By GHK Lall- Excellency Nicole D. Theriot, US Ambassador to Guyana has differentiated herself from her immediate predecessor. Guyanese with a minimum of eyesight and auditory faculties behind their belt can easily separate Excellency Theriot from former Ambassador Sarah Ann Lynch. Where Excellency Lynch was ubiquitous, Ambassador Theriot is at home with being reclusive, the equivalent of a diplomatic hermitlike existence.
I think it is to her credit, though there are often misgivings. Whether it is a function of orders, or her personal mode of ops, is beyond me. But the record compiled is there, and it sings. Ambassador Lynch was outspoken, could have been mistaken for a broadcaster, a running commentator on issues Guyana. Excellency Theriot has been reticent to the point of being painful. In some sense, it is of withdrawn and watchful US Ambassador to Guyana is tampering with the longstanding blueprint, what needs revisiting.
Hence, when a Nicole Theriot ventures to dip a toe into the stormy, snake-filled, waters of Guyana’s politics, it is tantamount to a rainbow appearing in the sky. A rarity. One loaded with meaning. An exception made, because the circumstances so demand. Some development that demands rising beyond the call of ordinary duty.
There is parliament. There is the Leader of the Opposition (LOO) hang-up, delay, hiccup, dodges, disputes and, overall, the continuing decay of Guyana’s democracy, regardless of who says what. If the LOO was a horserace, it would be proper to say that there is a huge handicap on his back.
So, Excellency Theriot found it necessary to intervene, make her presence felt, it says something, two things. In effect, this matter (LOO) has gone too fat, taken too long to get done. When this particular American speaks, Guyanese listen. Americans have been in the forefront of electoral struggles. Process right. Doing right. Leading with the right stuff. No, Guyana is not a movie, but if it was, it would be a Gothic horror, one of those old Hammer Productions of Great Britain, of which High Commissioner Jane Miller should be proud.
Horror movies frighten locals, and Guyanese have been living in one forever. Excellency Theriot had to speak after over a hundred days have withered away, squandered through squabbling over parliament being the place for the tabling of certain expensive developments, and the forum for the seating of an identified LOO. Elections are not the be all and end all of democracy. I have a feeling that Anil Nandlall (the honorable) would have difficulty agreeing. Not because of the source of that assertion (he is a bigger man than that), but because elections are all that matters to him, which should convey how much he has miniaturized his mind.
The bottom line is that the September elections, regardless of how well run, and peaceful and so forth, are still unfinished. Or, there is unfinished business that remains uninitiated due to the physical dexterity of the Speaker of the House, Mr. Manzoor Nadir, and the verbal ambidextrousness of Excellency Irfaan Ali (Dr.). Pres. Ali usually can be depended upon to say one thing from the left side of his mouth, with the right side going in a radically different direction.
Since locals are stuck in that mould for over a hundred days now (more accurately closer to a hundred years), Excellency Theriot felt duty bound to have a word on the record to prevent the September electoral symphony from deteriorating into a bawdy ditty in the calloused hands and distorted thinking of the natives. If today, the fight is over something as fundamental as the election of the LOO, then it is not outside the pale to think that the next battle could be over a parking space.
Ambassador Theriot has had her say. I don’t think it would be necessary for her to speak again, repeat herself. The last thing that Pres. Ali and AG Nandlall could stomach is to have Washington frowning frostily. The jitters takeover. Thanks, Madame Ambassador. The US rises to the occasion again, and rides to the rescue. Again. There is the eerie feeling that I have been (and Guyana also) here before.
What started in the 1950s-60s hasn’t changed in any significant manner, other than some negligible fractions here and there. A matter of a decimal point moved, with still many zeros in front and waiting to be overcome. C’mon Pres. Ali, Speaker Nadir, AG Nandlall, let’s get the parliamentary and LOO shows on the road, and not keep the American plenipotentiary waiting. That’s bad for business.
