By Tracey Khan – Drakes
[www.inewsguyana.com] – The speech delivered by acting Foreign Affairs Minister and Education Minister, Priya Manickchand at the US Ambassador’s residence last evening has been described as an assault not only on the Ambassador but on diplomacy by the private sector and Parliamentarians.
Last evening (July, 02) during the US independence celebration at the home of the United States Ambassador, Brent Hardt, Minister Manickchand unleashed Government’s wrath on the Ambassador, calling his conduct ‘unprofessional and undiplomatic’; this did not sit well with those gathered and the Minister was booed throughout her speech and left in a hurry with Government’s Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira.
Alliance for Change Member of Parliament, Trevor Williams told iNews shortly after the event, that it was a deliberate attempt to embarrass and castigate the work of the US Ambassador.
Williams noted it is no secret that Government and the US have differed on certain policies, “but to launch such an intended attack at such an occasion and at his home is disappointing and embarrassing to the nation as a whole.”
Meanwhile, A Partnership for National Unity’s Member of Parliament, James Bond who was also at the celebration, was lost for words when iNews approached him for a comment.
However, he quickly recovered from the shock and questioned who wrote Manickchand’s speech.
“It is a diplomatic broadside on the side of the Minister; I don’t think it was the forum for such a broadside,” Bond told iNews.
He said the integrity of the Ambassador and the United States Government were attacked.
“It is very strange politics, very strange diplomacy, I don’t think she wrote that speech by the way, that’s not her tone, that’s not Ms. Manickchand, I felt that message came from a quarter of the PPP civic party, if you analyze the Party itself, there is the moderates, the conservatives then there’s the extremism, that is from the extremist Party of the PPP.”
Bond also believes it was deliberate that the acting President, Samuel Hinds did not attend the function since he is a moderate and would not have read or delivered such a speech.
While delivering her prepared speech, Manickchand did not speak in her usual passionate, confident self. This raised questions amongst those gathered as to whether she was forced to read the speech from a faction of the People’s Progressive Party Government, since her tone seemed overly different.
Meanwhile, Honorary Secretary of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Dukhoo said the Ambassador has been a great friend to the PSC and the country as a whole and reiterated the Commission’s support for his continued calls for the holding of local government elections and deemed him “a professional diplomatic”.
He also explained that the Ambassador’s calls for local government elections stemmed from calls by Guyanese organizations that see the need for these constitutionally required elections.
“It is unfortunate that the responses to his suggestions about taking Guyana forward have been dealt with in the manner that it was”.
He also believes that the Minister was forced to read the speech and said, “If I was a professional and I was a Minister I would have rebelled against the establishment.”
Meanwhile, tempers flared between Government’s Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira and City Mayor Hamilton Greene during the Minister’s Presentation but before the situation escalated, persons intervened and calm prevailed.
I was born in Guyana but fortunately I have been living in North America for over 40 years. I am very active in politics where I reside. I do at times read the various Guyana papers on line. I seems that the country being govern by brute, force and ignorance. After reading this article, I have realized that Guyana has not progressed politically, socially, or intellectually. Guyana is in a state of lawlessness. Ministers in parliament are uncouth, arrogant and has a total disregard for their fellow citizens. The level of intelligence from some of the ministers in the present government are embarrassing. They use statistics and words out of context to address their points. It shows that Guyana has gone to the level where the surrounding Caribbean countries look as them as a joke of the region. You have to excuse their allies as their level of intelligence is where their age is higher than their IQ. Regardless of who is in power, the government mandate is to govern for all citizens and not base on race, or religion etc.
Your response to my comment says a lot about your level of Intelligence. I don’t have to re-read my writing, I have clarity. By the way what is “juk fuh juk?” what the HECK is that? I don’t know about you, but I was born in Guyana, an English speaking country. I don’t even believe you read and understood the Article about the incident. You are hopelessly clueless; don’t respond to things, unless you understand what has been written.
car its u eho are the most ungratefu bastard there is..read back what you wrote and think about it and see how ungrateful a bastard you are . just because the united states is a giant to guyana it must bow and kiss their ass at will with impunity even when they are wrong? grab a life yeah..tell them to go in on russia
REALLY? if it wasn’t for the United States, or England or the rest of the world, many of us would either be dead or standing in “Bread Lines” to get our basic needs met. The GUYANA Government are a bunch of ungrateful BASTARDS; and believe it or not if they choose they, the US or the UN can make living there HELL for the innocent people, who are already struggling to live. They may be BULLIES, but right now Guyana is no match for the WRATH the United States can bring down on them.
The “speech” by Manikchand was brutally crass, unprofessional and an embarrassment to the entire Guyanese population. It reflects the “cuss down” attitude of the PPP towards anyone who who says anything they do not agree with.
This is just another of the many “low class” behavior that cause us to hang our heads in shame.
is not pnc leader who seh juk fuh juk..massa crossed the line in a sovereign country and get exactly what he had coming to him. the US is nothing but big bad bullies to tiny nations. US must go let putin put in dem. those who are in support of what the US ambassador did in guyana only kissing his bum in hopes that US install another Burmham to rule and tower over guyanese again . this time it wont be second poorest in the western hemisphere but in fact worse that haiti. US and PNC want it so