Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon on Wednesday met United States Ambassador Sarah Ann Lynch and requested that she regularly communicate opposition views to Washington.
A statement from Harmon’s office explained that the Opposition Leader, accompanied by Leader of the Alliance For Change Khemraj Ramjattan, met with Lynch and the Deputy Chief of Mission Mark Cullinane in an attempt to communicate concerns about governance, parliamentary democracy and national security.
“The Leader of the Opposition shared the Coalition’s views and observations on these issues, and how they broadly affect the Guyanese people, and, specifically, the impact and effect on supporters of the APNU+AFC…[he] highlighted the discriminatory practices of the PPP regime, the arbitrary firing of public servants, the distribution of COVID-19 cash grants, politically motivated charges and the arbitrary arrests of persons perceived to be Coalition supporters, among other issues,” the statement said.
Lynch was presented with what Harmon’s office called a copy of the summary report on “the PPP regime’s executive lawlessness, political persecution and ethnicization of Guyana for the period August 2 to December, 25, 2020”.
His office added that an updated report has been promised “within a short space of time”.
In the interim, the opposition has requested that it be informed of “any major changes” on United States policy decisions on Guyana.
Claiming that “a large section of the local media landscape is unhelpful to the Opposition,” it has also request that opposition views be communicated to Washington on a regular basis.
For its part, the United States Embassy said Lynch and Cullinane listened to the opposition delegation’s current policy priorities and plans for advancing legislation and programmes that will benefit all Guyanese. “Ambassador Lynch asked about opposition strategies to alleviate poverty, address climate change, and enhance national security. Both sides emphasized a commitment to strengthening ties between the United States and Guyana, and reinforcing social cohesion after the political turmoil of Guyana’s 2020 election cycle,” a statement from the Embassy noted.
Under the former Trump administration, the United States had taken a strong stance against attempts to undermine the will of the electorate during the five-month period between the March 2 elections and the then governing APNU+AFC’s acceptance of the final declaration of the results on August 2. In that time, visa restrictions were imposed on persons who the United States had said were either responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy here as it urged the APNU+AFC government to step aside.
Harmon has been unsuccessfully attempting to court regional and international leaders to comment on the actions of the PPP/C. Specifically, he has requested intervention on the issue of President Irfaan Ali’s refusal to engage with him as holder of the constitutional office of Leader of the Opposition.
He said several letters to Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chair Keith Rowley have gone unacknowledged, including a letter asking that the regional body mediate the current stalemate between the government and APNU+AFC, which is Guyana’s main parliamentary opposition.
Harmon on March 18 wrote Rowley and cited a recommendation of the CARICOM Elections Observation Report, which he quotes as saying that when a government of Guyana is formed, the CARICOM Secretariat should find some way to mediate the issue between the two main political parties to start the healing process of the country and to start the closing of the ethnic divide.
Noting that he has written a number of letters to CARICOM since August 2, Harmon lamented Ali’s adamant refusal to meet with the main opposition. “Intransigence and a refusal to engage on the part of the PPP government is not contributing to the healing process and is in fact widening the ethnic divide,” he wrote.
He argued that Ali’s position that he will not engage with the parliamentary opposition until his government is publicly recognised by “the Leader of the Opposition and the supporters of APNU+AFC is, without question, inflammatory, unacceptable, undemocratic and a cop out.”
