Will support India: Guyana High Commissioner Dharamkumar on Pahalgam terror attack

Guyana High Commissioner Dharamkumar Seeraj has extended his country's support to India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. Speaking to WION's Sidhant Sibal, he said Guyana President Ali 'supports India in whatever moves they are going to make to ensure that the perpetrators of this terrorist attack that they are brought to justice'. 

He pointed to briefings by Indian side in the aftermath of the terror attack in which 'name of Pakistan was mentioned'. 

Guyana is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, & its stance is key to any diplomatic activity at the top UN body. It is believed that Pakistan, which is also a non-permanent member of UNSC can rake anti India issues at the top UN body. 

Asked, if Guyana would support India at the UN, the High Commissioner said, 'if India proposed any measures to address terrorism, to make moves and to make suggestions that will target terrorists and terroristic attacks. I'm certain that Guyana, as a country, the government and people of Guyana will support any move'.

Sidhant Sibal: Your first reaction to the terror attack that happened in India

Dharamkumar Seeraj: Like everyone else in the world, and especially the people of India and the people of Guyana, the reaction was, of course, one of terror, one of surprise, one of outrage that such a thing could again occur in this modern day. Our President has also expressed his concerns, his regrets and his sympathy with the government and people of India, and he has also stated very clearly that he supports the justice, and he supports India in whatever moves they are going to make to ensure that the perpetrators of this terrorist attack that they are brought to justice.

Sidhant Sibal: So what is the Guyanese position in terms of the issue of terrorism?

Dharamkumar Seeraj: You know, in that part of the world, in the West Indies, in South America and the Caribbean especially, we are not exposed. The general population is not exposed to this kind of brutal, heinous terrorist attacks. You know, for us, there's the usual robbery, some amount of violence. So to the extent that we are not exposed, our population generally have a muted response. But the government of Guyana, they're very much aware of what is taking place, and especially people in foreign missions. And India has had a more than its fair share of terrorist attack over the years, and that is why you know, when you come to India, you are made aware of the response, by the way, of the security checks at different levels, at the airport, coming in, going into your hotels, along the highways, at various embassies and so on. It is senseless that you how you can go and murder innocent people. You know, these things don't happen in our part of the world. 

Sidhant Sibal: What will be Guyanese position, will they be supporting India? 

Dharamkumar Seeraj: It's a matter of who is pro humanity, who is pro peace, who wants to get rid of extremism. So Guyana will support any move made by any country to address the elimination of this kind of terroristic attacks. So we pro peace, we pro dialog, we pro diplomacy in terms of getting all issues resolved, all conflicts resolve. And we as a country, as a nation, as a people, we against any form of terrorism, any form of terroristic attack, whether it's for religious gains, whether it's for territories, whether it's for sovereignty and all of that. So it's a matter of the principle itself. It's not a matter of country. And if India proposed any measures to address terrorism, to make moves and to make suggestions that will target terrorists and terroristic attacks. I'm certain that Guyana, as a country, the government and people of Guyana will support any move that will go to targeting terrorist and terroristic attacks.

Sidhant Sibal:  Has there been any conversation between the Guyanese side and the Indian side, particularly when it comes to Pahalgam terror attack? 

Dharamkumar Seeraj: Well, we have had a briefing, high commission of Guyana, along with several other missions, especially in the Caribbean and Latin America, by the Secretary east and joint secretary. So, we were brought up to speed, up to date with the reports and what is being done, and to the extent that we were briefed, that's the extent we give our support. I cannot say whether at President level and the Prime Minister of India level, if there have been further talks, but at our level, at the high Commissioner's level, at the ambassador's level, and at the level with the Joint Secretary and Secretary all the briefing that we have received, we asked some questions, we asked for updates, and of course, we gave our support for any action that will seek to find these terrorists and bring them to justice.

Sidhant Sibal: And India has been very vocal about the issue of terrorism from Pakistan. Was that also part of the conversation because India has already referred in its statement. So, any specific emphasis on that part?

Dharamkumar Seeraj: Well, we were told that they're examining links and at the briefing with the secretary east, and they are looking to identify the terrorists, and I specifically asked the question that we were told also that facial recognition was 100% for two and I specifically asked the questions that, if you have recognized two of these terrorists, have you been able to link them in it to any terror organization? Have you been able to link them to any country, and because this will give you an insight as to where they're operating from, which organisation they belong to, if they do belong to any organisation. And the question is that these are ongoing investigations that will probably yield more concrete results as time go by. So obviously the name of Pakistan was mentioned because the place where this thing happened, you have some amount of ease in those territories. And of course, it's border with Pakistan. So, we understand and appreciate fully well that there will be speculation that you have terrorists' cross border. And once you avail of yourself concrete evidence that these terrorists are linked to any organisation and they are operating within which country, well then, we'll deal with the evidence as they present themselves. 

Sidhant Sibal: If India acts on these terror groups, terror groups which India believes are based in Pakistan or Pok will you respect India's right to defence or self-defence?

Dharamkumar Seeraj: we respect every country's right for the protection of the citizen, for the protection of their sovereignty, the protection of their borders, and every country will take steps to ensure that their people are protected, their borders are protected, and they will determine, based on the circumstances, at that particular point in time what action will be taken to protect the people and to protect the country.