Security boosted outside diplomatic missions after threats of mass protest

There was a heavy Police presence outside the offices of some of the major foreign missions here on Wednesday morning, following threats of mass protest action against the diplomats, who have been critical of the lack of transparency and credibility in the 2020 elections.

There was heightened law enforcement presence outside the United States Embassy and the Canadian High Commission, both located on Young Street, Georgetown, and the British High Commission on Main Street, Georgetown.
The ranks had even cordoned off the western carriageway of Main Street in order to secure the British High Commission, diverting traffic from that section between New Market and Lamaha Streets.
British High Commissioner Gregory Quinn confirmed to Guyana Times that the amplified security is just a precautionary measure stemming from the threats on social media.
“In the light of social media comments against the High Commission, we sought additional support from the authorities,” Quinn explained in an invited comment on Wednesday.

This newspaper was told that persons have been threatening persons at the Canadian High Commission on social media.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Public Relations Officer of the US Embassy, Violeta Talandis, did not comment on the issue, saying the embassy’s functioning was normal.
“It’s a normal business day,” she insisted, adding that the only change was the cancellation of visa services in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Threats
Nevertheless, acting Divisional Commander Phillip Azore told this publication on Tuesday morning, “There are threats of mass protests in front of those locations. So, we just put Police there to ensure it’s secure and in keeping in accordance with the law.”
A social media post, seen by Guyana Times, urged persons to begin a “mass protest… at 9:00am” on Wednesday in front of the British and Canadian High Commissions.
However, no such protest action was held and by midday, the Police had also cleared from outside the diplomatic missions.
Efforts by this newspaper to ascertain whether security will be beefed up thereon outside or around these foreign missions, were futile as the acting Commander redirected the questions.
The Heads of these diplomatic missions in Guyana have strongly condemned the continued attempts to derail the electoral process in Guyana, particularly during the tabulation process of the country’s largest voting district, Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
In fact, the ABCE countries (United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union) have warned of serious consequences if a president is sworn in under these circumstances, which they say, lack credibility and transparency.
A joint statement on Friday saw US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch, British High Commissioner Greg Quinn, Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee, and EU Ambassador Fernando Ponz-Canto saying that there was clearly no transparency and credibility put in place by responsible officials for the tabulation process in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
The Heads of Missions further outlined in the joint missive their concerns about intimidation tactics they have observed against those seeking to ensure that a credible process was followed.
Reminding that they were all long-standing friends of Guyana, whose countries have supported its development over many decades, the foreign envoys cautioned against leading the country into isolation.
On Friday last, the Heads of Missions, who are all accredited as local observers to monitor the electoral process, had walked out of the office of the Region Four Returning Officer (RO),Clairmont Mingo, which was housed in the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Command Centre located on High and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown.
The diplomats did not return to monitor the tabulation process, which continued on Friday and eventually ended with the RO declaring the region’s results but not without widespread allegations of electoral fraud from many representatives of the various political parties that contested the March 2 elections as well as from other observers.