When silence speaks louder than words

Apr 02, 2025 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Peeping Tom…

Kaieteur News-  The United States has spoken. Reacting to the conviction of Marine Le Pen in a French court for embezzlement and her subsequent ban from running for public office, the U.S. State Department issued a statement that can only be described as both lofty and unequivocal. “Exclusion of people from the political process is particularly concerning given the aggressive and corrupt ‘lawfare’ waged against President Trump here in the United States. We support the right of everyone to offer their views in the public square, agree or disagree.”

This is a powerful declaration. It presents the U.S. government as a stalwart defender of political participation, standing against any effort to block individuals from engaging in the democratic process. The words suggest an adherence to principle, a commitment to the right of all people to be part of political life, free from undue obstruction or intimidation.

But as one examines this lofty pronouncement, the starkness of its selective application becomes impossible to ignore. In Guyana, where the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) has openly and systematically sought to stifle political challengers, the same U.S. State Department that now decries the exclusion of candidates in France and Venezuela has remained deafeningly silent.

For months, Guyana has been the stage for troubling political developments. The ruling party has made it abundantly clear that it will “deal with” any opposing parties and individuals seeking to enter the political fray.

One individual, who has yet to formally declare an intention to contest elections but has merely been meeting with groups across the country, has already faced waves of hostility. Supporters of the government have engaged in acts of intimidation, some of them bordering on violence. These actions have gone beyond mere heckling—they constitute direct attempts to silence and discourage participation.

The PPPC’s strongholds, treated as political fortresses, have been used to prevent potential candidates from engaging with communities. What we are witnessing is not just political maneuvering; it is a direct assault on both freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

The government has threatened to weaponize state advertisements, wielding them as leverage against media entities. Each week the media is subject to tantrums. And there is the strange coincidence of a tax agency suddenly auditing someone perceived as a political rival.

And yet, from Washington, no statement has come. Not a word from the U.S. State Department, the same entity that stood up for democracy in Venezuela, the same institution now voicing concern about Marine Le Pen’s disqualification in France. Silence! It is an omission as glaring as it is telling. Nor has anything been heard as yet from the Organization of American States, CATICOM, the Carter Center, the Commonwealth, the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union

One cannot help but ask: why does the U.S. State Department’s staunch opposition to political exclusion not extend to Guyana? Why does its aversion to “aggressive and corrupt lawfare” falter when it comes to an emerging political movement within a small South American state?

It is worth recalling that only recently, Marco Rubio, a senior U.S. Senator and an ardent critic of authoritarianism, visited Guyana. His presence signified the importance Washington places on its relationship with the country, especially given Guyana’s burgeoning oil wealth and strategic location. Yet, in all the discussions and diplomatic overtures, was there any rebuke of the PPPC’s increasingly blatant suppression of political competition? Not a hint.

The United States has long positioned itself as a global champion of democracy. It has, at times, placed itself at odds with powerful states in defense of the principle that all people should be free to participate in the political process. But democracy does not function selectively. It cannot be championed in France while ignored in Guyana. It cannot be invoked in Venezuela but silenced in Georgetown.

The events unfolding in Guyana demand scrutiny. If Washington is committed to ensuring that all individuals have the right to political participation, then it must extend that principle beyond the borders of Europe and North America. The U.S. should make it clear that it opposes intimidation, that it stands against the weaponization of state institutions to undermine democratic participation, and that it will not turn a blind eye to efforts to rig the political process through fear and coercion.

If the U.S. State Department truly believes what it has stated—that “we support the right of everyone to offer their views in the public square, agree or disagree”—then it must apply that conviction consistently. Otherwise, its words ring hollow, a convenient platitude deployed when politically expedient but discarded when inconvenient. The situation in Guyana is not just a Guyanese concern; it is a test of international democratic integrity. The world is watching. And so far, Washington’s silence is speaking louder than its words.

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

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