New York local politicians deceived in Brooklyn; Guyana govt restates fair governance

Last Updated on Tuesday, 1 November 2022, 6:21 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana government late Monday night said a number of locally-elected in New York have allowed themselves to be deceived by the Rickford Burke-led Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID).

“Unfortunately, a few local officials in the USA who rely on the electorate of Brooklyn appear  to have fallen prey to the racist propaganda of extortionists and con-men,”  the Guyana government said in a statement a day after a number of persons addressed packed Town Hall Meeting of hundreds of mainly Afro-Guyanese in Brooklyn.

Billed as an event to address Guyanese concerns in the presence of American elected officials, the meeting eventually became a campaign platform for the Democrats as they head into US primary elections.

Mr Burke wooed the audience to vote for the Democrats and they in exchange vowed to stand with Guyanese against corruption, racial discrimination, electoral malpractices and efforts to shut down strident criticism via Social Media. New York Attorney General Letitia James promised to galvanise support from among other Democratic Attorneys General in the United States to address the allegations that were raised at the meeting. US Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, who has refused to meet with Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali and other elected officials, also weighed in on the need to address concerns in Guyana.

But the Guyana government on Monday night assailed those politicians for refusing to given the Guyana government an opportunity to address those concerns. “It is rather uncharacteristic of these local elected officials to reject hearing both sides; a few  have been formally and informally invited by the Government to examine the facts but have  instead rebuffed these overtures,” said the statement that was issued by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance.

Even if the US elected officials refuse to meet with  Guyana’s elected representatives of the Guyanese  people, the Guyana government urged them to ask then to fact-check by following the mostly privately-owned Guyanese, government  websites, reports of international organisations such as the World bank, International Monetary Fund, Inter-American Development Bann,  statements by members of the Diplomatic Corps, and records of Guyana’s judiciary.  

The Guyana government insisted that it is “managing our country effectively and doing so transparently.” Reacting to claims of racial discrimination, the Irfaan Ali-led administration said the executive, legislature, and judiciary “demonstrate a level of ethnic diversity not seen in the  USA or other developed countries, even though we are a country of minorities.” “The Government of Guyana has been managing the affairs of government transparently and  inclusively since its assumption of office on August 2, 2020.”

Recalling that the then A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) and senior officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) had attempted to thwart the will of the Guyanese electorate and prevent the  declaration of the legitimate government of Guyana, the government credited itself with bringing economic and  social development and lifted Guyana from being one of the poorest countries in this  hemisphere to one of the fastest growing economies. The government said that is accompanied with people-centered  policies and programmes targeting the poor and vulnerable, and constitutional and  parliamentary reform to strengthen this new born democracy and its institutions after the first  free and fair election in October 1992.  

The Guyana government described the Guyanese Diaspora Townhall Meeting on October 30 as a “another Rickford Burke  one-man-organization orchestrated event to rehabilitate his discredited image” from allegations of fraud. The Guyana government has issued two wanted bulletins for Mr Burke. The New York Attorney General has said that if Mr Burke is harmed, those responsible would be held accountable.

“The attendees were the hard  core APNU supporters and a few local elected leaders,” government said.  

According to the government, it was extraordinary that any of these local elected leaders would attend such a racist forum  organized by people who were silently or openly supportive when APNU+AFC sought to cling to government since the December 18, 2018 no-confidence motion through to the five-month wait for the declaration of acceptable results; the dismissal of almost 11,000 workers; discrimination against those who did not vote for the coalition and blatant acts of corruption.

“Thankfully the Guyanese electorate will always be grateful to American elected officials who  openly and boldly stood up for the rights of the citizens of Guyana to elect a government of  their choice and defended the declaration of the legitimate PPP/C government consistently for  five months until the August 2, 2020, swearing-in of President Mohamed Irfaan Ali,” the government added. 

The government also praised he United Nations, the Commonwealth, the European Union, the Organization of American  states, the Caribbean Community, and a hundred countries individually stood with Guyana in  those treacherous months waiting for the declaration of results which everyone knew since  March 6, 2020.