The secrets are being revealed

Jan 27, 2011 Editorial

Communication is integral to every aspect of life. It aids in development because it serves to mobilize for every conceivable purpose. It is crucial in dire situations and often makes the difference between life and death.
More recently, it offered the world an opportunity to understand what people call democracy; it exposes the duplicity between countries and it even allows for people to appreciate what is very loosely termed friendship. This recent happening must be credited to an organization called WikiLeaks which is in the process of releasing thousands of supposedly secret communication between nations.
Ever since its advent, WikiLeaks has been able to expose the fact that not every smile is a smile. It has also caused some of the world leaders to be held up to ridicule because of their operations in the so-called diplomatic arena. For example, the people of Guyana and Suriname have now been provided with an in depth look at their leaders and the influence the western world seeks to impose on the smaller countries. Through the expose by WikiLeaks the rest of the world learnt that the new Suriname Head of State has been dubbed a drug dealer who not only seeks to have drugs shipped to countries of influence but he also is accused of hobnobbing with a local drug dealer who by his own admission shipped drugs to the United States over a period.
Indeed, in Europe, the Suriname Head of State, Desi Bouterse, is wanted on a conviction of drug trafficking. Then there is the opening of the Guyana Defence Force officers’ conference and the nation of Guyana learns that the Americans had actually approached President Bharrat Jagdeo with an invitation to arrest Bouterse. When such a request is made one must consider whether there is legitimacy; whether the arrest stems from the fact that the person committed a crime in the country in which he is arrested. In this case, President Bharrat Jagdeo would have effected the arrest on the basis of a request in keeping with an extradition agreement between Guyana and the United States.
The fact that President Jagdeo declined suggests that he was not prepared to arrest his CARICOM colleague suggests that he was not prepared to be a pawn; that he was not going to go the way of Suriname which expelled Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan rather than deport him. By expelling him, Suriname avoided sending Khan back to Guyana. That decision allowed the Americans to abduct Khan.
Having been approached, one is left to find out whether President Jagdeo shared the information with Bouterse. We know that the two have been very close and that they have met twice in one month in November. On both occasions the Suriname leader came overland. It would be interesting to hear Bouterse’s reaction to the disclosure. He has not yet been questioned by reporters in his native Suriname. But should he pay another visit to Guyana he would have to face that question. He is also going to be questioned should he attend any CARICOM summit. Will he attend any of them? What is clear is that what were considered secrets are now in the public domain, courtesy of a whistle-blowing organization named WikiLeaks. There are reports that some 250 files contain reports on Guyana. From the time this became public knowledge the speculations began. We know have an idea of what some of those files contain.
President Jagdeo has indeed taken the bull by the horns by addressing at least one aspect of the files. We know that the United States embassy contacted him as soon as the WikiLeaks files were being released. The conversation between the embassy official and President Jagdeo is still a secret. We have heard that the Americans did warn him that some of the contents of the files could be embarrassing. Did the Americans mention President Jagdeo and Roger Khan in the same breath? Do the files disclose information about the moles in Guyana? Those names, if they are mentioned, would make for interesting reading.
But having been provided with the information, what are we expected to do with it? If we remain true to tradition, we are going to gossip for weeks on end eventually moving on to something else. We would also expect reports on Guyana during the crime wave and the kind of assistance the Americans provided. Perhaps, they were integral in tracking the criminals who made life almost unbearable for the bulk of the population.
Only time would tell as we await more disclosures from the files.

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