VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGE #1097 2961930
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231930Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4279

UNCLAS GEORGETOWN 001097 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
S/CT - SSCHLEGEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PREL GY
SUBJECT: MEETING OF G8 COUNTER-TERRORISM ADVISORY GROUP IN 
GUYANA 
 
 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Russian Embassy in Georgetown hosted 
the first local meeting of the G-8 Counter-Terrorism Advisory 
Group (CTAG) on October 20. Guyana ForMin Rudy Insanally said 
the terrorist threat is not prominent in Guyana but also 
called for capacity-building assistance in enacting 
counter-terrorism legislation and in meeting U.N. mandated 
reporting requirements. Post has reservations about the 
pre-fabricated draft report of the meeting, which the Russian 
Embassy was seeking to clear by the afternoon of Monday, 
October 23. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) In his 10-minute opening statement, read from a 
prepared text, Russian Ambassador to Guyana Vladimir Starikov 
offered background on the CTAG and disseminated material from 
the G8 Action Plan for Capacity Building to Combat Terrorism, 
taken from the Russian G8 Presidency website. He also 
mentioned the need to examine the intersection between drugs, 
organized crime, and terrorism. Insanally then opened by 
saying the CTAG meeting is a useful mechanism to transfer 
counter-terrorism concerns at a high level but that the 
Ministry of Home Affairs or the Ministry of Legal Affairs 
would be in a better position to work on specific terrorism 
threats. Insanally said that Guyana had signed OAS and UN 
Conventions against terrorism and also endorsed the CARICOM 
position against terrorism emanating from the Heads of 
Government meeting in 2005. He said that terrorism is not a 
prominent threat in Guyana, but that it must nevertheless be 
aware of the threat, having first been affected by terrorism 
with the bombing of the Cubana airliner in 1976 and also 
through the three dozen Guyanese victims in the attack on the 
World Trade Center. 
 
¶3. (U) As far as counter-terrorism challenges are concerned, 
Insanally said that Guyana has difficuly keeping up with 
international reporting requirements resulting from its 
participation in counter-terrorism agreements. Guyana last 
submitted a report to the UN Committee on Terrorism in 2002, 
and the GOG is in the process of preparing another 
submission. Insanally also identified Guyana's porous borders 
(Suriname, Venezuela, Brazil) as a vulnerability, noting 
specifically that Plan Colombia has pushed illicit activity 
to other parts of South America in the search for alternate 
routes to the U.S. To this end, he said that foreign 
assistance "is not in any measure comparable to the need". In 
addition to making international reporting requirements more 
"user-friendly", Insanally also called for legal assistance 
to Parliament to build its capacity to enact 
counter-terrorism related legislation. Insanally also said 
the GOG has "an excellent working relationship with the FBI 
and DEA". COMMENT: Post would characterize this relationship 
as almost non-existent. END COMMENT. 
 
¶4. (U) Following Insanally's departure, the 
participants--from the Russian, U.S., European Commission, 
Canadian and British embassies--discussed a pre-written draft 
report of the meeting, which the Russians were hoping to 
clear by that afternoon. The draft, apparently based on a 
template from Moscow, did not incorporate any of Insanally's 
remarks, and it also referenced "considerable" efforts on the 
part of the GOG to prevent terrorist ideology. Emboffs as 
well as the Canadian High Commissioner, Acting EU Head of 
Delegation, and British Deputy High Commissioner took issue 
with this language, as such effort on the part of the GOG is 
not apparent. The Canadian also took issue with language in 
the draft report saying that the GOG "recruits victims of 
terrorism to counteract the terrorist menace on the country". 
The Russian political counsellor, Maxim Pimenov, replied that 
that language was part of what was sent by the G8 Presidency 
but that he would be willing to remove it if that was the 
group's consensus. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Based on the group's concerns, Pimenov agreed to 
rework the draft the same day and send for clearance by 
Monday afternoon. The revised text incorporates some of what 
Insanally said but otherwise exaggerates the GOG's efforts to 
counter terrorist ideology. Post advised Pimenov at 1031 hrs 
Monday October 23 that it cannot endorse the draft report at 
present and is forwarding the latest iteration to Washington 
for review. Post will e-mail a copy of the draft report to 
S/CT and WHA/CAR. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: The haste with which the Russian chair of 
the CTAG sought to finalize the report of the meeting 
suggests that it is rubber-stamping the process rather than 
trying to engage in meaningful dialogue. That view is 
supported by Starikov's willingness to accept any and all 
changes to the draft report without any substantial counter 
discussions. END COMMENT. 
 
ROBINSON