The United States hopes to work with Guyana’s government and opposition to build inclusion here, while at the same time leaving the door open for disagreements between the two countries on certain issues.
“One of the things I will tell the president when we have our real first meeting is that there are times when we will disagree with Guyana. We have our own national interest just like Guyana does and I hope that he is not disagreeable. …My words of wisdom for Guyana: Fine, disagree but don’t be disagreeable,” Newly appointed United States Ambassador Perry Holloway told Stabroek News in an exclusive interview on Friday.
The US envoy’s position comes against the background of major disagreements and antagonism between the former People’s Progressive Party/C-led government, which is now in opposition, and the US over the latter’s open advocacy for local government elections and the Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) project.
Last year, the then education minister Priya Manickchand was jeered and booed during her caustic remarks at a reception hosted at the ambassador’s residence. Her “feral” statement (so dubbed by former cabinet secretary Dr Roger Luncheon) came in the wake of then ambassador Brent Hardt’s criticism of the excuses given by former president Donald Ramotar and his administration for not holding local government elections. Manickchand had accused the ambassador of “crossing the red line.” The PPP/C felt Hardt was interfering in his calls for local government elections and that the original LEAD project had been part of a plot to remove that party from office.
However the US maintains that it wants to foster a working relationship with the opposition for the holistic development of Guyana and hopes that there will be no grudges held.
“We look forward to talking to the opposition, look forward to hearing what they have to say pitching in for the good of the Guyanese people whom they represent… I am interested in hearing their perspective because Guyana will not develop [and will] never be truly successful unless it becomes inclusive.” Holloway said.
He also posited “It is one thing to have disagreements. It’s one thing to have different positions on different issues… that occurs in my country all the time, but you need compromise on almost any issue if you want to be successful.”
The US Ambassador believes that one of the greatest challenges for both the government and the opposition will be bridging the gap of political division. He wants both sides to know that there will always be differences but that for the good of country they must find ways of coming to an amicable settlement.
He said he cannot comprehend how a country so tolerant of the vast religions becomes so divided over politics. “One of the things that has struck me about Guyana and it is a bit of a conundrum for me is… Guyana seems to be an incredibly tolerant country in terms of religion… The tolerance seems very high. Guyana has one of the top five religious tolerance ratings in the world. But in politics the line gets drawn a lot more. On one hand you don’t see ethnic divisions but on the other hand there clearly are when it comes to politics,” he stated.
Holloway also informed that with some US$700,000 for new youth programing there will be similar programmes such as LEAD that will aim to equip the youths on democracy and the value of their voting and having a say in the country’s politics. “It will largely be focused on youth at risk and youth in the political process. Not picking a political party just saying: Hey young people, it’s your country you need to get involved,” he said.
He explained that some of the money will be tied to working with non-government organizations and others to empower youth. “To teach them about the political process the importance of voting and participating in your own democracy. Who they vote for, we don’t really care but if you are going to be a democracy people need to be involved,” the Ambassador said.
