While international organisations and other stakeholders have joined the resounding call for democracy to prevail in Guyana, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has remained noticeably silent on the situation, which can have far-reaching consequences for other Member States.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo today called out the regional organisation for not commenting on Guyana’s situation, where a caretaker government is still functioning in its full capacity, even despite a ruling handed down by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
“I am surprised I have not even seen a statement coming from CARICOM as yet,” Jagdeo contended.
“If the region cannot respect that decision of a superior court that it created as an organ of regional integration, then the region would be found lacking.”
“We cannot be busy sending missions to Haiti when they have an interruption of constitutional rule, or Venezuela when they have a breakdown of democratic order, and here in Guyana – which is the headquarter State of CARICOM – [where] you have a government now in office that is illegally there … [CARICOM] just sits by and not say anything about it,” the Opposition Leader asserted.
“Frankly speaking, I am very, very disappointed in CARICOM,” he posited.
Only a few days ago, former government minister, Leslie Ramsammy called out CARICOM for being completely silent ever since the passage of the No Confidence Motion on December 21, 2018.
Ramsammy maintained that the Caribbean body would intervene whenever democracy is threatened and its silence in this case brings disrepute to the organisation and will also impact its position on future matters.
Already, heads of the diplomatic communities in Guyana like the USA, UK and the EU have called for the respect of the Constitution and the CCJ ruling.