Article 13 raises concerns with US on threat to freedom of speech, other national issues

Mar 27, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Outspoken civil society group, Article 13 on Friday met with the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary for Caribbean Affairs and Haiti, Ms. Barbara Feinstein, at the US Embassy in Guyana, where the overwhelming powers of the Presidency, threats to freedom of speech and ‘winner-takes-all politics’ in Guyana, among other things were discussed.

Members of civil society body, Article 13 meet with US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Caribbean Affairs and Haiti, Ms. Barbara Feinstein and US Ambassador, Ms. Sarah-Ann Lynch. Representing Article 13 were Yog Mahadeo, Jonathan Yearwood and Christopher Ram (Photo Credit: US Embassy)

In a statement to the media yesterday, the group’s members Yog Mahadeo, Jonathan Yearwood and Christopher Ram shared details of the hour-long meeting between the two sides, which was also attended by the US Ambassador, Ms. Sarah-Ann Lynch.
Some of the key matters brought to the attention of the visitor were the “overwhelming powers of the Presidency, non-appointment of a number of Constitutional Commissions and statutory bodies and undelivered promises on Constitutional Reform.”
Article 13 said it also discussed the ‘winner-takes-all politics and practices’ with regard to public appointments, control over the functions of the National Assembly, control of the various Committees and moreover, the Budgetary process.
Another matter on the agenda was the threat to free speech, posed by direct and indirect attacks on civil society organisations and individuals, Article 13 reported.
“We also discussed the Access to Information Act and its failure to live up to expectations as one of the pillars of Article 146 of the Constitution of Guyana; corruption; and the need for civil society to engage the government, politicians and political parties, and the rest of society in dialogue to enhance our democracy and society,” the group detailed.
Other issues discussed included the attempts to rig the 2020 March elections, the reform of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the effluxion of the Carter-Price Model and the Electoral Reform, inclusive of the restrictive provision of section 11B of the Representation of the People Act and non-compliance with Election Expenses Accountability.
Article 13 said that its representatives thanked Ambassador Lynch for her role, both as a woman and a diplomat, in the resolution of the 2020 elections. “We also thanked her for the opportunity to meet the Deputy Assistant Secretary while emphasising that we recognise that the problems we face in Guyana have to be addressed and solved by Guyanese. We saw the meeting as an opportunity for engagement and we neither sought nor received any offer of support in any form whatsoever,” the group pointed out.

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