The recent statement by United States Ambassador Nicole D Theriot is a direct and brazen assault on the sovereignty of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. Let us not fool ourselves.
This is not merely about Azruddin Mohamed though he stands at the forefront of the conversation. This is about every Guyanese and our right under our Constitution to determine who is fit to run for the highest office in the land. That Constitution is not some decorative parchment. It is the supreme law of the land, and it must be respected by us and by any who reside within or engage with this Republic.
Let it be known to Ambassador Theriot that Guyana is a nation of laws. She must respect this. The United States of America (USA), the very country she represents, has a presidential candidate who is a convicted felon. Yet the court has delayed his sentencing to allow the democratic process to unfold, giving the electorate the right to decide. That same electorate has spoken, and the man stands today as the leader of the free world.
Guyana may not wield the global influence of the USA, but we are no less a sovereign state. Our rights are not to be trampled under diplomatic boots.
We are a nation founded on the principles of common law. One of those cardinal principles is that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is a pillar of due process that protects even the most despised among us. If we discard that principle based on convenience or foreign commentary, we invite disorder and lawlessness. We have been to that brink before.
I take this nation back to 2005 and recall the words of former Chancellor and Attorney General Keith Massiah SC in his minority report during the Gajraj Commission of Inquiry into the phantom squad killings. In the early 2000s, while this nation wrestled with the consequences of lawlessness and extra-judicial actions, Massiah made clear and timeless what justice demands.
He said: “Killings however reasonable and expedient in the opinion of many persons of goodwill ought not to be countenanced. Even the alleged serial killer the persistent rapist and the paedophile detestable as those pariahs are enjoy the fundamental right to a fair hearing and the full protection of due process.”
What this learned gentleman was telling us is that even the most detestable among us enjoy the fundamental right to a fair hearing and the full protection of due process. His counsel must still resonate today. This is the standard we must continue to uphold. Due process is not a favour. It is a right.
It is no secret that the Mohameds have been sanctioned by the USA and face ongoing legal proceedings in Guyana. It is also no secret the family has retained legal representation to address the legal battles here and abroad. Let the legal process take its course. We must not demand the protection of rights only when it suits us.
Justice is not justice when applied selectively. Further, if there are other allegations or infractions surrounding the Mohameds, let them be dealt with through the proper legal channels. That is what a civilized society demands. Due process, rule of law and equal treatment.
Today it is Mohamed. Tomorrow it could be Irfaan Ali or Aubrey Norton. None must believe they are exempt from the dangerous precedent being set. The Ambassador’s reckless commentary is not grounded in law nor in universally respected norms. It is steeped in selective outrage and political intrusion. And if we the Guyanese people, the political leadership and civil society remain silent while the rights of one are undermined, we open the floodgates for all to be abused.
These elections are not the Ambassador’s to influence. Her recent pronouncements stand in contradiction to the stated positions of her own superiors, former US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump, who have all declared that the United States will not interfere in the internal electoral processes of other countries. Yet we have seen this Ambassador not only interfere but shamelessly try to tip the electoral scale.
That is not her role. The right to elect our leaders, whether for Parliament, the Presidency, regional or local bodies, rests solely with the Guyanese people. That decision is sacred.
Let me remind those who do not know or may have forgotten: In 1926, the trade union movement fought for internal self-government and the right to one man one vote (universal adult suffrage). These rights were hard-won and were never meant to be conditional. We achieved universal adult suffrage in 1953, independence in 1966, and Republican status in 1970. We broke the final chains of colonial domination.
No Ambassador, no matter how highly placed, has the right to take these from us, directly or by inference.
Fellow Guyanese, we must not blink. We must defend our democracy, our sovereignty and our Constitution without apology or fear. If we fail to do so, we betray the sacrifices of those who came before us and imperil the freedom of those yet to come.
