President Jagdeo briefs N.Y.-based Guyanese on current issues
Guyana Chronicle
June 13, 2004
THE current crime situation here was said to be primary among a number of issues touched on by President Bharrat Jagdeo during a meeting early yesterday with members of the Guyanese community in New York and its environs.
The meeting, which took the form of a ‘business breakfast’, was held at Henry House Banquet and Catering Hall at the corner of Bedford Avenue and Lincoln Place, in Brooklyn.
The President, who has a number of appointments in the US before he is scheduled to leave for Canada and a trade and investment exposition there, is quoted as saying that both he and Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago, were equally concerned about the high incidence of crime in their respective countries.
The two had met last week in Trinidad and Tobago during a three-day exposition of prime Guyanese commodities held there by the Guyana Office for Investment (GoInvest).
President Jagdeo is said to have stressed at yesterday morning’s meeting that the incidence of kidnapping was not as rampant here as it was in Trinidad and Tobago, which has recorded 76 cases to date. Guyana has only had about two incidents so far, he reportedly said.
He also touched on the various commissions that abound here, whether ethnic or else, which is unheard of in other parts of the Caribbean, as well as the need for the Opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) to return to the dialogue process.
The event, which lasted more than two hours, was said to have been well attended, and seen a wide cross-section of Guyanese.
It was hosted by the Guyana Tri-State Alliance in conjunction with Henry’s. It began with the usual call to prayers by the Muslim, Hindu and Christian denominations.
The venue is owned and operated by Guyanese, Mr Norman Henry.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) release yesterday, the President was also scheduled to visit with the Flatbush Adventist Church in Flatbush and the Al Abadin Masjid later in the day, in addition to hosting a press conference.