By Sir Shridath Ramphal
GEORGETOWN, Guyana – As Guyana nears the tipping point of its ‘elections crisis’ – I plead with all my fellow Guyanese not to allow our motherland to descend into the darkness of denial of the rule of law and regularity.
As Guyanese, we owe it to ourselves, to the Caribbean Community which we have helped to bring to life, and to the wider global community whose respect we have earned as an enlightened democratic State – not to debase ourselves by descent into the pit of lawlessness.
In a matter of weeks, we shall be appearing before the International Court of Justice at the worthy instance of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to appeal for global justice under international law against menace to our national patrimony. Almost three-quarters of Guyana – of land and sea – is under threat. We must protect it with clean and united hands.
Let lawfulness prevail in our country; unless it does, all of Guyana – and all its people – are imperilled.