MORMON MISSIONARIES IN GUYANA DETAINED, ORDERED TO

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