The United States Embassy has said that a State Department official’s assertion that the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) will likely return to power at upcoming polls does not reflect the official position of Washington.
It made its position known in an official response to reports on comments by Professor Robert Evans Ellis, which had been reported on by some sections of the local media.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Embassy said Professor Ellis’ comments were made last April before his employment with the State Department. “The outcome of the election is for the people of Guyana to decide. In this regard, the only interest of the United States is in free, fair, and peaceful elections on March 2. The U.S. Embassy in Guyana regrets any misunderstanding caused by Professor Ellis’ dated comments,” it added.
Professor Ellis, who is a member of the US State Department Policy Planning Staff, with responsibilities for Latin America and the Caribbean, included his assertion in an article, “Security Challenges in Guyana and the Government Response,” which was published in the United States Air Force’s Journal of the Americas.
The APNU+AFC campaign on Monday attacked a report on Professor Ellis’ comments by Demerara Waves, while accusing the online news site of mischievous reporting. In a statement, it also characterised Professor Ellis as a “known asset” of a certain lobbying firm in Washington, DC, with a known connection to the PPP. “The Guyanese public is aware that this very firm is being paid tens of millions of dollars by the PPP and is tasked with whitewashing that party’s tainted and tattered image. The use of a few select words, taken completely out of context, smacks of desperation by the PPP and its agents. Theirs is an attempt to dupe the Guyanese public into believing that the PPP stands any chance of returning to government,” it said.
