‘Unacceptable that the world can’t collectively call for a ceasefire in Gaza’ – President Ali

Guyana’s Head of State, President Dr. Irfaan Ali said Wednesday that it is unacceptable and heartwrenching that there is division in the global call for a ceasefire in Gaza where women and girls are being “slaughtered.”

The President started his address at the opening ceremony of a ministerial forum on gender equality and empowerment by reflecting on the vulnerability of women and children in Gaza, Haiti and Ukraine.

In fact, the President’s remarks were so sober that the ballroom at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, was engulfed in complete silence. No other sound was heard but the President’s serious words laced with disappointment, heartbreak  and at times, anger.

And he zeroed in on the recent crisis in Gaza. For him, the “senseless” killings there should be stopped.

“At a bare minimum, why can’t this world collectively call for a ceasefire? Why can’t we collectively call for a ceasefire?” the President quizzed.

He believes that there is no defence or justification for terrorism but equally, there should be no space for any world leader who “presides over the slaughtering of men, women and children.”

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of a resolution for an immediate humanitarian truce between Israel and the Palestinian group, Hamas. Guyana voted in favour of this resolution. The resolution is non-binding, however.

Like the crisis in Gaza, President Ali emphasised that women and children in Haiti and Ukraine are also immensely vulnerable.

And he lamented just how divided the world seemed to be when responding to the conflict and crises in Gaza and Haiti but not Ukraine. For him, there should be no division because people are suffering in those countries too.

“… some of the more powerful voices in the world remain silent as women and girls are slaughtered in Gaza…  they lie silent when they are harmed in Haiti and I am happy that they are loud about the suffering in Ukraine as we all should be,” he said.

He added, “There cannot be much more hypocrisy in the world.”