US Congressional meeting: Opposition MPs asked to provide evidence of discrimination in Guyana

United States Congressional Leaders have asked Guyana’s Parliamentary Opposition to submit evidence of the alleged widespread discrimination and marginalization of Afro-Guyanese allegedly being practised by the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government.

Led by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, a team of Members of Parliament (MPs) from the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) travelled to Washington, D.C. where they met with the Congressional Black Caucus on Wednesday. Among the Opposition parliamentarians there was Shadow Attorney General and PNCR Executive Committee Member Roysdale Forde, who revealed during a subsequent conference that the Congressional Leaders requested evidence of the alleged discrimination in Guyana.
“Today we were requested again to provide data on discrimination and marginalization by [US Congressional] Representatives, which we will do,” Forde said on Wednesday after the meeting.
In addition to evidence of discrimination, the Guyanese Opposition MPs were also asked by Congresswoman Maxine Waters to present their development plans for Guyana.
According to the Opposition Leader, while Congresswoman Waters accepted some of the Opposition’s positions during the meeting, she also pointed to the fact that there are two sides to a coin.
“[Congresswoman Waters] asked for a clear development plan, which we identified the tenets. We also left with her a document that will give a lot of that information. There is a wider dossier that we would’ve left that would’ve put all the issues in context in Guyana,” Norton said during a briefing after the meeting.
The Opposition Leader has said that Wednesday’s meeting with the Congressional leaders went “extremely well”. He said they were able to inform the US officials of the critical issues in Guyana, and give them a clear vision of where his party wants to take the country.
“I think there was a healthy exchange. We understand some of their interests, where the confluence of interest lies, and we will pursue those issues,” he noted.
Meanwhile, US House of Representatives Leader Hakeem Jeffries told the Opposition politicians that he wants to see more inclusivity between Guyanese leaders, and urged the APNU/AFC delegation to work towards this.
The other Opposition MPs who joined Norton and Forde for the meeting were People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) General Secretary Dawn Hastings; Shadow Local Government Minister and PNCR Executive Committee Member Ganesh Mahipaul; Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs and PNCR Executive Committee Member Amanza Walton-Desir; PNCR Member Nima Flue Bess; Chairman of the AFC, Catherine Hughes; and AFC Member Deonarine Ramsaroop.
This meeting with the Opposition MPs comes about two weeks after House Leader Jeffries had hosted an engagement with President Dr Irfaan Ali and a delegation of Government officials.
Jeffries said in a Facebook post that they had discussed several critical issues, including regional and energy security, the climate crisis, and the importance of an inclusive society in Guyana, which involves full economic participation and civic engagement by Guyanese-Africans and Guyanese-Indians.
At that time, Jeffries had indicated that when he meets with the leaders of the Guyanese Opposition party, he would continue the dialogue about the opportunities and challenges confronting Guyana.
“We will continue to encourage the Government and the Opposition to work together to ensure that all Guyanese citizens, regardless of race or ethnicity, benefit from the economic growth underway in the South American nation,” Jeffries had stated in the social media post earlier this month.
Congressman Jeffries is a US Democratic Party top leader in the House of Representatives. He is a representative of parts of Brooklyn and Queens in New York, which is home to a large Guyanese population, and he has been making public statements about discrimination in Guyana – a narrative that is being peddled by the PNC-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Opposition.
Last year, President Ali had expressed concerns over remarks made by Jeffries, whom he had noted was being misled about governance issues and democracy in Guyana. In fact, the Head of State had even invited the Congressman for a meeting during a July 2022 US trip, but Jeffries had declined to meet. However, about a year later, President Ali and Congressman Jeffries met in Trinidad and Tobago in July of this year, and during the brief interaction, the Guyanese Leader said he schooled the US politician on the reality in Guyana. (G8)