VZCZCXYZ0004
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGE #0450/01 2462004
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 032004Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7424
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHVV/ISLAMIC CONFERENCE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L GEORGETOWN 000450 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DS/IP; CA/OCS; WHA/CAR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/02/2039 
TAGS: GY PGOV PHUM
SUBJECT: MORMON MISSIONARIES IN GUYANA DETAINED, ORDERED TO 
LEAVE 
 
REF: A. A) GEORGETOWN 192 
     ¶B. B) GEORGETOWN 418 
 
Classified By: CDA WILLIAMS FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The GoG detained 41 missionaries from the 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) for 11 
hours on September 2, claiming they were in the country 
without valid work permits.  Despite a court order for their 
immediate release, the Ministry of Home Affairs only freed 
the missionaries following a direct appeal to President 
Jagdeo from the Charge, and promises from the missionaries 
that they would leave the country within 30 days.  It was 
unclear whether other LDS missionaries with proper 
authorization would have to leave as well, or if work permits 
would be approved for LDS missionaries in the future.  The 
GoG,s motivation for the action is unclear, though the 
decision appeared to rest with the Minister of Home Affairs. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
DETAINED ON A WHIM? 
 
¶2.  (U) Guyana,s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) 
detained 41 LDS missionaries (39 of them AMCITs, all of whom 
signed Privacy Act Waivers) on September 2 from 0800 hrs 
until 1900 hrs and held one elderly missionary couple from 
2000 hrs the previous night.  Despite never formally charging 
the group with any offense, the Ministry of Home Affairs 
detained the missionaries in the CID,s lobby, confiscated 
their passports, and failed to provide them with basic 
necessities such as water, food, and toilet paper. 
 
¶3.  (U) The Ministry of Home Affairs claimed the LDS were in 
the country illegally since denying the work permits of 50 
missionaries on July 24.  The group had filed an appeal on 
the permit decision, and under Guyanese law they were allowed 
to remain in the country until the matter was settled.  A 
separate, second court order for the group,s immediate 
release issued September 2 had no effect on the Ministry,s 
decision to hold the LDS, who were let go several hours after 
President Jagdeo ordered their release. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Mormon Church has supported missionaries in 
Guyana for more than 20 years and currently has more than 60 
missionaries working in the country--the vast majority AMCITs 
rotating in at six-month intervals.  The Church claims 4000 
Guyanese members in a country of 750,000 people and spends 1 
million USD annually in Guyana supporting its activities. 
 
¶5.  (C) The Charge raised the issue of the detention in a 
previously scheduled meeting with President Jagdeo.  The 
President, who was visibly surprised by the news that the 
Ministry decided to expel the missionaries--and acutely aware 
of the negative media attention it would bring--immediately 
tried to reach the Minister of Home Affairs, who was 
unavailable, for an explanation.  An hour later missionary 
leaders met with the President who agreed to release them 
provided they left the country within 30 days.  It was not 
clear if the Ministry of Home Affairs would issue work 
permits for LDS missionaries in the future. 
 
&THE MINISTER WANTS THEM OUT8 
 
¶6.  (C) Though the impetus for the denial of work permits for 
LDS missionaries and subsequent decision to remove them 
remains unclear, the acting head of the CID unit was blunt 
about the GoG,s intent:  The Minister wants them out., 
The missionaries told the Embassy that the police initially 
said they were detained for gathering information on behalf 
of the U.S., though the GoG denied it and stated the rumor 
originated with the U.S. Embassy.  The missionary leaders who 
met with the president said he noted the GoG had received an 
increase in missionary applications from Muslim groups and 
implied there was a limit on how many missionaries any one 
group may have in Guyana, though he could not, or would not, 
name that number or produce any statutory information on 
category limitations. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) On September 3 the Embassy sent two dipnotes to the 
MFA, one protesting the fact the Embassy had not been 
notified of the detention of AMCITs and the conditions in 
which they were held.  A second note sought clarification on 
the procedures for filing of work permits and 
extensions/renewals, as well as any numerical caps on 
categories or groups. 
 
¶8.  (C)  COMMENT: The expulsion comes as a surprise given the 
Church,s uneventful history in Guyana and the country,s 
long tradition of free religious expression.  Aside from the 
 
poor treatment and unjust detention of AMCITs, this episode 
is deeply disturbing on several levels.  The fact that 
president was clearly caught off-guard at the news that the 
Ministry planned to expel a large group from a major 
religious organization and then was unable to reach the 
Minister of Home Affairs immediately suggests that Jagdeo,s 
position in the party has indeed weakened.  The March 2009 
death of Guyana,s former President and staunch supporter 
(see ref A) has provided an opening for the old-guard 
communist element in the ruling party to assert itself prior 
to the 2011 elections.  Jagdeo, who became president in 1999 
at age 35, appears not to have the support within the PPP to 
reshuffle the cabinet or remove incompetent or corrupt 
officials (see ref B).  That the Ministry of Home Affairs did 
not even acknowledge that a court order existed for the 
release of the missionaries and it took an intervention from 
President Jagdeo himself for them to be released brings into 
serious question the GoG,s commitment to, or ability to 
enforce, the rule of law. END COMMENT. 
 
Williams