[www.inewsguyana.com] – Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma has responded to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honorable Carolyn Rodrigues – Birkett informing her that there are no planned sanctions for Guyana from that end in light of the parliamentary prorogation here.
Rodrigues – Birkett has contacted the Commonwealth Secretariat, making the inquiry after being warned by British High Commissioner to Guyana that sanctions were likely should the prorogation persist.
The Foreign Minister in a media release on Thursday, January 15 stated, “further to pronouncements by the British High Commissioner, H.E Andrew Ayre, that Guyana has breached the Commonwealth Charter and can be reviewed as was done in the case of Fiji, it became necessary for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honorable Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett to speak to the Commonwealth Secretary General, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, to clarify whether the Commonwealth has made such a determination as the Government of Guyana received no communication to this effect.”
The Ministry said the Secretary General confirmed that there has been no discussion about the situation in Guyana with the British Government or its High Commissioner in Georgetown or by any other Commonwealth body for that matter.
“As such, there has been no conclusion by the Commonwealth that Guyana is in breach of the Commonwealth Charter,” the release added.
To this end the Foreign Ministry said statement made by the outgoing British High Commissioner is therefore most misleading.
The diplomat, who served in Guyana for the last three years, had called on President Donald Ramotar to bring a swift end to the prorogation of Guyana’s Parliament.
Rodrigues – Birkett took an immediate swipe at the Diplomat soon after his press conference on Monday last, saying he was being unkind to Guyana.
