–says former minister, Dr. Henry Jeffrey
FORMER Minister of Foreign Trade, Henry Jeffrey, contends that former US Ambassador to Guyana, Brent Hardt, has violated international law by becoming involved in the domestic affairs of Guyana.
In his regular column published in the Stabroek News, under the headline ‘The US/Guyana debacle: Two wrongs, nothing right’, Jeffrey cited the writings of renowned expert, GR Berridge, who pointed out that major powers
routinely conducted political operations in the countries they were based, as well as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
In addition to the Vienna Convention, Oppenheim’s International Law, 9th Edition, at p. 1068, states that: “(It) is universally recognised that envoys (or other diplomatic agents) must not interfere with the internal political life of the State to which they are accredited. It certainly belongs to their functions to watch political events with a vigilant eye, and to report their observations to their home State. But they have no right whatever to take part in that political life, to encourage one political party or to threaten another. It matters not whether an envoy acts thus on his own account or on the instructions from his home state. If he does so, he abuses his position, and the receiving state will either protest, or, in a more serious case, request his home state to recall him and appoint another individual in his place, or, if his interference is very flagrant, dismiss him.”
Oppenheim, an authoritative publicist on international law, further stated: “A line must, however, be drawn between functions which it is proper that a diplomatic mission may exercise, and those which it may not, although it has to be recognised that it is not always easy to draw such a line.” (p. 1067). Ambassador Hardt was due to leave Guyana on July 6, 2014 on the termination of his assignment in this country.
BEYOND ACCEPTABLE
“It appears to me then that when outgoing US Ambassador Brent Hardt in his speech at a Blue CAPS meeting publicly berated the president and government of Guyana for not implementing local government elections, being inconsistent in their reasoning for not doing so and suggesting that more voices should raise in protest, he went beyond what is acceptable diplomatic behaviour,” Jeffrey said.
He acknowledged that there is a majority consensus regarding the need for local government elections; but makes it clear that Hardt’s position could not have gone without reprimand by the Government.
His comments followed the fallout after the former US Ambassador was upbraided last Wednesday for ‘crossing a red line’ with his comments. Hardt has been one of the most vocal in the diplomatic corps, calling on the current administration to hold local government elections. He has been vocal to the point where he flayed Head of State Donald Ramotar for “selectively” abiding by Guyana’s constitution, even as the country awaits long-overdue local government elections. It was this comment that constituted a ‘red line’ for the Government and resulted in the then acting Foreign Affairs Minister Priya Manickchand taking Hardt to task at the Fourth of July event celebrating the 238th Independence Anniversary of the U.S., held at his Cummings Lodge residence, where he repeated his call for the “restoration of effective, elected local government” in Guyana.
According to Jeffrey, it was “out of line” for Hardt to “salve his conscience” by publicly berating the President and his Government.
“This is simply not his remit,” he stressed.
The former Foreign Trade Minister added that there were other means available to send messages to the current administration; rather than the way the issue was handled by Hardt.
“We should not confuse the role of the ambassador with that of his government. My memory tells me that when, under the PNC, the US government wanted to publicly suggest a change in government’s policy, it did not do so through its ambassador. Presidents can send messages; special missions, which may or may not be public about the concerns of their governments, may be dispatched; legislators may be utilized, etc.,” he said.
Source: (By Vanessa Narine) http://guyanachronicle.com/2014/07/11/hardt-violated-international-laws