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CP will be back!

Oct 27, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – The PPPC understands how to deal with controversies. It has dealt effectively with the belated release of a video which shows the now ‘returned’ High Commissioner to Guyana, Charrandass Persaud (CP), in a verbal tirade with a woman outside of his official residence in New Delhi.

The President has said that CP has agreed to ‘return’ to Guyana. ‘Return’ is an interesting choice of a word. CP is not a career diplomat, so how can he return to Guyana. The President did not say that CP was ‘recalled’. He used the word “return”. He who returns can be restored. This is exactly the script which the PPPC has in mind. The storm caused by the video will eventually blow over; public interest will wane and in due course, it is likely the CP will be returned back as High Commissioner to India.

But make no mistake! CP is expendable in so far as the PPPC is concerned. They will dump him if they are forced to. But the PPPC never likes to be forced to do anything against its natural inclinations and worse yet if the pressure emanates from Opposition forces. It is for this reason that I am of the view that CP is likely to spend some time on desk duties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation but is likely to eventually be restored as High Commissioner to India.

Following the incident which involved the use of profanities, the Indian government did an investigation. They reportedly did not find grounds to substantiate an allegation of verbal sexual assault.  Apparently, on that basis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation opted to consider the matter closed. CP’s haters however were not that considerate. Many of them wanted nothing better than to get back at him for exercising the right of his conscience to vote in support of the no-confidence motion in Guyana’s National Assembly in 2018. They viewed the release of the video as ammunition to be used against him.

The feral blast by the High Commissioner was uncharacteristic of CP. Those who know him would have been shocked by such an outburst. He has never been known to be disrespectful to women. It is for this reason that many suspect that he was either provoked or otherwise had some form of trigger for his reaction. But it these atypical and isolated feral blasts – from which none of us are exempt – which can ruin our careers.

Women must be respected and in this age, it is fatal for any person to shout obscenities at women and not to expect any consequences.  One PPPC Minister was removed because of remarks he made to a woman activist in the heat of a confrontation. But the PPPC has not banished him; today he is occupying an advisory position in a government Ministry.

Under the previous administration, a young lady went on ranting, making comments which President Granger later disassociated his Ministry from. But the remarks were later said to not have been malicious – even though malice was never the issue at hand. One Minister also spoke about only certain persons being given future jobs. That Minister was never sanctioned. Every day persons can be heard screaming obscenities in videos posted on Facebook and TikTok. These videos attract thousands of likes. So who is really to judge someone for making crass remarks?

Our society is characterized by hypocrisy. Yet, we are quick to pass judgment on others. We are even quicker to condemn a man for one moment of insanity and to overlook all the other good things he may have done. Whether CP will return to his diplomatic posting or be reassigned is left to be seen. While his ‘return’ to Guyana helps to diffuse the present controversy, it does not necessarily bring closure to CP’s diplomatic career. The PPPC will not be unmindful of CP’s contribution to its return to office. And they would want to ensure that he is not left stranded. It is for these and other reasons that it is more than likely that CP will be back… in India eventually.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not this newspaper.) 

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