Trotman slams Global Witness for its “repugnant” decision to withdraw oil report now

Global Witness announced on Monday that it was withdrawing its controversial report on the oil deals in Guyana, one year after that report was issued. The non-governmental organisation also announced that it was completely removing the report from its website and will no longer be using it for its own campaigning purposes.

Trotman slams Global Witness for its “repugnant” decision to withdraw oil report now

Opposition Member of Parliament and former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman has slammed the Global Witness international organisation for being used to further political and economic interests prior to the last elections.

Global Witness announced on Monday that it was withdrawing its controversial report on the oil deals in Guyana, one year after that report was issued. The non-governmental organisation also announced that it was completely removing the report from its website and will no longer be using it for its own campaigning purposes.

The report was issued weeks before Guyana’s national elections and was critical of members of the former Government and their handling of the oil contracts with Exxon.

In a response to the international organisation’s decision to withdraw its report, Mr. Trotman said “the timing of the release of the report, a mere month before the General and Regional Elections of March 2, 2020, was neither coincidental nor without deliberate purpose.”

He said “now that the abominable, dirty deed is done, Global Witness finds it convenient to withdraw the report, not in part, but entirely and clumsily use the fig leaf of environmental causes. This is shameful and repugnant and constitutes subversive political interference in the affairs of a sovereign state’s electoral process in seeking to influence the outcome of an election.”

In its decision to withdraw its “Signed Away” report, the organisation said it stands by the integrity of the report, but admitted to overestimating oil estimates and noted that its focus needs to be more on its efforts to keep focus on climate change issues.

But Mr. Trotman said “the damage has been done and the ‘Economic Hit Men’ get to go off sipping tea and laughing at another dirty deed accomplished”.

He said he believes that an excuse is being made to avoid an investigation into the oil contracts and Guyana’s oil industry.

Trotman said the investigation should proceed and it will receive his full support.

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