Red carpet and laptops

Jan 15, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – A former PPPC President once turned up at an international airport, while still President, in a T-shirt. It was clear that that President did not expect to be greeted with a guard-of-honour and therefore was not properly attired for the occasion.

The President was forced to inspect the guard-of-honour is casual attire. The incident represented an inexcusable disregard for formal diplomatic protocols. How a head-of-state could show up in another country and for an official event dressed like that is still incomprehensible.

The Stabroek News ran a scorching editorial excoriating the then President for his wardrobe malfunction. No official explanation was ever given as to why this indiscretion occurred.

Such an occurrence has never repeated itself, not for a Guyanese or for any other President. But the incident emphasized the importance which countries should attach to understanding and complying with established and long-standing diplomatic protocols.

The greeting of visiting Heads of State with a guard-of-honour is a long-standing diplomatic practice. It is not only ceremonial but indicative of the high regard which is attached to the visit dignitary.

Another diplomatic tradition concerns the rolling out of the red carpet for visiting dignitaries. This tradition goes back to the medieval era and despite the passage of time has not been dispensed with.

The red carpet also signifies the importance and prestige that is attached to the visiting dignitary. But it also has another purpose: it directs the visiting dignitary to the direction and path which he must take after deplaning. So it is not simply ceremonial but also utilitarian.

There are certain protocols regarding which members of the visiting delegation can stand or walk on the red carpet. Normally, it is only the senior members of the visiting delegation that are allowed to step on the red carpet.

Those persons are required by tradition to walk at least two meters behind the main dignitary. And they must always keep to their superior’s right and never to his or her left.

Equally, there are rules governing seating at official meetings and banquets, the placement of flags and when and how someone should be seated. A visiting dignitary should never be seated unless he is invited to do so. The attending members of that person’s delegation should only be seated after the head of their delegation has taken his or her seat, and the delegation members should normally be seated in order of seniority even though this is often observed in the breach.

When seated, a person, man or woman, should never cross his or her knees or legs. Nor should they show the bottom of their shoes; their feet should always be planted on the ground. When being spoken to, they should lean forward courteously.

Irfaan Ali has generally equipped himself well when it comes to these diplomatic niceties. He, personally, has not been found wanting in this regard. However, there is a major blunder that is yet to be recognized by the President and the members of his delegations.

While technology has evolved, it is improper for anyone to take out a computer when the Head-of-State is meeting with foreign dignitaries. The tradition has always been that delegation members take notes in small leather-bound notebooks.

Translators usually use small spiral-headed notepads on which they inscribe in short-hand everything that is said by the foreign language speaker. This notation is not a record of the conversation but is usually done to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness during translations.

Some of the members of the Indian Prime Minister’s team which met recently with Guyana’s President were using long notepads. This is certainly not recommended.

It has been noticed that a member of the President’s delegation uses a laptop during the meetings. This is definitely a no-go in diplomatic encounters. The use of a laptop during such meetings is distracting and intrusive and should be discontinued forthwith.

Perhaps out of courtesy, the foreign government has not protested this as yet. But given that laptops are now equipped with voice-recognition and voice recording technology, the host Prime Minister is bound to be circumspect about what is said.

There is a certain chemistry which developed between leaders and the presence of such an intrusive device can lead to a situation where the other leader is fearful of being recorded and therefore speaks formally at all times and is careful and measured in the use of language.

And cellphones should not be in on-mode during meetings. And for the same reason adduced above for the laptop, should never be taken out during a meeting, not even by the President.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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• guard-of-honour, Irfaan Ali, Peeping Tom, PPPC President, President

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