Commonwealth Secretary-General appoints Special Envoy to Guyana

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has appointed Sir Paul Reeves as his Special Envoy to Guyana to help facilitate the resumption of talks between the two major political parties and to promote national unity in Guyana.

Mr McKinnon was in Guyana in early July and met with the President of Guyana, HE Mr Bharrat Jagdeo and the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Desmond Hoyte, MP. He has since remained in touch with them and has followed recent developments in the country. Both have welcomed the appointment of Sir Paul Reeves as Special Envoy.

Mr McKinnon said: "I continue to be concerned over the situation in Guyana and Commonwealth good offices have always been on offer. I am pleased that Sir Paul will be able to apply his considerable experience to help restore political dialogue and promote national reconciliation in Guyana."

Sir Paul Reeves has had a distinguished career. A former Primate and Archbishop of New Zealand, he was Governor General of New Zealand from 1985 to 1990. In 1994 he was Deputy Leader of the Commonwealth Observer Group to the South African elections and in 1996 he led the Commonwealth Observer Group to the Ghana elections. From 1995-1997 he chaired the Fiji Constitutional Review Commission.

Sir Paul is expected to visit Guyana shortly and will be assisted by two senior officials of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Mrs Judith Pestaina and Mr Kosi Latu.