The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) must provide evidence Permanent Secretary (PS) Mae Toussaint Jr. Thomas was not on government’s business when her telephone was seized and United States’ (U.S) visa revoked in her recent transit in the U.S. So said, Mr. Roysdale Forde, S.C, M.P, referring to President Irfaan Ali’s statements the PS was heading to China on PPP’s business.
In an invited comment Forde told Village Voice News (VVN) the president cannot be trusted to tell the truth. The Member of Parliament (M.P) said the president must also explain his statement that the treatment the PS reviewed from U.S immigration authorities at Miami Airport was “normal routine procedure when you go to secondary.”
Forde said, “it should bring no comfort or ease to Guyanese that the highest-level public servant in the state security ministry (Ministry of Home Affairs) whilst travelling, whether on state, party or personal business can be subjected to such scrutiny that raise questions of national interest and has the potential for grave embarrassment to her person, party and nation.”
Guyanese must not allow the PPP to normalise behaviours that would be highly unacceptable in any law-abiding democratic society, the MP informed.
Initial media reports stated Thomas was on private business which later changed to her being on government’s business before the president announced she was heading to China on party’s business. The MP said there have been so many iterations of the story, society does not know what to trust which makes it even more important for the government and party to come clean.
On April 8, Thomas reportedly left Guyana for China enroute via the U.S when her telephone was seized by the U.S Customs and Border Control (CBP). Thomas has since returned to Guyana but not via the U.S
A legal source in the U.S told VVN the CBP could not have stopped Thomas and seized her cell phone without a warrant. “The CBP would have had to get the court’s approval to execute its action.”
The CBP could pull the Travel Manifest and know who is entering the country, and if Thomas is a person of interest the authorities would have been aware she was entering the country before arrival, the source confirmed.
The Senior Counsel reiterated the issue is a matter of national interest and Guyanese should not allow themselves to be misled. Further, he said, President Ali is a poor steward of our national interest.
