Why did Jagdeo, Hinds skip Queen’s birthday party?
Stabroek News
June 21, 2003
There is much speculation about the absence of both President Bharrat Jagdeo and Prime Minister Sam Hinds from the British High Com-mission reception hosted on Tuesday evening at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel to mark the birthday of Queen Elizabeth.
Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally represented the government.
However, Information Liaison to the President, Robert Persaud told Stabroek News that the President had a previously scheduled appointment which conflicted with the reception. Stabroek News was unable to contact Prime Minister Sam Hinds to ascertain the reason why he did not attend.
Speculation was rife during and following the reception about the absence of the two top government officials at a function hosted by a country which provides Guyana with a large amount of development aid. The speculation was further fuelled by the government’s non-committal to next month’s conference on Guyana being hosted by the United Kingdom and sponsored by the United Kingdom government. (See story above.)
Diplomatic sources say it is highly unusual for both the President and the PM to be absent from an occasion of this sort.
