The Government of Guyana is coming under criticism from the Opposition and some citizens over the “One Guyana” political slogan being emblazoned on a number of pages in the new batch of the Guyana passport.

Opposition Member of Parliament with responsibility for Foreign Affairs, Amanza Walton-Desir has drawn attention to the issue, describing the political tagging of the national passport as the Government crossing “yet another dangerous line in their relentless march towards a one-party State dictatorship”.

She described the Government decision to throw a political slogan used by the governing party on the country’s passport as a calculated attempt to further blur the line between the Government and the PPP.

“A passport is not a Party manifesto, it is a sovereign document of our nation. It belongs to ‘we the people’ and is issued in our name by the State. It therefore ought to be neutral and free from partisan contamination”, Desir-Walton said in a statement.

She stated that by embedding political propaganda onto a passport that belongs to all Guyanese – regardless of their political affiliation, the President has once again shown his complete disregard for democratic norms and institutional integrity.

She said the Government’s move also potentially flies in the face of international standards, especially those set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Document 9303, which provides strict guidelines for passport design.

“ICAO’s emphasis on neutrality, global interoperability and non-discriminatory practices implicitly prohibits the inclusion of partisan political messaging”, she stated.

The Opposition MP said the latest move by the Government is not an isolated incident, and she made reference to law enforcement officers having the same political slogan on official on uniforms and t-shirts being worn by public servants having the same political slogan emblazoned on them.

“The use of state resources for political branding is a classic sign of democratic backslide and authoritarianism and blurs the line of distinction between party and State. It is quite interesting that the PPP which was relentlessly loud in its accusation of the PNC for allegedly practicing party paramountcy is now openly, unashamedly doing just that”, she stated.

Walton-Desir said national identity is being replaced with party allegiance and State power is being wielded as a weapon.

She called on the the international community to take note, while stating that citizens must push back.

Under the previous APNU+AFC Government, the PPP was very critical of some Government buildings, including the Office of the President and State House, being painted in green, which is one of the colours associated with the then governing party. The PPP has repainted both Government buildings in white since taking office.

The “One Guyana” slogan has been bandied about by the President at a number of official events and has also been added to national signage in some communities.

Related posts:

Government launches new 10-year Guyana Passport Government gives itself more power in nominating members to the University of Guyana Council Opposition MP meets with US Embassy officials over destruction of PNC Region Nine Office Venezuela government seeks Guyana’s help to ease its growing internal political problems