Days before the arrival of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the APNU+AFC has issued a warning to the Government of Guyana to not get the country involved in the affairs of other states.
Chairman of the Alliance for Change and APNU+AFC Member of Parliament, Raphael Trotman made the warning statement this morning at the start of the budget debates.
“Being aware of the imminent arrival of certain foreign dignitaries, we must be careful that in the height of the pomp, no pun intended, and ceremony, we do not lose our dignity and self-respect and trade our sovereignty, statehood and hallowed stance of the right to self-determination and non-interference, in the affairs of other states by agreeing to some unhelpful and unholy agenda that is meant to boost electoral prospects elsewhere”, Mr. Trotman said.
When the US Secretary of State arrives in Guyana later this week, he will become the highest ranking US Government official to visit Guyana in more than three decades. No agenda has been made public for the two-day visit, but it is coming at a time when the US has been stepping up pressure on Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro to step down.
Guyana’s position on the issues in neighbouring Venezuela has always been to not interfere in the internal affairs of the country.
Mr. Trotman said as Guyana is currently before the International Court with Venezuela on the border issue, there should be no action that could hinder that process.
“We have made tremendous progress in the last five years to achieve a binding and internationally recognisable outcome by getting our controversy before the International Court of Justice and our cause is just and highly likely to succeed. We implore you not to turn a controversy, being settled by peaceful means, into a hot dispute that threatens our sovereignty and the peace within the region. Given the statements and behaviour in the months gone by, some say we may have already compromised ourselves, and we trust that it’s not so”, the former Minister of Natural Resources said.
On the budget itself, Mr. Trotman said whether the new government wants to admit it or not, Guyana did well under the five years of APNU+AFC rule. He pointed to the steady growth of the economy and Guyana recording increased performance on the international scene when it comes to human development, press freedom and economic gains.
He said with Guyana now destined for greater economic prosperity, some measures in the budget appears to be taking the country back, pointing to the decision of the PPP to lift the ban on the importation of used tyres.
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