The US Embassy in Georgetown has condemned the resolution by the National Assembly to honour the life and work of convicted terrorist and former Guyanese parliamentarian, Abdul Kadir, calling the resolution “insensitive and thoughtless.”
Kadir was sentenced to life in prison in the United States after being found guilty of plotting a 2007 terrorist attack at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Moreover, the Embassy, in a fierce statement said, “Members of the National Assembly, therefore, chose to honour a man who conspired to kill innocent people from across the United States and around the world. This resolution is an insensitive and thoughtless act, which demonstrates the National Assembly’s disregard for the gravity of Kadir’s actions.”
While speaking at an International Peace Conference recently, US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, held up Guyana as “a model to the world on religious tolerance and understanding.” But, according to the statement, the National Assembly’s resolution of April 26 draws into question that reputation.
The Embassy further noted that this development comes on the heels of Guyana’s historic cooperation with the United States on the extradition of an alleged murderer.
“Members of Parliament have placed this resolution in direct contradiction to the efforts of security cooperation between our two countries. With this resolution, honouring a convicted terrorist, members of Guyana’s National Assembly have left a stain on their legacy as representatives of the Guyanese people and on their commitment to the rule of law,” the statement said.
