A serious diplomatic situation

Jul 12, 2008 Editorial

No one takes seriously the excuse offered by the United States Government that logistics and resource constraints were responsible for the world’s foremost superpower being unable to offer the services of a forensic scientist to assist with the investigation into the Lindo Creek massacre.

When an American couple was killed in Lethem a few years ago, agents of the United States Government were immediately flown to Guyana.

When a US citizen was found murdered in his hotel room at one of Guyana’s top hotels, American investigators were flown into Guyana, and within the shortest possible time, were able to develop a sketch of what the killer may have looked like.

When the weapons went missing from the Guyana Defense Force, the US immediately flew in an expert to assist with DNA testing. The US, therefore, has a record of prompt response to requests for assistance by the Guyanese authorities.

It therefore is significant that, given the concerns the ABC countries expressed following the Lusignan massacre, and the US Government’s commitment then to assist the law enforcement authorities, this recent request has been rejected.

The diplomatic implications are extremely worrying. The rejection of the appeal by the Government of Guyana represents a serious diplomatic snub, one that the entire country must take seriously because it opens up a Pandora’s Box of reasons why the US would take such actions.

One interpretation could be that the United States is not convinced that the Government is serious about a credible investigation.

For one, the main opposition had called for an independent investigation as the best way to get to the truth.

The main opposition had not accused anyone of the crime. The Alliance For Change, another Parliamentary opposition party, had called for a commission of inquiry.

It had even met with the President on this matter. Yet, the President remained ambivalent on the issue, saying that if it was decided to go the route of a commission of inquiry, then it would have to include other incidents.

Against this background, it is not unreasonable to suggest that foreign governments would have been ill satisfied with such a response.

The second interpretation goes much deeper, and concerns the perception that the US Government may harbour about the Guyana Government.

It is no secret that there are major concerns by the United States over the approach the Guyana Government has taken in relation to issues of national security concerns to that government.

While we do not share the view that these perceptions are always valid, the fact that there have been some highly publicized criticisms by agencies of the US Government of the ruling administration is a matter that should concern local diplomats.

We hope that the Guyana Government recognises the importance of improving both its image and its relationship with the mightiest nation of the world. As other governments have found out to their great dismay, it does not profit anyone to have poor relations with the United States of America.

The Government must not be led astray and assume that relationships between the two countries are normal simply because of substantial assistance in other areas. The US has ongoing humanitarian commitments to this country, and will always honour those obligations.

However, it is clear that the rejection of assistance for the Lindo Creek investigation marks a new low in relations between Guyana and that country.

A further deterioration in such relations should therefore be avoided at all cost. This may, in the interim, involve asking some top Government officials to be temperate in their criticism of the United States. Such an approach would not be helpful in the present situation.

More importantly, it requires a serious diplomatic offensive on the part of the Government to determine what the real sources of the US concern are, and how best relations can be improved.

Such an offensive requires diplomatic experience, skill and finesse. The Guyana Government has never faced such a serious challenge before.

Even if the diplomatic will is present to deal with the problem, it is doubtful whether the capacity exists to improve relations in the short term. This, perhaps, is the greatest tragedy of the entire situation. The outlook is therefore grim.

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