THE Guyana Consulate in New York has condemned the attempts by People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Member of Parliament (MP), Nigel Dharamlall, to “create mischief and division” amongst the Guyanese diaspora.

On Sunday, the PPP backbencher posted a photo on his Facebook page of two female adults, one of which he claimed was the President’s “appointee at the Guyana Consulate in New York”, showing middle finger to a group of protestors.
The protestors were gathered at Richi Rich Palace on Atlantic Avenue in Richmond Hill at an event hosted by members and supporters of the Alliance For Change (AFC)-USA Chapter. They displayed placards which demanded “elections now” and holding the government at fault even though the country’s laws state that only the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has the right to determine a timeline for new elections.

The protestors were primarily members of the Association for Concerned Guyanese (ACG), a group which has been accused of being a “tool” for the PPP.

The Guyana Times, which also carried news of the protest, showed that some protestors were even blaming Guyana’s Attorney General for the holding of elections. “Why are they dragging their foot? What is the Attorney General (Basil Williams) doing?” the newspaper quoted a passionate protester as stating.

In a notice on Tuesday, the Consulate stated: “The Consulate General of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana in New York wishes to advise the public that the post below which has been circulating on social media platforms is completely false and designed to create mischief and division. None of the individuals in the picture below are employed by the Guyana Consulate New York. The Guyana Consulate in New York serves all Guyanese. The Consulate General demands that this post be withdrawn immediately.”

While the notice from the Consulate was made public on Monday, when this newspaper examined the Facebook page of Dharamlall, the post was still blatantly present. This is not the first time Dharamlall has been accused of mischief as, in May of this year, he attempted to use an unsigned letter he posted on his Facebook page to accuse Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Charles Fung-a-Fatt of poor relationship with his staff.