Opposition Leader declines to meet outgoing Canadian diplomat

– cites “urgent political commitments” as reasons
– accuses envoy of breach of diplomatic protocol among other matters

Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon has written to outgoing Canadian High Commissioner Lillian Chatterjee denying her request for a farewell courtesy call planned for December 9, 2020.

In his letter, Harmon cited “urgent political commitments” for his refusal to engage Chatterjee but on the other hand highlighted matters of concern during her tenure in Guyana.

“During your tenure in Guyana, a matter of concern was the role which the High Commission played in facilitating the departure of Charrandas Persaud from Guyana immediately after he had voted against the APNU+AFC Coalition in the National Assembly. Of equal concern were the breaches of Diplomatic Protocol which took place during the electoral count of votes for the March 2020 Elections,” the missive to the Canadian envoy stated.
High Commissioner Chatterjee is scheduled to take up her post in Barbados in the new year and has been meeting with public officials.

Despite refusing to meet with her, Harmon said that he hopes the good relations between Guyana and Canada can continue and added that he anticipates a meeting with Chatterjee’s successor.

Following the December 21, 2018 vote of no confidence against the then APNU/AFC Government, the Canadian High Commissioner played an instrumental role in getting Charrandas Persaud out of Guyana after he voted against his party in Parliament. Persaud is a Canadian citizen and would have expressed fear for his life after he voted against the then incumbent.

He sought refuge at the High Commission and was subsequently transported out of the country to Canada where he remained until recently when he returned to Guyana.
Chatterjee and her fellow diplomats from the United States, United Kingdom, and the European Union, played an integral role in the restoration of democracy in Guyana following March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.

What was going on was the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government’s refusal to demit office, after losing the March 2 General and Regional Elections by more than 15,000 votes.

In fact, Chatterjee and her three ABCE diplomatic counterparts (former British High Commissioner to Guyana Greg Quinn, US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch, and European Union Ambassador Fernando Ponce-Canto) had to be vocal in their calls for democracy to prevail in Guyana, and for the will of the Guyanese people as expressed in the polls, to be respected.
The Western diplomats had walked out of the tabulation process for Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) – Guyana’s largest voting district – after deeming it as lacking transparency and credibility.
As the electoral impasse continued months after the March polls, the ABCE diplomatic community continued mounting pressure on the former Government to concede defeat, warning of Guyana facing isolation and consequences.

In fact, the United States had gone ahead to impose visa sanctions against several Government and electoral officials and their immediate family members for their role in the controversy. The UK, Canada, as well as the EU had also indicated that they were considering doing likewise. Eventually, the former Government finally demitted office.

Just last week, during an interview with Guyana Times, Chatterjee admitted that those five months saw a number of threats being made against her. She revealed that at the insistence of the Canadian Government, her security was even beefed up to a 24/7 security detail.