Rogue state sanctions – two sides of the coin

Jun 30, 2020 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

As I see it, Guyana is hurtling down the road towards the status of a pariah state, a rogue nation. That is one side of the coin only, with the other largely ignored in this country, by many who believe they know, but displaying how little they really know. I place both sides on the table for consideration.
The penalties of a pariah state are worth repeating, if only for emphasis. At the top of the list is the prime target of our oil funds. It is vulnerable to freezing indefinitely. With that held in punitive suspension, gold exports could be next in line. It is a major foreign exchange earner, employs a lot of people, brings in much taxes to the state’s coffers. Next, exports to Guyana on a range of essentials could be held up. I submit that the longstanding application to the World Bank for a measly US$5 million speaks for itself. Then, companies doing business, or wanting to do business with us, could be warned from continuing to do so. The result is that imports could be slowed to a trickle.
On this last note, it is becoming apparent that some medicines have slowed from companies located in Western countries that are operating on a wait-and-see for filling orders from Guyana. I have had examples of the scarcity of certain items. Local importers say that their foreign business partners are telling them that they have been ordered to hold off until our elections impasse is satisfactorily overcome. It should be noted that I have said nothing about targeted sanctions, such as visa denials and travel restrictions; or freezing of personal bank accounts and the like. I am more concerned about withholding of necessary expertise and vital technology required to build infrastructure and develop existing and new industries. When taken together, these could form a punishing and persuasive combination of hard and soft sanctions meted out to leaders and nations that thumb nose at the world community.
But this is only one side of the story. It is of what is called-for and hoped-for by political opponents thwarted, with some justification according to their considerations. As a quick aside, the option of figuring out a way forward from where we are stuck is too easily and doggedly dismissed. I regret that position. I also regret that, when we are faced with the existence of contradiction, the reflexive action is to dismiss one side of the trouble. I regret still further that there is no investment of time and genuine effort in figuring out some makeshift arrangement that offers the space for continuing on a temporary basis, while a more permanent solution is finalized. So, we are trapped in this political quagmire that raises the specter of sanctions, and from which I go to the unrecognized and unspoken aspect of the Guyana story. It stands in opposition to sanctions; at least the hard levying of them.
There are powerful and visionary men in Washington, who look at their backyard and see two countries existing side by side. They appreciate a few things: 1) the largest proven oil reserves in the world; 2) the most promising new oil frontier in recent times; 3) the existence of a socialist political ideology in one country and all that that has meant and could mean for America in a worst case scenario; 4) the prior personal actions of Guyanese leaders in the opposition and the trust that such fostered; 5) the known ideological inclinations of Guyanese oppositions figures; and 6) the specter and latent threat of a Russia-China axis taking firm hold in the two countries.
I submit that comprehensive consideration, of those six realities, has to feature strongly in American calculations. Amidst all the talk about democracy, credibility, and sanctions, this is the other side of the coin. What and who are inimical or beneficial to American vital strategic interests. This is what matters and bears the heaviest tonnage. As I wait to see which card will be played, I notice that the US Ambassador has gone quiet of late. I heard, too, of President Granger sharing publicly something about commitment to Western Hemispheric values and furtherance of “mutual goals and ideals.” I read this as a timely signal to the US that in him, David Granger, there is a trusted ally, a genuine working partner.
Perhaps I am reading too much into things. But as my fellow Americans like to say: this is where the rubber meets the road. Soon we will know who stands where and with whom.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

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