The Good Friday Agreement, which ended the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland, a period of civil war, insurgency, assassinations and bombings, was signed on 10 April 1998, 25 years ago. That anniversary is being celebrated by visits by President Biden, King Charles III, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, under whose leaderships the Agreement was negotiated.
Continue reading “THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT – 25th ANNIVERSARY”VENEZUELA SECOND PRELIMINARY OBJECTION THROWN OUT BY WORLD COURT
On 7 June 2022 Venezuela submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) a SECOND preliminary objection based, on this occasion, on the argument that the United Kingdom is an indispensable third party, without the consent of which the Court cannot adjudicate upon the dispute.
Continue reading “VENEZUELA SECOND PRELIMINARY OBJECTION THROWN OUT BY WORLD COURT”TRUST AND CONFIDENCE
The constitutional reform process, 1999-2000, and other measures spawned by the Herdmanston Accord, sought to bring to an end the 1997 post-election violence. President Janet Jagan resigned the Presidency due to ill-health and President Jagdeo assumed office in August, 1999. General elections were held in 2001 and the PPP was returned to office. After the third round of intense post-election violence in 2001, the Constitution was amended to implement the wide-ranging reforms, the vast majority of which were to introduce a system of cooperation and consultation. By 2002 the legislative process was complete and the constitutional and legislative bodies were being established.
CHEDDI JAGAN – SOME REFLECTIONS
In 1943 Cheddi Jagan returned to a British Guiana that was a cauldron of poverty. The report of the Moyne Commission published in 1945 concluded that for the labouring population, “mere subsistence was increasingly problematic.” The defeat of Nazi Germany with the help of the heroic Soviet Union inspired many; India, China and the colonial world were on the move. In 1947, with Janet Jagan, Ashton Chase and Jocelyn Hubbard, Cheddi Jagan established the Political Affairs Committee (PAC). In the same year he fought and won a seat in the Legislative Council. These events were at the cusp of momentous developments in British Guiana.
Continue reading “CHEDDI JAGAN – SOME REFLECTIONS”GUYANA’S PROBLEMS CAN ONLY BE RESOLVED BY DEMOCRATIC MEANS
During the 2020 events surrounding the attempts by APNU+AFC to rig the elections, the idea arose that the dominant issue was not elections but a political solution. It was suggested that efforts ought to be concentrated on persuading the APNU+AFC Government and the PPP to resolve the electoral crisis by establishing a power sharing government. In the absence of a formula determined by a popular mandate, it was not known at that time in what proportion each party, and maybe others, would share the government. That alone would have been a deal breaker. But a more fundamental issue arose. No one that I knew, including many who were not PPP supporters, were willing to allow a dictatorship based on fraudulent elections to once again emerge to haunt Guyana, perhaps for decades to come. The sentiment appeared to be: democracy first, shared government after.
Continue reading “GUYANA’S PROBLEMS CAN ONLY BE RESOLVED BY DEMOCRATIC MEANS”