINA)