President and Vice President are right to be at COP28

Dear Editor,
The least opportunity that some people get to become an overnight expert, they step right up to the plate, but only to end up bent-double in ignominy, wasting our time. All these gambits turn out to be porous, flaccid, inconsequential, and utterly devoid of substance.
The latest iteration has surfaced in the form of criticizing President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo for attending COP28. Their thesis, if one wants to be exceptionally generous to call it that, is the Commander-in-Chief should not leave the country in a time of crisis. This is pure bunk!
Firstly, we do not have a crisis here. What we do have is an ongoing controversy with the Venezuelan Government. In international politics, a crisis is defined as a situation of high uncertainty, with possibly severe consequences, and with limited time, few options, and inadequate resources with which to respond.
When President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo left for COP 28, this specific configuration of elements was not present. Yesterday, the ICJ issued a ruling to constrain Maduro’s December 3 ill-advised referendum.
President Ali was correct in his assessment that the ICJ would hand down the ruling it did. No uncertainty here. Further, the President has political and military intelligence that only he and his national security team have, and should have. His decision to attend COP28 is based on all the information he has in his hand. Good leaders are never constrained by fear.
Secondly, COP28 is a major international and global event, one where Heads of State meet. Guyana is a big player in two aspects of climate change: international relations and global politics. Concerning the former, we are a highly forested country that has earned valuable financial resources from that source.
As for the latter, our oil and gas industry compels us to participate in this multilateral forum to articulate and defend our national interests. Much of Guyana is potentially threatened by rising sea levels, and for this reason, we must be at the table.
Thirdly and finally, there is a long tradition in international diplomacy whereby citizens do not criticize their leaders when these leaders are abroad. Most culturally civilized citizens follow this unwritten rule. In Guyana, of course, you can never bet on the army of overnight experts in foreign affairs and national security to have some modesty or some much-needed discipline. They will seek the limelight, no matter the consequences.
President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo are in the exact place they should be; that is, at COP28. They are there doing the business of this nation. In the meantime, the fly-by-night experts, some of whom went as far as to produce an AI video on the subject, should think critically about the harm they are doing. Sometimes modesty is the best policy.
Sincerely,
Dr Randy Persaud